After the sea, the land.
 

When I left the sea, I took to Estate Agency, rather like many used to take to Highway Robbery after some economic set back. Once thing had settled down a bit, I spent a short time transplanting semi-mature trees. We tipped them over onto a two wheel trailer, the notion being to have the tree top-hamper extend into the van. Some got so big they went right over me and my Fordson Major and brushed the road in front, going round corners was quite laugh and you needed to take great care.

Then I went into farming, the advert asked for a cowman and offered a house. That was me lost to the real world for about 15 years. Simply not possible these days, but I really do feel that, leaving the sea, I then married the land.

When I left the sea in 1986 I was a bit of a fish out of water. Worked for a while at MOD Donnington. Then tried selling encyclopaedias for Britannica, total sales NIL; (I simply don't have the heart to be a salesman, perhaps not enough BS in my DNA,) then worked for BT climbing poles, not a bad job but crap pay and there came a time up a pole on Biddulph Moor in the middle of winter trying to sort out thin telephone wires with frozen hands when I thought :"**** this."

So then I joined GCHQ which was ok. But the Cold War ended and they started to wind it all down. (I mean, how bloody unlucky is that … ?) :sweat: (They've since wound it all back up again, aint that the way of the world ?)

Still that gave me some computer time so I ended up working in a Devon Community College and looking after the systems. Not brilliantly paid, and noisier than a super tanker engine room, but strangely, not that different a job than I had at sea. You were pretty much your own boss, doing something nobody else knew much about.

Nice way to slide into retirement, although I still do a bit at the village school … just helping out really.

Funny old business is retirement.

I think you deserve recognition for ending the Cold War, Bob. Those Russkis obviously knew the game was up when you joined GCHQ!:jester:

I left the sea in 1986 when Sealink disappeared and turned into British ferries time to go ! I join a local dairy company as chief engineer and stayed there for 26 years . That got taken over by dairy Farmers of Britain and they shut everything down when they went bankrupt time for an early retirement 10 years ago

I did it the other way round. I was born and raised on a farm where my Dad was a cattleman. I enjoyed the life, but was encouraged to "Get a trade." Served an apprenticeship as an Electrician in a jute mill in Dundee. During this time, I joined the RNR and spent many a happy weekend "playing sailors."

After finishing my apprenticeship, I joined BP Tanker Company and had six and a half very happy years there. Unfortunately, there was an oil crisis in 1974/75 when many ships were being laid up. Lucky for me, this coincided with the start up of the Forties field by BP, and I got a free transfer. Working offshore was very much like being on a ship, only difference was that we didn't go anywhere!

Made redundant at the end of 1995, and got a job in Australia on the North West shelf. That job lasted 18 months, and when I came home, I got a job with AMEC in Aberdeen on BP work!

Now retired and trying to take it easy, if my Wife will let me.

Three years as a maintenance fitter in a South Wales chemical works - Midland Silicones. [1960 to 63]

Then to the new Aberthaw "A" power station again as a maintenance fitter, later to rise to the dizzy heights of shift maintenance chargehand. [1963 to 69]

A further promotion to maintenance foreman took me to Didcot power station, where I stayed till I took early retirement in 1991.
Both stations have since been demolished.

Spent 12 years as an adviser with the local Citizen's Advice Bureau, and since then just "dossing".

When I came ashore the docks were going down the pan ,ship repairing etc,so I ended up driving lorries for 35 years and enjoyed every minute,now I just drive the Wife.

Might we guess the course that she thinks you are laying-off when doing so?

There was a thing old blokes used to say about leaving the sea - put an oar on your shoulder & start walking inland. When someone asks you what that thing on your shoulder is, thats where you stop. I could'nt do that. I was born & grew up on the coast,learnt to swim about the same time I learnt to walk. If I get too far inland I get twitchy, so when I finally got married & swallowed the hook back to Aussie we came, bought a house on Botany Bay & for about the last 30 yrs have had a shop selling & repairing outdoor power equipment. Took some getting used to but all my life has been nuts & bolts &boats.Retirement coming up, I'm 71 & I'm terrified.

Chris,

Don't worry it will be painless and you will certainly enjoy the retirement. Think of it as a new era in your life and just go with the flow, relax. I am now into my 20th year of retirement. Managed to be in the right place at the right time and went at 52. Never regretted the move and cant believe how quickly the years have flown past - without work!!

Neville

Chris,
Any chance of putting your experience to use working for someone else a day or two a week? I retired at 71 and whilst I have plenty to do; reading, gardening etc, I sometimes wonder about a relatively menial job for a day or two week using my experience and every care but without the responsibility of managing KPIs, business finances etc. The pay level would be not be hugely important.
Geoff (YM)

I'm now 71 and been retired for 6 years. But still do a bit each week at the village school and today I picked up a teachers laptop to work on it over the weekend.

One thing that hasn't changed since I retired from school work 6 years ago. Trying to fix up a computer that's been attacked by the most destructive phenomena on Earth, … the School Kid … is one thing … but the real work is on a computer that's been attacked by a teacher … :eek:

Bob, it is a long gone version of Windows, but I really did get a computer to look at, the Lecturer had managed to load 2 implementations of Windows, I still don't think it really possible, but he had done it.

I all truth, about a week ago I had a nightmare about him. His casual incompetence and his complete ability to wuck up anything and not care if he had done....

I shudder.

