The Retirement Thread

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GM

Legendary Member
Have a lovely break, GM. It's a great part of the world - the Prof and I were there exactly 12 months ago!!

Thanks Rocky, Yes it's a nice area. We're here with my 4 brothers and wives, each year we try to take our youngest brother 59 who is in residential care away for a break. The last couple years have been impossible so this break is good for all of us.
Handy having the Brompton with me for the early pootles while the rest are still in bed. :okay:
 

gavroche

Getting old but not past it
Location
North Wales
Salut tout le monde. Been busy again today removing some concrete border and preparing the ground for gravel coming on Monday morning.
Cycling is taking a back step at the moment as doing building work at my stepdaughter's and shoveling two tons of gravel on Monday is taking its stoll on my will power to go out on the bike.
Last time I had a ride was last Tuesday and it seems a long time ago now.
By the way, have you noticed I have said " preparing" and not the fashionable "preping" that every body seems to use nowadays, which annoys me.
@Drago , I am looking forward to seeing the photos of Bruce settling in his new home and family.
 
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ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
I nipped out for a short ride this afternoon. I am (unfortunately!) quite used to seeing fly-tipped building/household waste on the verges of local country lanes, but on today's ride was the first time that I have seen it in the town itself!

I can't believe that anybody would do it when they might be spotted, so some toe-rag must have pulled up in the middle of the night to dump the waste! :cursing:
 
Hi all

Just got an email about a class reunion - is is 50 years since we started at 'big school"
but the plans have been scuppered because the 'Old Boys' association have postponed the event we were planning to attend due to Covid etc

so we may go ahead and do a small one on our own - there will probably be about 10 of us rather than a 'whole school' thing that could be over 100 or more

As you may have spotted by the 'Old Boys' bit - it was an Independent school :eek: - nothing at all like Eton but still
Anyway those that have responded come to about 10
the year group was just over 100
and - looking at the people - rather a lot of them (i.e. all but me) have been rather successful - one is even a Sir

Basically none of my group at school - but then I was in the bottom set (OK I was top of it but all the same)
so no-one has responded to the idea who hasn't done very well for themselves

Now - I am really proud of my several careers - I consider that I did damn well in a lot of difficult situations and could have earned a lot more money but I stayed where I was respected and could do a good job
Including as a teacher in a 'difficult' school - very proud of that!

so if someone with loads of money or titles wants to talk down to me it won't work - and I can be an awkward bugger at time anyway

but these people who have responded - I knew most of them quite well at school - not in 'my group' but I knew them and they are/were nice people

I was just wondering - you lot have been out of school for a load of years - have you had reunions and who turned up
and how did it go??
 

BoldonLad

Not part of the Elite
Location
South Tyneside
At 74, been out of school for more than a year or two.

Reunions have been arranged, but, I have never attended, I am a “look forward, not back” sort of person, although, to be fair, there is more back than forward, now ;)

One of my drinking pals is an avid reunion attendee, both school and works. It is beginning to depress him now, as each year passes, fewer attendees.

Each to their own of course.
 
Also 74 and went to school reunions 14 years ago and 4 years ago. Not full school reunions but year group reunions.

I was a bit unsure about going but am glad that I did. I really enjoyed my school days and, as a year group that stuck together for seven years, more if you count the group that also went to the same primary school, we got on really well. The really great thing was that we all got on just the same as adults, even kidding each other as we did at school, even though I hadn't seen most of them since the 1960s. There were one or two that I didn't really get on with at school and I wasn't that keen on them as old blokes.

I don't think it's about looking forward not back as it is quite easy to do both. My personality and beliefs started to develop back in those days and I can celebrate the good times I had, plus learn from the bad and hope that I can continue the development for a few years yet.

It was a bit sad that two of my good friends from those days died between the two reunions, but, as my father told me when he was 89, he had lost far more people than he still knew.
 
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PaulSB

Squire
@ebikeerwidnes from my year group a few are still in touch with each other. I with one person, he with 2-3 others etc.

During lockdown a Zoom reunion was instigated and 12-15 of us would "meet" for a chat every three months. It's 49 years since many of us spoke. We're all meeting up on November 7th for what I think will be a very easy and flowing day. The Zoom meetings gave us the chance to get to know each other a little which I feel will take away any awkwardness when we meet face to face in about 6 weeks.
 

PaulSB

Squire
The Red Arrows over Chorley today. The town hosted the Speakers from the G7 countries at Astley Hall. The fly past was a part of the celebrations.

609885
 

classic33

Leg End Member
Never went to the last reunion, before they turned the school into a TV set." The organiser's wanted £75 from everyone who'd be there.

Just over a 100 turned up on the night, from a school that had as many as 1,800 pupils each year. I think two turned up that were there in the five years I was.
One in my class was last heard off as a Doctor at Great Ormond Street Hospital, another was involved in research, some secret. Both as down to earth as when they were at school. Another was killed in a motor accident two years after leaving school.

*In turning it into a TV studio, they knocked my metalwork room down!
That's just not fair! There's many memories in those buildings.

The only other reunion I'm aware off, one particular year only, ended up with a few being arrested after a drink too many in a town center pub/nightclub.
 
D

Deleted member 1258

Guest
I've completely lost contact with the people I went to school with, I've been in Coventry since 1973, I went to school in Kent, If I was contacted and asked to go to a reunion I'd turn it down, same with a works reunion.
 
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