Hi everyone..... I am back!

I am now semi retired. It was all rather sudden and I am still reeling with the shock.

About a month ago there was a rumour at work that the option of early voluntary redundancy was on the cards, so I made some enquires, weighed up all the financial aspects and I came to the conclusion that if no more deals were on offer and I worked until I was 60 and then retired I would actually be worse off than to take the offer of redundancy.

So after some advice from a multitude of sources, I ticked the box and applied. I suppose in my heart of hearts I thought I would be turned down. I was surprised when they accepted.

The most frightening thing for me is the 60% reduction in my income. On the face of it there is a huge gulf between what I was earning and what my income is now. I do intend to do some part time / temporary work mainly over winter to pay for extras like holidays etc and I am still capable if earning if I really need to. So I suppose things are not as bleak as I keep thinking.

To suddenly stop work after 39 years at the same company is a pretty major life change !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lots more to come later.