I am not a number! I am a free (wo)man!

I loved The Prisoner, a psychological drama filmed and first broadcast in the late 1960s. When we were students in the early 1980s, Channel 4 started showing it again and I’d go round to 87 Brighton Grove to watch it with my mates who had a telly. A few years later, I went to Portmeirion and loved it. Seemed a bit like a pilgrimage.

So I have retired. It’s such a weird thing to say. And I am still trying to work out whether I have actually retired. Or whether by saying it out loud enough times and to a number of people, it will seem more realistic.

Having been a long termer in most of my jobs, the last 18 months have been quite challenging. I seemed to have worked at two firms which are at opposite ends of the spectrum. I guess joining a firm where you are just a number when you log on should have been an early red flag. A tiny cog in an enormous machine just wasn’t my bag. In The Prisoner, Patrick McGoohan plays Number Six, a British intelligence officer who resigns from his job and while packing for his holiday, is drugged and transported to The Village. He spends every episode trying to escape, and arguing with Number Two. Enough said.

But happily that is all in the past. Unlike Number Six, I have escaped. I hadn’t planned that sort of ending to my almost 40 years of corporate life. Which is why I am still thinking that I am not 100% done. Maybe my SA pen might come out in a new way at some point. Never say never!

As Nina would say, I’m feeling good

A long-time colleague who has also retired told me to commit to retirement. It’s a bold statement but I do like it.

My first week of retirement was the best week I had had for a very long time (besides the recent holidays). The sun came out and stayed out all week. My parking ticket got cancelled as the authorities agreed with me that I had not contravened the parking rules (I had paid and was parked in an electric car spot in my etron) and the Parking Enforcement operative had been over-zealous. Always challenge, that’s my mantra. I went to Pilates a few times, and yoga a few times and my step count grew enormously. I started to remember what a life without stress feels like. And the week ended with a meal in the garden with some lovely mates where we sat out until late in the evening round the fire. These moments are very precious and fill my soul with happiness.

My good friend John even wrote me a poem. It is marvellous. Thank you, John.

PS. I had to embargo this blog for a few weeks and it has been almost two months since I wrote the above. It feels like a lifetime ago.

The biggest change has been my concept of time. When you are working full time, every moment of your non-work time is very precious. When you are no longer working, the luxury of having all the time is incredible. I have time. No need to rush around. The traffic light is red – no problem! It will turn green at some point. On my recent road trip with Bert, we had an itinerary. But it was loose enough not to feel any stress. And we arrived at the right hotel on the right day.

I love travelling to new places. I feel some big trips brewing and perhaps travelling in new ways. There is the adage ‘travel broadens the mind’ but I would add that ‘time broadens the mind’ too. Friends and family around the universe, I may be popping in for a cuppa.

Be seeing you!