ABSTRACT
The last three years have been pretty good. If I don’t work, my annual income is about £13,000, made up of my teachers’ pension (with a hefty reduction because I took early retirement) and a little income from savings. The mortgage is paid off now, and both my daughters are well into university, so basic living (and even being able to attend most of Ebsfleet Rangers matches – sad but true!) is not really a problem. But I decided it would be silly to settle for just basic living at the age of 56, and so I’ve worked pretty regularly when not on a trip – like my stay in Australia last year – or visiting friends and family in the UK. I completed a basic EFL qualification, and so far have had two stints using it, in Shanghai and Damascus. The money isn’t great, but is enough to make the experience of living and working in new environments relaxed and enjoyable. When at home, I’ve worked as a casual delivery driver, a painter/decorator, a greeter of coach and car arrivals at a huge pleasure park, and also as a carer on a fixed-term contract for a local voluntary organisation. As a result of all this activity, since retirement I’ve felt quite comfortably off, have never been bored or at a loose end, and have lived a stress-free life with real health benefits in comparison with the later years of my teaching career.
