Week One of a New Lifestyle

This week's post is something of a review of that to which I'm assigning the code 'PR#1', i.e. 'Phased Retirement, week 1'.  There have been a number of occasions when I have met someone at a time when I might have expected to be miles away, and have had to explain myself.  Usually, the justification begins with 'I'm retired this week,' which might seem a rather strange construction for the meaning people usually assume, when they reply, 'Oh, that's nice, I hope you'll find things to occupy your time,' or similar.  It's not a strange construction at all, however, when taken in the context of the meaning I seek to convey, so I embark on the essential detail.  The conversation runs something like this.  'I'm back at work on Monday.' 'Oh, you're on holiday then.' 'No. I'm in phased retirement.  It's a plan I've devised to prevent myself falling off a cliff.' I've already outlined this plan here and the amount of detail I then provide depends on how much time either of us has, and how close I relate to them.

So, what have I actually been doing?  There are three main areas that I'm hoping to develop in this next couple of years, leading into full-blown retirement towards the end of next year.  The first is a deeper exploration of our fair and pleasant land, to a greater degree than has been possible in the last thirteen years.  To this end I have purchased a motorhome, and am now gradually gathering all the 'stuff' that one has to put into it to make it a viable place to live in for two weeks or more at a time, along with getting to know how all the domestic paraphernalia works.  The second line is cooking for myself, in order to live somewhat more economically, and hopefully more healthily than the past unpredictable and ready-meals existence.  And the third one is to explore further the family history that has occupied me on-and-off for the last thirty years, perhaps(!) leading one day to compiling it into a book for my nearest and dearest.

The week has yielded some progress on each of these fronts.  There have been a number of comings and goings with the motorhome, the first of which was lodging her for a couple of days with the garage both to have a good mechanical check, and also to benefit from the experience of the proprietor who owned a much bigger motorhome for several years, and could offer not only advice but a few 'leftovers' stored above his office.  He also discovered signs of damp under one of the cushions, so a trip was made to the dealer where I bought it, to have this investigated further under the warranty.  This was reassuring, since the damp level was about half what he had expected to read on his damp-meter.  This would seem to indicate that there had, indeed, been some water ingress in the past, but that it had been sorted.  Further examination revealed the possible location, and to be safe, when the weather is better, he has suggested cleaning and re-sealing the site. To complete the week, today I have had the radio replaced.  The old one offered FM and a CD player, but the vandal-proof aerial fitted to the motorhome is very susceptible to interference.  The new, DAB-equipped radio by-passes the interference with its own aerial.

When it comes to cooking, I keep finding things my present kitchen is short of.  Yes, I did cook in the past, but not 'properly', and during recent years, when life has been so unpredictable, I gave away many of the things that were 'cluttering up' my kitchen, so I'm now having to replace them.  I've also started collecting recipe books - though time alone will tell whether I'll benefit from the collection!

A few weeks ago, my attention was drawn to two obituary notices in my former local paper, the subjects of which bore two familiar names from my ancestors.  A quick check revealed a distant link to one, but the other proved more elusive.  After following the name - Brickham, which is fairly uncommon but, I found, easily confused with Briskham, or Buckham - through all the censuses from 1841 to 1911, I now have a couple of sketched family trees, but establishing a link between them and my own is somewhat more difficult.  It's fortunate that many Norfolk parish registers are viewable on line, but it's a long trawl, even so.

And how have I felt about being retired, albeit only temporarily at present? I've experienced a variety of emotions.  I've been busy, as the previous paragraphs will confirm; I've felt thorough, and as a result, satisfied, catching myself sorting stuff out when I discover a mess, rather than simply parking the idea as something to do 'one day'.  At other times I've found myself not actually bored, but rather lacking in focus, unable to get on with what I'd like to, frustrated by the weather.

Now, with the onset of a 'normal' weekend, and work gear already prepared, I'm beginning to build up a list of things that I shall be attempting to fit into PR#2 in a few weeks' time.