A Dedicated Civil Servant and Advocate for Health in Retirement
Lidia Holmes became a civil servant and worked for the Home Office for 20 years. She always wanted to become a civil servant for patriotic reasons. She started off her career working for the Home Office library, working on the 10th floor of a main apartment building complex. After a short time working in the library, she moved to work in the passport office. She would hold her position working behind the desk at the passport office for almost 10 years.
At the Passport Office she would be faced with many different scenarios ranging from humorous to difficult. On one humorous occasion, Lidia remembers how a policeman came into the passport office on horseback, after she had told the policeman previously that he would have to pick up his passport in person.
However, she was tough at questioning and always on watch for the possibility of criminal activity. When Lidia had a suspicion that something could be up, she would often ask personal questions such as specifics of where someone grew up and what school they went to in order to read the person and work out if they were lying or telling the truth. In certain situations, she would have to be in contact with the home office in Surrey to ensure that certain people were eligible and that details were correct.
After working in the Passport Office, Lidia moved on to work for the Prison Service, a unique, tough yet rewarding position. She received training at home office before working in the prisons themselves, dealing with a wide variety of characters and scenarios. Lidia subsequently retired from work and the Civil Service and now lives happily in a gated community. Within her gated community, she is visited frequently by many friends and family. Through the CSRF she has a telephone befriender who calls every week to catch up and also to partake in a quiz over the phone; something Lidia particularly looks forward to and enjoys. She is also part of the Civil Service Pensioners Alliance.
Moreover, Lidia keeps herself healthy during retirement by only eating organic foods and takes good care of herself. She previously had a carer but is now well enough to look after herself on her own.
The advice Lidia gives to those preparing for retirement is to exercise both your body and your brain. She recommends doing crosswords regularly from newspapers, something she calls the brain gym.