Retirement

[MrGongGong]

Because it is for most people not in the "creative arts" or "creative industries".
The alienation of labour is what turned some of us into anticapitalists.

OK

It is a choice (for most folks at least)

coz for lots of people it is , with undoable jobs, on rubbish money, and numpty, sociopathic bosses who trample all over peoples lives, misuse their talents, and generally screw the world up.

Since you ask.

My MD should be put in prison for the havoc he has wreaked on other peoples lives.

So why don't you leave and do something else?

Money isn't everything, neither is "job security"

[Nick Armstrong]

This thread could go downhill fast. Let's stick to good wishes for Alpie, yes?

[Flay]

This thread could go downhill fast. Let's stick to good wishes for Alpie, yes?

Well said, Calibs. Gongers can start another thread if he so wishes.

And I shall add my congratulations too. I feel certain that you will find far too many things to do to become idle or bored.

And you might get a chance to listen to all your Alpensinfonie CDs!

[Beef Oven!]

The great thing about retirement is no longer having to bow to some upstart doling down meaningless or unmeetable orders - and they were by far the majority ime - or serve mammon. You are your own person at last.

I never once gave an unmeetable order. You are doing your best to give upstarts a bad name.

[Don Petter]

This thread could go downhill fast. Let's stick to good wishes for Alpie, yes?

Hear, hear! (Though I did enjoy the subject of Tony's daughter's chest.)

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

best wishes for a long and happy time Eine Alpensinfonie with many hours of listening delights &c

[Dave2002]

best wishes for a long and happy time Eine Alpensinfonie with many hours of listening delights &c

and also perhaps playing delights .... Can we assume a serious interest in recorders?

Perhaps Eine Alpensinofnie and Tony could get together to play duets, and maybe invite Ross Winters along. I had to look up Ross Winters - interesting - http://www.conservatoire.bcu.ac.uk/p...s/ross-winters - with recordings such as http://open.spotify.com/track/10G9wwqekNyMXCjlUJQSVF

[Richard Tarleton]

And best wishes from me. I retired just over 2 years ago and haven't regretted it for a moment. The health benefits are enormous. I loved what I was doing, but achieving it had largely become a matter of sitting at my desk, sitting in a room somewhere else, or sitting in a car. Nowadays I am outdoors for part of every day, and able to spend as much of my time as I like on my interests. Organisational change was a constant background to work and I'm glad to be shot of that. Being free at last is very liberating.

[doversoul1]

You’ll soon find yourself thinking ‘how did I find the time to go to work?’

All the best.

[MrGongGong]

This thread could go downhill fast. Let's stick to good wishes for Alpie, yes?

I was sending good wishes,
but simply commenting that it seems a bit sad to me that so many people think that 'work' is some kind of penance foisted on them.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

and also perhaps playing delights .... Can we assume a serious interest in recorders?

Oboe mainly, though I've been collecting Grade 8s on other things, recorder being the next one.

Perhaps Eine Alpensinofnie and Tony could get together to play duets, and maybe invite Ross Winters along. I had to look up Ross Winters - interesting - http://www.conservatoire.bcu.ac.uk/p...s/ross-winters - with recordings such as http://open.spotify.com/track/10G9wwqekNyMXCjlUJQSVF

I'm very flattered, but I'm not in the same league as Tony.

[greenilex]

Yes, many congratulations from one who achieved early retirement in Camden more than fifteen years ago. It certainly does have health benefits - my last year or so was stressful - and voluntary work can be very enjoyable. Recently I read stories to a nursery class attended by one of my grandchildren and realised it was the first official teaching I had done since retirement.

[Ferretfancy]

I took early retirement from my BBC job, left on a thursday and began as an education volunteer at London Zoo the following day ( Good Friday) That was nearly twenty five years ago, and I'm still there every week. I didn't want to miss the feeling of being in a friendly group of colleagues, and volunteering provides that experience.
I've also made lots of new friends and there's always something to learn.

So, Alpensinfonie, climb new heights and have a very enjoyable retirement!

[gurnemanz]

Congratulations on retirement, Alpie. I know roughly how you feel, having also spent about 60 years getting up in the morning and going to an educational institution for the day. I went through a phrase of thinking this represented a rather limited existence, given that you only get one life (I'm not a Buddhist). I did at least teach at a fairly wide variety of institutions from German school and university to English private school, local comp and FE College.

[umslopogaas]

I retired early, at fifty seven, eight years ago. I had liked the job when I started, but was increasingly asked to do things I didnt want to do. I also didnt get on with the boss, or more accurately, he decided he didnt get on with me. So I sat down over the Christmas break, did some sums and decided I didnt need to work any more. I was slightly worried about what I would do with all the time on my hands, but it hasnt been a problem. I moved from my tiny flat to a house with a garden and a large workshop. The garden and various woodworking projects, plus the never ending demands of owning a house - there is always something that needs fixing - have kept me quite busy enough.

There is definitely no going back: you slow down, that's for sure. Out of the blue someone has just asked me to contribute a chapter to a book he is editing and I'm finding it quite a challenge. In fact the challenge is not the writing, I've done my bit easily enough, but I need contributions from colleagues and they are now scattered all over the globe. It would have been easy enough when we were all under one roof, but now I foresee endless pleading emails to extract the necessary text as the deadline looms. Still it keeps the brain active.