The Old Grey Thinker

Reporting back from the extra years nobody prepared us for. Free guides and daily essays about the second act, when life's still going but the instructions have vanished. For when you need to know you're not alone. No gurus. No hustle. Tea. Obviously.

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Articles

Retirement Taught Me I Had Colleagues, Not Friends

The hardest lesson of retirement wasn't losing my job. It was discovering how many friendships only existed because we sailed together.

Something for the Weekend

Something for the Weekend, Sir?

Everyone Warned Me I Might Lose My Mind in Retirement. Nobody Warned Me I Might Wish I Had.

There’s a man I see most mornings at the harbour.

The Day I Realised My Children No Longer Needed Me

My daughter bought a house last year and, if I am being completely honest, it bothered me far more than it should have done.

Chris Hoy Has Terminal Prostate Cancer. Jeremy Clarkson Has Beaten It. The Difference Was One Blood Test.

I don't usually publish twice in a day. This one couldn't wait.

The Younger Me Would Be Disappointed

For most of my life I carried around a disappointed young man.

When The World Stops Asking

The unexpected grief of becoming smaller after retirement.

Retirement Doesn't Give You Freedom. It Takes Away Your Life.

Everyone Tells You Retirement Is About Freedom

Retirement Didn't Take My Skills. It Took Their Price Tag

For forty years, every room I walked into had a problem that needed solving.

The Freedom You Don't Want

Why Retirement Breaks People Who Got What They Asked For

The First Monday With Nothing to Prove

The alarm went off at 5:47 and I lay there listening to it.