What is 45 Plus Not Grumpy?
45 Plus Not Grumpy is a meet up service for those of us who are 45 and over. I started it to create an opportunity for like-minded people to come together and connect across London and the surrounding areas. As we have grown in numbers in the last seven years, we now offer sociable, fun and enriching day and evening events all over the UK, as well as group holidays abroad. We hope you will join us.
How did 45 Plus Not Grumpy start?
I first came up with the idea of 45 Plus Not Grumpy in 2013, after I had made the decision to move to London. Coming from beautiful Dorset, where I cared for my father after sadly losing my mother, I had hoped London would offer a fresh start. I had this idealised vision that it would be one big adventure, with new found friends and fun things to do.
As I left Dorset, my father, who was wonderfully supportive, said, ‘Just be careful Dee, London can be one of the loneliest places on the planet’.
As anyone does when they have an idea in their head, I ignored this and jumped straight in, renting a cozy little place on the Isle of Dogs. It didn’t take long for me to experience exactly what my father had warned me about, loneliness.
I started joining various groups across London, on the advice of my daughter, in the hope to meet like-minded people. There were very few people my age and I can talk to anyone, as most of you already know, but the opportunity to connect with like-minded people through these events was not available.
One day, I left a walking tour and four people followed me. One of them said, ‘Dee, I wish there was something for us more 'mature' people... perhaps you could start your own group?’
So I did and 45 Plus Not Grumpy was born. Within one month, I had over 1,000 people join me on events throughout London.
What 45 Plus Not Grumpy offers:
From those early days back in 2013, 45 Plus Not Grumpy now has Leaders who organise events every day of the year throughout London, as well as over 30 annual holidays, within the UK and abroad.
The opportunities and event types are endless, from walking tours, gallery visits, river trips, historic houses, wine-tasting, swim events, recitals, theater evenings, dinners out, cycle rides and so much more.
How does 45 Plus Not Grumpy work?
From our extensive list of events and holidays, you choose what takes your fancy and sign up via our website. It is as simple as that.
Once you have signed up, we will send you all the information you need via email or post. We have a very detailed FAQ section on our website, and we are always on hand for additional questions that you may have.
For all of our events, we keep the numbers as low as possible, usually around 20 people. This is so that everyone has a chance to meet, chat and spend time with those who they connect with. You can join in as much or as little as you wish, nothing is obligatory. This is your time to do with what you like. But we can promise one thing, we are sure you will have a fantastic time.
Joining 45 Plus Not Grumpy
As a 45 Plus Not Grumpy Free Member you will be able to view and register for all events that are available to Free Members and the list is endless. Prices for events vary, but they are always written on the event page, with details of what is and isn’t included.
If you enjoy our services and you would like to upgrade, you can become a Gold Member of 45 Plus Not Grumpy.
As a Gold member you can enjoy exclusive Members' only functions, free entry to some of the events listed as well as online events and priority booking to our sell out events. You can get all of this for just £87 a year. That is less than £8 a month! For more details, click here: Gold Members.
Meet the team
Lits is a half Greek Cypriot, London born and bred, university-educated and ex-restaurateur of 20 years. After selling his restaurant he landed in Languedoc, southern France where he fell in love with the region so it was a natural progression to enter the world of wine. He is now a wine educator, tour organiser and guide. Last year he passed the Wine and Spirit Education Trust Diploma.
Our tour leader Zlatina was born and raised in Plovdiv, Bulgaria (European capital of culture for 2019). After graduating from an English Language school, she moved to Bourgas, on the Black sea coast and studied International Tourism and Management. Her passion for travelling brought her to London where she has been living for the past seven years. She currently organises tours from London to various locations in Europe.
Paul C leads walks between 8 and 12 miles in and around London. Paul has a passion for cycling and this year he successfully rode the London to Brighton run in the heat. His full time job is a gardener so he is rarely indoors and has a knack of leading walks with interesting and unusual routes.
David N spent nearly 30 years as a comedy writer/performer writing satire for BBC Radio 4, Channel 4, ITV and many others. During this time he was also an occasional broadcaster including on Radio 1 as part of the Breakfast team.
More recently he trained at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre to teach meditation and also spent 3 years at Syon House where he was a tour guide.
Barrie has been running his alternative London tours for over twelve years now and has built a reputation as one of the most popular guides in the city
If you want Tower Bridge or Buckingham Palace, this tour is not for you!
But if you like social history with stories and anecdotes, join one of his tours as his walks are full of them as well as getting to see areas you never noticed before.
I qualified as a Blue Badge guide in 2008 and since then have built up a repertoire of specialist walking tours , as well as guiding the main sites in London. My specialist walking tours are Jewish London, Secret Service London(MI5/MI6), The Blitz & WW2, Dickens, Beatles , RocknRoll and the old City/Square Mile.
My tastes and interests vary enormously from theatre (I'm an ex-actor), film, literature, some sports and all forms of music from classical to rock.
Having been born and bred in London I enjoy nothing more than continuing passing on my knowledge to the many visitors who come to this fascinating city.
In conclusion I would just like to say this: London is like an onion; no matter how many layers you strip away, there always seems to be another one..........
I have now retired as a computer specialist and mathematician working with architects on 3D design and 3D printing. I enjoy walking, photography, history studies and theatre.
Join the team
Interested in becoming a leader? Do you have a skill or a passion to share with us?
We are always looking for new leaders to join our team! If you’re interested please contact us with your information.