So this is a good place to tell you about a particular
retirement story. I've changed some details for
privacy but We've got Andy and we've got Pam.
Andy's due to retire. Let me tell you a bit about
Andy. He's due to retire after about 40 years
in logistics. He's the kind of guy who's a planner.
Loves a good spreadsheet. Proud, slightly stubborn,
but well -meaning. And his wife, Pam. A patient
lady. She's realistic. She works part -time still.
And she knows that Andy does tend to be a little
bit over -ambitious in his plans. So scenes start,
imagine it. They're in the pub. It's a bit of
a retirement do, nothing formal. And during the
evening, Andy pulls out a whiteboard from behind
the chair and an easel. Sticks it up in front
of everyone and starts sketching away. So he
does this sketch of... campervan. Right away,
Bessie above it. Now the most surprised person
in the room is Pam because she knew nothing about
his plans to buy a campervan. The group. He has
a couple of friends with him. They start to discuss
what his plans are. And what he plans to do,
he's going to do up the van, needs a little bit
of work. And they're going to go travelling,
him and Pam, around the UK. Pam's obviously really
happy about the fact that they're going to be
spending some time travelling. Little bit cautious
because she knows Andy can be a little bit over
-ambitious when he's doing this planning. But
the group, anyway, have a laugh and they contribute
to where they think Pam and Andy should travel
across the UK. A couple of them have been travelling
before in Caravan Park, so they know the ropes
and they pass on some good advice anyway. Next
morning, Arthur wakes up really early. He's generally
up at six o 'clock in the morning anyway. So
he enthusiastically runs out into the garden,
starts digging a massive trench for some pub
foundations at the back of the garden. One of
these extended summer houses, but full electrics,
the lot, big trench. Pam goes off to her part
-time work leaving Andy to his own devices pretty
much. So fast forward a couple of weeks and the
garden looks a bit like the sun. It has not stopped
raining since the day after he started digging
the trench. Bessie the campervan. is sitting
on the driveway because it failed its MOT and
it wasn't just a minor fail. It was a proper
refit needed. The whole underneath chassis was
rusted and the advice of the technician in the
garage was he should probably scrap it. But Andy's
laid his hopes on this and he's quite keen to
get in there and get this thing fixed. But I'll
be honest, two weeks in, and he was feeling a
bit down. He was questioning his retirement,
questioning his plans. Pam was, you know, a little
bit frustrated, but, you know, her main emotion
was feeling really sorry for Andy and the position
he'd gone in. You know, he'd been probably took
on a bit too much. at the same time really. So
he's having to go fixing his campervan himself
and he ends up in a bit of a mess and things
are gradually getting worse. So next day he's
in the pub in the afternoon and he walks in His
old workmates, they're all still at work. He
was the first to retire. And he realises at that
point he's sitting in an empty pub and although
he's got a lot to do, he's got nothing that he
particularly wants to do. The garden's a soggy
mess. The van doesn't feel achievable within
his skill sets. He looks back at his spreadsheet,
thought he was so keen on that. Nothing seems
to add up anymore for Andy. He's on the verge,
really, of a little bit of depression, to be
honest. Anyway, it continues to rain. The garden
becomes an absolute trench. Pam comes home and
actually finds... And they're sitting at the
kitchen table staring blankly at a mug of tea.
The retirement dream for him has fallen apart
and he's pretty much in despair by this point.
Well, Pam, ever the optimist, she's been in the
library and she's heard about a meet -up for
newly retired. And Andy's not keen at all, to
be honest. He's newly into retirement. The last
thing he wants to do is go and commiserate with
some other retirees about how things have gone
wrong and why they should all probably stay at
work. But he goes anyway. Pam pretty much insists
that. He gets out of the house and does something.
So he turns up at the coffee morning. When he
arrives, he meets Sunita and she runs the event.
Really, really warming. And he finds a seat and
sits next to a guy called Dave. And Dave hears
about Andy's plight about the campervan's chassis
rusting. mentions that he actually uh used to
work as a mechanic so a bit of a chippy as well
so good woodwork and he says you know i'll pop
around we'll have a look at this fan together
refuses any payments i'm not looking just you
know of interest want to come see around see
what your project is next day anyway dave turns
up at arthur's house with his toolbox and a couple
of other members of the group, they assess the
damage, look at the van, assess what's going
on in the garden. And over the next few weeks,
quite a few of the community group all come and
lend a bit of a hand. Andy's good with logistics,
so he's able to organise this local tool -sharing
library Someone's got a mower, someone's got
a hedge cutter, someone's got some drill equipment
and they actually pool their resources as part
of this community and feel that they're giving
a bit back as well. Now Dave helps to actually
weld the camper van and also gets a couple of
guys in. to lay down the deck in Friars Keepers
Garden Pub. Summer kicks in, things brighten
up. End of the summer, they've named the backyard
pub The Second Wind. It's finished. Andy and
Pam have a barbecue for the whole crew who've
been there all summer. Now, Andy... looks around
at Dave and Sunita's there as well and his new
friend and they're laughing and chatting and
he starts to realise that his original plan was
actually about isolating himself. Okay, so it
was him and Pam travelling but his main concept
was him spending time on his own making his man
shed and doing up his camper van. He hadn't really
considered community at the point of retirement
and that was a mistake. But eventually anyway,
him and Pam get on the road and Bessie's fully
repaired and they take a trip to the Lake District.
It's not uncommon this when I chat to people
about retirement. It's this feeling of, you know,
I've been in a busy office, a busy work environment,
wouldn't it be nice to have some peace, just
me and a book or just me and the garden. But
that could quickly turn to isolation if you're
not careful. And actually, some of the best retiree
stories come from people who join communities,
whether that's Within their own street or whether
they go to an organized group. That community
element of retirement really makes a retirement.
Okay, we all need a bit of downtime and a bit
of alone time. But don't let that become isolation.
Community, friends, family. and what successful
retirement is all about. So I'm here in Eastern
Country Park, a lovely part of the world not
too far from me, in the pink. I tend to walk
along here two or three times a week. We drive
up this way on the Whirl. Thanks for listening.
I'll see you again soon.