Retirement And A New Beginning

[andyg]

Well that's it, I've handed in my security passes my locker keys and been officially logged out of the company's IT systems ( some of my ex work colleagues would suggest I should never of been allowed anywhere near them in the 1st place ) lol. It's quite daunting to be honest, I don't have to set my 4am alarm call anymore. No Christmas working no bankholiday weekend working etc etc. I feel the same way I did when I left the army all them years ago a little bit lost. I'm not one for DIY so I don't have a shed full of tools etc, but I love my golf and I will re new my season ticket for my beloved West ham next season. I've every intention of spending as much time as I can afloat next year I already have two weeks and a long weekend booked, I'm starting to look at brokerage sites for a boat and I'm going to explore syndicate boats as well. So could end up being an expensive 22 for me lol. I'm going to meet my son and daughter in a bit for a drink and get our well over due family Christmas going. Oh and the grandchildren, I missed so much of my sons Sunday football due to work over the years I've every intention of supporting both my grandson's on Sundays mornings come rain or shine. So merry Christmas dear members enjoy your Christmas and let's all hope for a much better 2022.

[Karizma]

Nice one Andy, sounds as though you've already filled most of your days (shame about West Ham ).

I've also given notice that I will be retiring at the end of March 22 , but I guess I've done it the other way round - after hiring a boat in August last year (from HW), it brought back so many good memories from when my parents owned a boat, that we started looking round for our own craft and ended up buying Karizma in Dec 2020 just before the lockdown.

We now cant spend as much time as we would like on her because of work, so have decided to finish.

As you say, its quite a scary feeling (and I'm not even there yet), but they do say 'you only live once' and 'you are along time dead', so here's to 2022 .

[CeePee1952]

15 minutes ago, andyg said:

Well that's it, I've handed in my security passes my locker keys and been officially logged out of the company's IT systems ( some of my ex work colleagues would suggest I should never of been allowed anywhere near them in the 1st place ) lol. It's quite daunting to be honest, I don't have to set my 4am alarm call anymore. No Christmas working no bankholiday weekend working etc etc. I feel the same way I did when I left the army all them years ago a little bit lost. I'm not one for DIY so I don't have a shed full of tools etc, but I love my golf and I will re new my season ticket for my beloved West ham next season. I've every intention of spending as much time as I can afloat next year I already have two weeks and a long weekend booked, I'm starting to look at brokerage sites for a boat and I'm going to explore syndicate boats as well. So could end up being an expensive 22 for me lol. I'm going to meet my son and daughter in a bit for a drink and get our well over due family Christmas going. Oh and the grandchildren, I missed so much of my sons Sunday football due to work over the years I've every intention of supporting both my grandson's on Sundays mornings come rain or shine. So merry Christmas dear members enjoy your Christmas and let's all hope for a much better 2022.

Welcome to the world of "not much time to spare now I've retired"!! Been retired 23 months from my civilian employment and haven't stopped DIY'ing since!    I agree about feeling the same way when leaving the army, I was the same after 23 years service and although I was employed after only a couple of months of "gardening leave", It took me ages to get used to a different way of life.  I'm lucky in that we have a double garage (with only my Triumph Spitfire in it) and I have built up a steady inventory of tools and equipment over the years (more so since the pandemic started).  Brenda has kept me busy more or less full time, redecorating the whole house, up cycling furniture and making various wooden items for the garden.  I'm not a football fan or golf enthusiast and if anything (and I can find the time!), I might get back into coarse fishing again.  All the best for what the future brings you Andy, as the saying goes - "where did I find the time to work"!! 

Chris

[Aboattime]

Well done Andy, im semi retired, and like you a Hammer season ticket holder in the Billy Bonds stand. Enjoy your retirement and times afloat on the broads.COYI .

[andyg]

6 minutes ago, Aboattime said:

Well done Andy, im semi retired, and like you a Hammer season ticket holder in the Billy Bonds stand. Enjoy your retirement and times afloat on the broads.COYI .

Clearly a man of taste...COYI 

[SteveO]

Well done Andy! I retired 5 years ago at the age of 63 from a job that involved a lot of pressure to meet deadlines. It took me about 18 months to slow down and realise that you don't need to do everything every day.  As well as the boat, I have many hobbies and interests so have no problem keeping myself as busy as I want to be.  It sounds as though you have lots of good things lined up. Enjoy!

