Retirement-Your Experience

The market only dropped for those houses which were overpriced in the first place.


Here in the South Manchester area and particularly in our immediate vicinity, prices levelled off for a bit in the mid eighties then continued to rise. Most people just waited for the market to recover before putting their houses on. With few exceptions, houses didn't go down in price, only those where people had to sell and never by 20%.

 

In a way, we will be celebrating two independent days.

I guess I should add, I helped him start his business and tending to a few small things along the way these last 28 years of it running. It is sort of semi retirement for me as those tasks I did for the business will no longer need to be done. Even though I do work full time for another company and still do currently.

 

@redstar you sound like you're determining property division in case of ....

Anyway, back to the original question. Retiring or semi retirement is amazing. If you have a month coming up where you're tight for money, all those lessons of forced adversity from when we were young, come back to us

And when you get there and if you are an active person, you'll have a bit of a puzzler figuring how you did a 9-5 because there isn't time for that anymore

 

That last bit is so true.

Someone asked me once if I did all the landscaping in our garden after I retired, to which I replied, "No I did it when I was working and had more time."

 

Retired. I really enjoyed your post Colin, then gaining a glimpse of your workshop and the colt. When employed on the parks, we called that mower, 'a rough-cut with a motor'. The Ransome Certese was a great machine. Used on bowling greens, such a fine cut. The cutting cylinder had sixteen blades. Shame we don't live closer. I'm sure we could chat until the cows came home. Take care my friend, all the best.

 

Wow! so much about retirement etc.
I have previously mentioned that I was medically pensioned off/retired in 1984, perhaps a child of George Orwells 1984 saga.
Since becoming a, 'Gentleman of leisure...cough cough' I have paid no tax on my pension, and despite the pension is small compared to many others, I never contributed towards it.

Yes I am concerned when I hear of pensioners having to pay tax on their pensions especially for those who paid into a pension fund. Needless to say, whatever party is in power, the solution is. Hit the aged and infirm. Hell's Bells, if we are costing the government so much, and teh NHS is upto it's eyes in debt. Blame this onto the oldies. So cut the cost and stop filling us up with pills. The pharmaceutcal companies like us....we are their bread and butter

 

Hi,

Many thanks Mike for your kind comments; I'm sure if you lived closer I'd not do much in the workshop due to having interesting natters with you all the time; fortunately our neighbours simply pay to get someone in having no idea how to knock a nail in; our immediate neighbour a lady pensioner gets a sparky in to change a light bulb; over the last few years she's dragged me into many hours work on her behalf to the point I'm now quite deaf; Bron and I are invited this afternoon to pop round for tea and cake; I wonder if she wants an extension building?

Years ago I used to visit our local post office just as it opened on pension day at 9am; I used to be working link shift at the time; often there would be four or five lady pensioners in the queue and they shortened my life no end making me feel suicidal listening to them. Do you know so and so has died; I'm now on new medication; how's your ailments are they any worse; I've got the doctor coming this afternoon; by the time I left the post office I felt ten years older. How sad that these old ladies only had illness to discuss in their lonely life.

I'm unfamiliar with Ransome Certese mowers Mike but now you've mentioned the model I'm sure to be nosy. Yesterday I fired up the Colt; I filled the tank with petrol but with the new petrol tap at open no petrol entered the carburettor so turn the tap off and pull the carburettor off; clean out the needle valve and try again only now the carburettor was constantly flooding; I did fire the mower up though by juggling with the petrol tap and the mower sounds sweet.

I've just come out of the workshop; I've been tinkering around with the carburettor; after close inspection having removing the float assemble and seat I found the needle wasn't making contact with its seat hence not stopping the flow of petrol; anyway I've now sorted it out and I'll add the story onto my Colt thread in more detail.

So many hobbies to choose from many not requiring much in monetary terms and yet so many people are bored; they deserve to be bored because it's likely they haven't put much effort into life in general?

I'd better get off my backside; I'm going to run the mower a bit then wash the car before dinner; I do the standard 48 hour day and could do with more hours.

Kind regards, Colin.


Life's too short to be bored when interesting projects like this can be found cheaply to play with.



From £20 scrap into a sweetly running mower.

 

Nope not really. But yesterday, the buyer now said she's not sure the bank will shift the money over till next week. this has dragged on a bit. with other incidents. Told my husband, she should have said to the bank (example) will the money be in my account at 3PM on date. and have them say yes or no, before telling him. I have been slightly miss trusting of this buyer. you'd think a doctor would have more common sense or some style of security. My husband knows I think that way about her. I know this is not quite with the retirement theme, or is it, the stress of getting to the final line, is what this is. for him anyway. Hey, I am off work for the next 5 days beginning Thursday.

 

Yes, I agree @redstar this fudging around with deadlines is very unprofessional. Your OH should let them know his timeline for hanging on and training starts from the original transfer promise date. Theey shouldn't expect him to be available to fulfill the training period from "whenever they pull their finger out"!

