Carlie Newman: forming connections around the world

How did you first get into organising trips?

I was the founding director of the Greater London Forum for Older People (GLF) from 1988 until I retired in 2002. I organised popular trips to the European Parliament - we went there every year. 

When I left, I was regularly asked about the trips, which is why I set up TOFF. We took people to Europe and the European Parliament and then we expanded it to visit many other countries. 

What visits work for your group?

I’ve always taken the group abroad with our trips. We’ve been on long haul visits to South Africa, India, Russia, Vietnam and Cambodia. We took coaches around Europe, and we have also done a river cruise.

All of them were abroad because in Greater London the pensioners have a free travel pass after the age of 60, so they can visit places around the UK by themselves.

With many of our group members now in their 80s, going abroad becomes more of a challenge, so I am planning a holiday to Wales. I would like to do more abroad because people always want to do it, but I want to see how our Wales trip goes first.

What makes your trips different?

They’re very educational, especially when we went to the European Parliament at the beginning. In a way a lot of that has remained. We used to meet with a representative from the government or the local government, like in Russia, where they spoke to us about their work with older people. So, it’s cultural and educational as well as just a light-hearted holiday.

I like to go around and talk to everyone each morning on the visit, and see how people are getting on. At the end of the itinerary I organise a group meal at a local restaurant and we have a prize-giving evening. The awards are very simple for things like ‘the friendliest’ and ‘the one who asked the most questions’.

What stands out as your most memorable trip?

So many have been really excellent, but South Africa was lovely. We went on the Garden Route, which runs through lots of very interesting places, including different townships.

Some of us visited a school and orphanage and the men from our group visited a bar. My husband started talking to one of the locals about football and they became good friends. We explored lots of different parts of South Africa, including Nelson Mandela’s prison at Robben Island, where we were given a tour by someone who had been in custody with Mandela himself.

What motivates you as a GTO?

In the early days, I remember one of the group crying with happiness as it was something she never thought she would do again after the passing of her husband. I try to make them feel as welcome as possible.

I really enjoy it, and several of them are happy to come time and time again because there is a friendly group to go with. I’m always really happy if they’re happy.

What’s the best thing you have learned in your time as an organiser?

Make sure nobody is left alone unless they want to be because people come on a group holiday to be with different people. If they wanted to go by themselves, they would just organise it on their own.

It’s important for you to engage with people. Day trips and tours are fine because we go together, but it can be very difficult to eat by yourself on a short break, so I always make sure that people are sitting together if we’re not given one big table.