Having worked my whole life, the idea of retiring was a nightmare.
For forty plus years I had worked on major civil engineering projects like nuclear power stations, Channel Tunnel, High Speed 1, London Underground and the Dubai and Doha Metro’s.
So, the idea of retiring and not having something meaningful to get out of bed for was a nightmare. Yes, I have some interesting hobbies but I couldn’t do these day in day out and I didn’t want to continue working as a part time civil engineering consultant. If I was going to retire I wanted a clean break.
Six years ago, I happened to be having a coffee at Waterstones Maidstone and I saw this leaflet lying on the adjacent table. It was about Kent Wildlife Trust and the calling for volunteers to assist in the good work that they do. A few days later I checked out the KWT website and saw all the different volunteer opportunities on offer.
The seed was sown. I could became a volunteer doing conservation work. I contacted the KWT Volunteer Coordinator and to cut a long story short I got signed up to help out at the Tyland Barn reserve and garden on Mondays, Queendown Warren on Tuesdays and a part time livestock checker on Thursdays. In addition to all this I also became a volunteer with Forestry England at the National Pinetum at Bedgebury with the tree team Sundays and Wednesdays.
So, I retired five years ago at 63 and have never looked back. Volunteering has given me something to get out of bed for. Doing rewarding physical work in the open on a variety of projects, keeping my healthy, giving me the opportunity to share some of my skills and working with lots of in lovely, interesting people.