And glad to hear there's not a d i v o r ... well you get it

 

Good Golly @CanadianLori, far from the D word. anyway. looks like the money will be there Monday. I am still waiting till I see the check. In any event, his business is doing extremely well, if he hung on to it, he'd just be making more money. And his plan B would be to just shut it down. I think he will miss all the social connections he gets all the interactions etc. We shall see what happens Monday.

 

@redstar for Thursday, happy independence day!!!

 

GRRRRR! Just lost my reply.

The Triumph Saint was was built especially for the Met Police. TR6P denoted it was a 650cc Triumph & the P simply labelled it as Police. It was the first bike built with the police in mind. All other bikes used by the police had for registration purposes, the letter P stamped on the engine after the engine number. The name 'SAINT' Is believed to stand for. Stop anything In No Time. In the Job, I started out with Norton, the speed twin had just been retired. Then the 650 Thunderbird, Bathtub. Had two of these, 'Bathtub' was due to the shape of the rear wheel housing. First machine was basic, the replacement had the 'slick gear change' gears could be changed without using the clutch. My first one caught fire on the way to court, the second was rammed under the rear of a parked car by....a lady driver.

My next bike was a beaut. Triumph 6. 650cc also known as the Bikini model, on account of the cut away rear guard. Unmarked police bike, silver and black, dual seat, standard metal leg shields, no radio ( just what the doctor ordered). Speedo 0-125MPH. Try as I might, ihat needle just wouldn't hit the top mark. Thankfully the handlebars were set in rubber mounts, this saved painful swollen wrists. The fuel tank badge had changed and also the knee pads. These were no thin like rubber stick on soles. To me, and I have to be honest. I was never a motor cycle fiend. To me in the job, it gave me freedom and singleness. I well remember a court case and it was a simple 40 in a 30MPH zone. Had the driver simply have said, sorry, the case may have rested as a warning. Anyhow a typical, 'I pay your wages' 'I know the law etc'. The judgement was guilty fined £3 & licenece endorsed. I often wonder, just what,'knowing the law' and forking out for a barrister. Even in the 60's these wigs knew how to charge. In this case I really got peed off with the counsel. I was accused of everything. In the end I spoke out. Sir. There is no doubt about my ability to catch this driver. My motor cycle will easily do 0-70MPH in less time than you can say it. Case proven. Yes the accelleration realy was tops. However to maintane that high speed was different. OK, naughty naughty. A quiet evening on the North Circular. I was heading for Wembly X Div. Traffic unit. for a cuppa. Waiting at the ATS...automatic traffic signals, and I was joined by a chap on a Harley. We shared a comment or two and I invited him to a bit of a burn up. He was cautious. Lights changed and Mike is away, Mach whatever, a bit faster and I will be airborn. Harley is way back and plodding along. Timne and sistance, and Herley is much closer, then our front tyres were level then he was a tread in front. That wa sit. Michael me boy, you may as well get off and walk. He in time turned and waived. I waived back. Yes that bike really was IMO the best Triumph had made. Sorry about the Saint. IMO it was too heavy and was under-powerered.

So Colin, have you found a Ransoms Certese to work on. C'mon mate lets get our hands dirty.

 

Hi,

Many thanks Mike for adding your reminiscences; we have lots in common regarding our biking days. I've owned Norton's and a Norton Atlas 750cc proved to be one of the worst bikes I ever did own; it used to shatter it's piston skirts every time it hit 110mph; the best thing about it was when an idiot car driver with frozen up windows hit it head on; one shattered knee cap and a fractured ankle were the result; the old Austin A40 was transformed into a mid engine racing car; this moron driver visited me whilst I was in hospital complaining he was having to go by bus to work and could he claim on my insurance; had I a loaded gun at the time I'd have done the world a favour.

My best bikes were the two BMW R75/5 750cc; I could ride these flat out day in day out with the needle off the clock and they never missed a beat this in 1971/3 when I could do Wakefield/London/Wakefield in a morning; I think such speed these days would be frowned upon; the police were just adopting these BMW bikes; the old police bikes hadn't a chance of keeping up because their vibration meant things dropped off whilst giving their rider tingling hands and feet; any BMW bike owner in those days were regarded as king of the road and something to aspire to. Riding my BMW was the only time ever I've heard a pillion passenger scream out in terror; I was only running into a very very tight country road bend at 50mph knowing the bike could handle it; it didn't half frighten my chum Tony though and he's often mentioned it since.

Marrying Bron calmed me down and was the making of me; I'll never regret my biking days but now I regard biking as much too dangerous and I think to ride a pedal cycle as suicidal given our current volumes of traffic; I hate passing a pedal cyclist; yesterday we passed four horse riders down our local lane; all this countryside to ride horses in so they put themselves and their horse at risk of injury.

Kind regards, Colin.


Me on my first BMW R75/5 around 1972; truly wonderful bikes and a joy to ride. I had more hair in those days too.