[andyg]

7 minutes ago, SteveO said:

Well done Andy! I retired 5 years ago at the age of 63 from a job that involved a lot of pressure to meet deadlines. It took me about 18 months to slow down and realise that you don't need to do everything every day.  As well as the boat, I have many hobbies and interests so have no problem keeping myself as busy as I want to be.  It sounds as though you have lots of good things lined up. Enjoy!

Cheers, I want to try my hand at outdoor bowls. I really enjoy watching it on TV. I've tried talking the wife into a trip to potters the watch the bowls but sadly she not having any of it lol. But I intend to keep reasonably busy,  I think my daughter has some plans on my time as well. 

[Chelsea14Ian]

We retired  in March  me Marina  in June.The chap I used to do the Poppy appeal  told me don't worry when you retire you will wounder how you had time for work.Sure enough  that's true your days soon fill up.With covid and retirement  which is almost two years now time flys.Just work out what you want to do.Enjoy your retirement  and Christmas. Ian.

[Mouldy]

Good luck with your retirement Andy!!  It was kind of pushed onto me in August last year, restructuring at work allegedly due to COVID.  At the age of 64, I certainly wasn’t going to go back to driving for the last eighteen months of my working life, so we brought our plans forward, sold our house in Northampton and bought a bungalow in Norfolk.

We knew it needed work and it hasn’t disappointed.  I hate decorating at the best of times, but it seems like a full time job at the moment.  Luckily, the wife has allowed me a few days off over Christmas, but I’ve  been confined to the kitchen now, prepping for tomorrow.  There is a new bottle of Jack Daniels that will be given a good seeing to after Christmas dinner to compensate!! 😁

Sorry to hear about West Ham!  We all have a cross to bear!!😂

Enjoy it!  Someone said to me ‘you’re a long time dead’ and it’s very true.  One thing that should be clear to all of us after the last two years is that you never know what’s round the corner.  Take your opportunity with both hands and make the most of it!!

[grendel]

good luck to you, I only have about 4 or 5 years left, but my boss has already said i am not allowed to retire, I have however finished work for this year, i have until the 4th to get stuff done, that includes a draw bar for the MT3 collets I got for the lathe, they are 12mm thread, so a section of allthread will do for a start, I think I will start out with a walk in the woods shortly, I need to get out of the hose for a bit, then it will be preparations for christmas day, I have a 3 bird roast, a ham joint and a beef joint all require cooking and eating over the next few weeks, so thats something to look forward to.

Hve a productive retirement

 

[LizG]

Enjoy! I gave up my part time job in May - I used to work on a Thursday and Friday.  I was wondering why I am so up to date with the Christmas and cooking prep for tomorrow!!! I'm not working!!!

Liz

[SwanR]

So interesting to read this thread. I’m hanging on to work perhaps a few more years. I don’t really want to give it up yet but I definitely don’t feel as committed to it as I used to  

Happy retirement to you Andy. 

[andyg]

I'm lucky I guess  we've all had a dreadful couple of years, I worked ( sounds weird saying that ) for a large food retailer in our logistics department at our biggest UK depot. To say the last two years have been challenging is a complete understatement and my wife, well I don't even know where to start with her. My beautiful fun loving caring wife is a shadow of her self after two years of 70 hrs a week working as a nurse for the NHS. So yep we are lucky enough to be financially sound so it's time to start enjoying ourselves. She leaves her role in January. Ten pound says after she re charges her batteries she will go back in one form or another, it's in her blood. But thanks for the kind comments and hopefully we will be able to come along to one of the future forum meets and put some names to faces. Take care everyone ❤ 

[ZimbiIV]

Retirement is not what it is cracked up to be!

For a start you lose all your holiday entitlement.

Takes about 2 years to realise you can finish that urgent task later,  work won't have to come first.

Enjoy and remember others do still work so cannot play when you can.

paul

[YnysMon]

I have been contemplating retirement these past couple of months. There are changes afoot with our pension scheme, and if I wanted to get out before that happened I would have had to put in my resignation by today. But I haven't, so that's me working for the next few years I guess.

The past two and a half years have been interesting though. I've been fortunate to have been offered secondments to temporary roles. The latest one was a bit scary for the first couple of months, as there was so much to learn. However, they do say a change is as good as a rest.

[Ray]

Best wishes for a long and happy retirement Andy... best thing I ever did 👍

[HEM]

I retired (employer gave me no option) at the end of January 2018 having reached the age where I could retire without loss of (German) pension - in my case that was 65 1/2.  I'd been working from home office for about the past 15 years in remote global support for a major computer manufacturer.  Worked up to the last evening.  A phone call with my manager (located in Silicon Valley) and that was it.

