I seem to remember that a while ago I promised I would write about the good, the bad and the ugly* (I think there was a Les Dawson joke about ugly – see end) of retirement. The more perspicacious among you will realise that this weighs the odds two to one in favour of the…
Category: Well being
The Spirit of the Age – of retirement
In 1951, I was 3 years old. That’s the reason or at least the connection to why I’m writing a blog about retirement – I’m 66. According to a programme on TV (Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds) the other night the year 1951 had great significance in the city of New York. This was, reportedly, the year…
Do I worry more now I’m retired?
When my family and I lived in New Zealand 17 years ago there was an acclaimed film about a dysfunctional Maori family called Once There Were Warriors. An excellent movie, although very hard going, it had, as a subtext, the loss of mana experienced by Maori as they put aside their warrior status. Perhaps a…
Retirement and Motorway Madness?
I mean obviously I’m not losing my mind in retirement but I have to say I never realised a car needed an aerial to function but it is clearly the case because the day after losing the aerial in the car wash the same car broke down (I just can’t go on, it’s too hot,…
What will your retirement really be like?
A recent piece of research commissioned by The Skipton Building Society http://ow.ly/zXGyC suggested that the majority of British workers viewed retirement as a fundamentally positive experience. It is not clear from the report how many of the 2000 respondents are already retired rather than anticipating retirement. I suspect from the responses that most of the sample…
The strange case of the missing aerial
I had worried that I might run out of things to write about as my retirement settled into more predictable patterns and routines. I need not have worried, not so far at least. There’s always stuff going on particularly now I have started to focus on what appears at times to be encroaching senility. Certainly…
Retirement Groups and the after-life
I had intended to post a more serious blog today but, because we’ve been working in the vineyard, I haven’t had time to finish it so here is a slightly less serious effort. I’ll post the serious one next time. Excuse the title but this was the ‘big one’ or so I was told. Yes…
Message from New Zealand : who needs enemies with …
I was skyping a friend in New Zealand, never let it be said that, in retirement, I don’t keep up with technology. The fact that it has taken me this long to try out this form of newness might belie that statement but, here I was this morning, skyping with the best of them. It…
A weekend away but not for me
Some things don’t entirely change in retirement. Every year about this time Mrs Summerhouse goes away for a weekend with her sisters – there are four of them. This was the weekend just gone. This was, however, the first time she had gone away and left me with the pups and the first one as…
So how was that for you?
I know you’ll be on tenter hooks wondering how our trip into Leeds to witness the historic start of The Tour de Yorkshire, Tour de Yorkshire, Tour de Yorkshire went. So I’m going to take the unprecedented step of publishing a follow-up blog the day after the first one. I wasn’t keen on going at…