It is scary isn't it …. ? …. :eek: :big_tongue:

janmike
I just found out I have been retired longer than working. The time just passes along at breakneck speed.

When I left the sea I worked in the motor trade for 20 years starting in Halfords then moving up to working in BMW and Jaguar/Land Rover dealerships. Ended up as a Jaguar After Sales Manager but had to get out because of stress issues, mainly caused by the owners trying to get me to cheat customers by adding things onto the bills, which I refused to do.

I had always been an outdoors person and loved wildlife so I decided to turn hobbies into my job and went to the Scottish Agricultural College for four years for an Honours Degree in Countryside Management. I have now been a Countryside Ranger for 17 years, mostly at Culzean Castle and Country Park. A job I, mostly, really enjoy. I guess nobody enjoys picking up other peoples dog poo but it is a very small part of the job!

What is this retirement lark, I have never retired, I clean, polish, vacuum, cut a big lawn, Peggy, didn't know how much there was in housework, and i used to complain about working.
Tugger

That is really quite a record. Were that to be my aspiration (I am more for a timeous exit courtesy of a Lord Dawson or, now on the national health, a less enthusiastic Harold Shipman) I would be 100. I am sure I will want to stop retirement before that.

I swallowed the anchor in 2001 after 23 highly enjoyable years at sea in the RN..........I was immediately recruited into the Defence Industry as a kind gamekeeper turned poacher. I have to say that after the close camaraderie of my seagoing brethren, acting as close knit team, I initially found that working in the defence industry (making 'stuff' for the RAF) was a god awful place to work, cut -throat, and always looking over ones shoulder - normally to see where the next knife was coming from (in the RN 'the knife' would always come at you from the front!).
After 7 years I decided to try life as a consultant in the defence industry (reversing the gamekeeper/poacher situation), it was infinitely more enjoyable, offering more freedom, more responsibility and less control from the management, of course - there was also more money and international travel, but there were still far too many knives coming at you from astern - and the worst part was that any contract involving UK Procurement was made doubly painful by the drawn out competitions, poor management of contracts and a distinct lack of any direction, urgency or purpose. Thankfully most of my work was in the Defence Comms Overseas Team, meaning I worked overseas on many fascinating and varied Naval, Air Force and Land projects for countries such as Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden & Switzerland - thoroughly enjoyable and a refreshing change compared to the shenanigans I had experienced in the UK!
I am still Consulting in the defence industry today - but I now do it for myself (I started my own company in 2013) and have been busy ever since.
I have to say though, since leaving the sea - there has been no job that has come anywhere close to being as rewarding as being part of a ships team - at sea.
As I approach retirement (and contemplate typical activities highlighted by Tugger (#17) - I often think to myself....given the chance of being a school leaver again....would I want to do it all again? Largely - the answer is:
Too Bloody right....every time!

When I left the sea in the 60s I was on the kiwi coast, took jobs where i could get them, sheet metal works, supervisor milk treatment plant, leading hand in a Brewery, building garages, took an adult course in carpentry spent the rest of my time in construction in NZ then in Aus, retired at 62 or so I thought, went for a walk around Darling Harbour in Sydney just as the old Manly ferry South Steyne berthed, in from Newcastle, the owner put a board out wanting a carpenter, my wife said there you go good job for you, got the job worked there until I was 70 we sold up and went back to NZ, five years later back in Aus, and now living down here in Cooma, but as I said in *17 I still haven't retired.
Tugger

I have now found that a bit of sheet metal work and MIG welding has become more of a retirement pastime than post sea labour ("helping", or so he seems to think, a younger friend tart up his Riley Elf)

Isn't MIG a lot easier than the real thing?

Came ashore in 61. Went straight into commercial TV in London working on the new-fangled videotape recorders. Elliot Automation had offered a job working on air to air wire-guided missiles, but TV paid ten bob a week more, so I took that. Worked on the Avengers etc at Teddington Lock, then went to ITN news, thence to Yorkshire TV just before it opened. Ended up engineer in charge of a studio, working with crews of prima-donnas, and taking the blame for whatever went wrong, and sorting it out. 32 years in TV, and had enough, so took a dollop of redundancy money when the downsizing came - marvellous. TV was glamorous and well paid, but I'd rather have been an impoverished archaeologist in a little hole with a trowel. Should have stayed at sea maybe. Anyway, it has been pretty good. Better than being down the pit.

"Better than being down the pit."


A little off topic but that reminded me of Lisa Tarbuck a few years ago on the radio.
She was talking to a US performer who was bemoaning the hassles and tribulations of being 'on the road'.
" It's not exactly working down a coal mine is it?" she said

After coming ashore for the final time, I went into the bar trade for a couple of years, but that was too casual, I became a Wine Butler in the New Club in Edinburgh, the most exclusive Gentlemen’s club in Scotland, all High Court Judges and their ilk, but the wages were not very good, so I became a postman in Leith, and enjoyed being a walk postman, but got fed up of the 0530 starts six days a week, I then got the opportunity to join HMC&E, as a revenue assistant in the whisky bonds in Edinburgh I then went to work in Leith docks, checking containers, where I was headhunted to be come an intelligence officer, chasing boot leggers, vat evaders and the ilk, I enjoyed that. I then moved to estate management, where I did many different tasks, ended up the last six months of my career as the Transport Manager for Scotland, Wales & N Ireland, a good poacher turned gamekeeper lol

most of the best gamekeepers took a rabbit or two as kids , Bill , interesting career