Day 1 - July 11th, 2018
About two years ago I started seriously thinking about my
retirement years that were very quickly coming nearer (albeit it not my
well earned elderly pension, which is now still four years away!).
For eight years I had been living on my own in a very beautiful, very large renovated Barn, which was also costing a fortune in mortgage, bills and general upkeep. I was working so many hours to pay for it that I had no time to enjoy it so I made a concerted effort to get it sold. I knew that I wouldn't have enough cash left from the equity to buy elsewhere so knew I had to rent, but where? and what would I then do?
Being about 40 miles away from all my family, I hadn't seen much off them whilst living in the Midlands so after fleetingly playing with the idea of moving to the coast, especially the part of Cornwall that I dearly love, I decided that wasn't fair on my family and settled on resettling back in my birth place of Bedford.
The Barn was sold and I found a nice cosy semi to rent just round the corner from where I was brought up in Elstow on outskirts of Bedford. I moved in on 1st February and it immediately felt like I was 'home'.
Work wise I had consciously let my caseload of Apprenticeship learners dwindle as the learners had passed their qualifications for two reasons:
1) I didn't agree with the new format of assessment that was now replacing what I had been training and assessing with, and
2) I felt that after working 47 years, usually well over the 'normal' 40 hours a week I had earnt my free time!!!
All sounds well thought out and planned, I hear you thinking! Well actually it wasn't! What I hadn't thought about was what I was going to do with all this new found free time. Work has taken up so much of my life that I never had time for hobbies or catching up with friends.
So, now a new challenge begins!
It's early July and I really need to get my backside of the sofa (or sunbed as it's been for the last few glorious weeks), put the wine bottle down and actually DO something!
Watch this space!
For eight years I had been living on my own in a very beautiful, very large renovated Barn, which was also costing a fortune in mortgage, bills and general upkeep. I was working so many hours to pay for it that I had no time to enjoy it so I made a concerted effort to get it sold. I knew that I wouldn't have enough cash left from the equity to buy elsewhere so knew I had to rent, but where? and what would I then do?
Being about 40 miles away from all my family, I hadn't seen much off them whilst living in the Midlands so after fleetingly playing with the idea of moving to the coast, especially the part of Cornwall that I dearly love, I decided that wasn't fair on my family and settled on resettling back in my birth place of Bedford.
The Barn was sold and I found a nice cosy semi to rent just round the corner from where I was brought up in Elstow on outskirts of Bedford. I moved in on 1st February and it immediately felt like I was 'home'.
Work wise I had consciously let my caseload of Apprenticeship learners dwindle as the learners had passed their qualifications for two reasons:
1) I didn't agree with the new format of assessment that was now replacing what I had been training and assessing with, and
2) I felt that after working 47 years, usually well over the 'normal' 40 hours a week I had earnt my free time!!!
All sounds well thought out and planned, I hear you thinking! Well actually it wasn't! What I hadn't thought about was what I was going to do with all this new found free time. Work has taken up so much of my life that I never had time for hobbies or catching up with friends.
So, now a new challenge begins!
It's early July and I really need to get my backside of the sofa (or sunbed as it's been for the last few glorious weeks), put the wine bottle down and actually DO something!
Watch this space!
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