All over now

Well retirement has finally come around. It is the 31st March today and I finished on the 29th. That was quite a day saying goodbye to a lot of people that I have worked well with in years.

I have arranged a drink at our club on the 2nd April and quite a few will be coming along I have been told. It will be quite a night because that will be the last time I will see many of them. I will go and say hello ocassionally of course but I have got along with many of them over the years.

So far retirement has consisted of house cleaning! I have left a lot of things 'until I retire' but now I have to get on with it. I want to get it sorted out over the next couple of weeks and there will be a lot of stuff to take to the tip for recycling.

We have arranged a holiday in Holland for week in April to go and see the flower gardens. That will be a nice change and we are both looking forward to it.

Hopefully I can update this blog on a more regular basis now I have the time.

Wednesday March 17th

Well today is my 62nd birthday and I have not put any blog entries for nearly three weeks. I have been quite busy in work but now have only eight shifts left to work.

It still does not seem real as I am doing the same job in the same office with the same people. But March 29th will come around soon enough I guess and then it may seem a bit more real to me.

Wales played Ireland last Saturday and got the result they deserved. They were rubbish with 75% of the ball and still could not score. Coach Warren Gatland says that they are going to feel pain. Surely they should have felt pain before the bloody game not after it?

Spring seems to have sprung this week with the sun shining and warm weather during the day. The nights have been cold but we can manage that. Today we are going out for a meal on my birthday. I wanted to go to a pub but the wife said can we have a pizza instead. Well I like pizza anyway so Pizza Hut here we come!

Happy St Patricks Day to any one from Ireland that reads this.

Sunday 28th February

Well yet another week has passed and no blog entry. With any luck I will be able to write more when I finally retire. I have just 18 full working shifts ahead of me now and then it will be all over and a new life begins. It still seems weird but I guess it will not seem real until I finish.

I have finally had my figures from the council for my pension. Now I have to make an appointment with my bank manager to see what I can and cannot pay out. That will be a fun time.

Wales played France at rugby in the six nations last Friday and made a right mess of it. They came back in the second half to lose 26-20 but it would be nice if they played the whole game instead of just half of it.

A day off today and once again I am up at 06.00 as I cannot sleep. That will be my pattern I guess and I just hope it can be broken when I finish work.

The Baby Moose in the sprinkler

Hospital visit

We have to visit the Royal Glamorgan hospital today to see my sister-in-law. She was taken in yesterday as she had a bad fall and broke her ankle. It has been pinned and she will need another operation tomorrow.

The weather has turned wet once again and of course I had to put washing on last night hoping it would be dry! I now have a stack of wet washing to dry so I hope that it dries up later.

What a boring blog this is today! But the days are slowly counting down and I will have to see my bank manager as soon as I get the final figures on my pension to sort out my bills and see how much I have left.

I am trying to get a holiday in Holland organized for April but the hotels are bloody expensive at that time of year. We will have to sort something out and I have written to Henny, a friend over there to see if she can suggest anywhere.

Another week

Well another week has passed and I have not got around to writing. I enjoyed the days off but they seemed to go past all to quickly and work called again. Today is Sunday and I have worked out the days I have left to work for my company. 31 working days left is all that I have and it is reducing quickly now.

I have booked our club for the Friday after I leave as quite a few of the guys have said that they want to give me a send off. I will have to get a taxi back and fore as I intend to have a drink that night!

The weather has turned bloody cold again although we have not had the snow that some parts have had. I really could do without that again as it is a real pain to get around in.

On the good front Wales beat Scotland at Rugby yesterday by 32-24. There would have been some real celebration in the city last night that is for sure!

Pub Meal

Last Sunday was my wife's 62nd birthday. We don't do a lot on birthdays these days but we did go out for a nice pub meal. We went to a pub called the 'Sportsman's Arm' about ten miles away. In the middle of nice countryside and a pretty little village.

We all had 'Sunday lunch' or meat a veg. I for a change had the pork while all the rest had beef. The pork was lovely and all the veg was hot. We have had meals there several times but that was the best yet.

The weather has turned cold again these days and snow is in other parts of the UK. Thankfully we should not see it over in Wales at least not this week.

I am back at work on Wednesday after a six day break. As I will be retiring in less that seven weeks, these days I am enjoying the time off and looking forward to the end now. I am listening as I type to 'Hooked on Classics'. A brilliant CD and although I enjoy classical music this is a great introduction to anyone who wants to try it out,