Some time before an elderly guy said the equivalent of "you dont want to retire in Winter - you will fall into a back hole".  Far from it.  Over the next few days packing up my company desktop to be sent of to German head office, give the desk a clean & set up my own PC in its place.  Completed the task of sorting a patchwork of pensions (UK & German).

No time for "black holes" - I'm involved in organising the sport of gliding at all levels - club, national & international.
Being at the wrong place at the wrong time I got assigned the unpaid job of "Claims Officer" which means I have to examine the claims from German Aeroclub pilots for records - both world records (which then get passed onto the FAI for final examination) and national.  I suppose it was because the rules for these (i.e. the Sporting Code) are written in English and so I was deemed best person for the task.

Then (or was it beforehand?) I was nominated to join the IGC Sporting Code Committee - the international team that maintains the rules for the Sport of gliding.   All work is remote (e-mail); I have only once met one other member of the team.  Since our committee chairman (who resides in the UK) is not able to travel on health grounds I've been representing the Sporting Code Committee at the annual Plenary Meetings of the IGC since 2018.  Its most interesting to meet the delegates from various gliding nations around the world.  Its been suggested that I should become chairman of the committee but I feel that that position should be taken by someone who will do the job for a number of years & at my age that is not going to happen.  Trouble is - some team members are older than I am!

The downside is that I'm not had been able to do much actual flying - due to a combination of the above work and poor weather (restrictions at times due to Covid-19 has not helped either).

[Broads01]

Good luck for your retirement, Andy. Happy boat hunting. You mentioned syndicates and I see there's a Moonlight Shadow share being advertised. I might have been tempted myself if I didn't already have three hires booked for next year.

[SANTED]

Go for it Andyg,I took early retirement  and I agree with Ray “Best thing I ever did”: 

Enjoy every moment of retirement they can’t take it back 

TED 

[andyg]

48 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

Good luck for your retirement, Andy. Happy boat hunting. You mentioned syndicates and I see there's a Moonlight Shadow share being advertised. I might have been tempted myself if I didn't already have three hires booked for next year.

Hi Simon, no idea why but I already thought you were a syndicate member. I want to get my brother involved and my youngest sister and husband are very keen on the idea of ownership. So it won't be a impulse thing. 2nd hand boat prices are just a tad to hot at the moment. I have had a conversation with a yard owner regarding a particular boat we like, but they are holding onto to it for 22. So we will see what the spring brings. 

[Broads01]

16 minutes ago, andyg said:

Hi Simon, no idea why but I already thought you were a syndicate member. I want to get my brother involved and my youngest sister and husband are very keen on the idea of ownership. So it won't be a impulse thing. 2nd hand boat prices are just a tad to hot at the moment. I have had a conversation with a yard owner regarding a particular boat we like, but they are holding onto to it for 22. So we will see what the spring brings. 

Probably because I was discussing it on here recently but no, I haven't yet quite been tempted enough to go for it. Yes, of course it's a huge decision for you. The trouble is until you own a boat you'll just have to keep hiring. What a trauma that will be.

[ExSurveyor]

I retired effectively in March 2020 at 60. I hadn't planned a date other than by the time I was 60 something.

 Lockdown accelerated the process but made early retirement not seem real as lots of people were suddenly also at home and we couldn't go out.

Following lockdown I decided that due to staff and materials shortages it would be nigh on impossible to trade effectively and offer the level of service we had always provided.

After 35 years I shut the company down and paid out handsome redundancy payments. Fortunately all staff found new jobs within a couple of weeks.

It took me a year to understand I didn't need to go to work again.

But,

It was the best decision I have made.

Andy, I hope you enjoy a long retirement.

[ZimbiIV]

Main to rememder is you have retired from work NOT life!

paul

[grounded]

10 hours ago, CeePee1952 said:

with only my Triumph Spitfire in it

What model would that be? Many moons ago I built my wife Lyn a Mk3 from a complete write off. She loved that car (mine was a Vitesse Mk2 convertible). I retired a few years ago after 47 years in health services in 2 hemispheres and am now enjoying the 3 gs - grandkids, golf and gardening. In fact I am off to play a few holes on a very warm and sunny New Zealand morning. Looking forward to our 50th wedding anniversary on Swan Rapture - Covid and crazy governments permitting.

Have a happy one folks.

Chris

[Chelsea14Ian]

There's lots of Voluntary work,charities are always  looking for help.With your wife's nursing  training, I'm sure she could help,because I think covid will be with us for a few years.

PS are you sure you don't want to support  a good time,Chelsea!. Ian.