I never wanted to retire, I enjoyed my work & saw no real reason to stop, but then designing aeroplanes isn't really a job, it's a hobby people pay you to do.
Then I asked a woman I'd known for ten years or so if she'd like to go out to a few places - car events & aircraft museums - that sort of thing, she liked the idea & the past 18months or so have been wonderful, just really good fun. So in a rare burst of optimism back in January '24 I told the bosses I'd like to retire at the end of the year & so as I write, just after Christmas, this is me joining the ranks of the "economically inactive" (although I still seem to be paying tax & buying stuff, so that phrase seems a little off the mark to me).
Of course when I say retired - I mean from full time working, there's a rather interesting project coming up that I will go back for part time & short term, but basically my time is my own. The big fear was always boredom & loneliness, but as my girlfriend is an accomplished maker of things & something of an IT specialist, while I'm a maker of things with a mechanical bent, we should have no difficulty finding projects & indeed one of her Christmas presents from me is an alloy "Silvertop" Zetec cam cover to replace the plastic "blacktop" one on her kit car, so when she has decided how she would like it to be, there will be some painting & possibly 3D printing & machining to do.
There are of course projects I'd like to do on the Stylus, mostly centred around the interior, when I was refurbishing the car, I had a go at gluing on vinyl & it looked OK & has done a few years without peeling off (too much), but my girlfriend is also very good with fabrics, so with her help I can do better now. There's also some things I need to do around the house, but I shan't bore you with those, unless they involve car or plane parts - which now I come to think of it - they often do.
So yes, a whole new chapter is opening up - wish me luck!
