Essays, notes and dispatches from The Old Grey Thinker.
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My Library Card Opens More Than Any Work Pass Ever Did
A small piece of plastic and the freedom to be interested in something useless.
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I Escaped Performance Reviews. Then I Put One on My Wrist
Retirement removed the targets. I seem to have brought my own.
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The Last Day at Work Deserves More Than a Returned Pass
Leaving a role and understanding that you have left it aren’t always the same event.
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The Retirement Question We Keep Changing the Subject to Avoid
Not the illness. The practical arrangements nobody wants to discuss calmly.
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Retirement Gave Me a Map but No Destination
I know how to reach a port. Choosing one is proving rather more difficult.
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Nobody Warned Me About Becoming the Oldest Person in the Room
Kindness can feel surprisingly like a change in status.
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I Retired. My Habit of Putting Life Off Came With Me
The deadline moved. The excuse survived.
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I Could Command a Ship. Retirement Has Left Me Unable to Choose a Trowel
What happens to competence when the situation that needed it disappears.
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Retirement Gave Me My Attention Back. I’m Still Learning Where to Put It
The asset that never appeared on a pension statement.
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The Generation Gap Looks Different in the Supermarket Queue
A birth date tells you surprisingly little about who can afford the butter.
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I Retired From Office Theatre. Why Am I Still Performing for the Kettle?
Nobody expects an update. Some ancient part of me is preparing one anyway.
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Retirement’s Hardest Question Isn’t Financial. It’s What to Do on Tuesday
The empty page can look like failure or freedom. Sometimes it changes before the tea is cold.