Don’t moan about work! Retirement is far from the dream
COLUMNIST Tom Utley is so right on the subject of retirement (Mail). For my sins I pursued a career in the entertainment world as an actor and broadcaster, with very little success. As the old adage goes, actors never retire, the telephone just stops ringing. Though I never acquired fame or fortune, my days were full of activity. Almost daily I sent CVs and photos to casting directors and producers. If I had a pound for every audition I attended, I would probably have a comfortable bank balance. However, when the time comes that work is no longer possible, probably due to the difficulty of learning your few lines, the days are very different. Daytime TV is sheer torture with repeats of repeats of Murder She Wrote, Heartbeat, Morse, Lewis and Poirot. All were enjoyable for the first two viewings, but they lack something on the third and fourth. Feature films suffer the same fate. Randolph Scott made well over 80 westerns, but TV only shows the same half dozen. My second career as a guest speaker on cruises was progressing well until I reached 80 when the cost of the travel insurance made it impossible to continue. Being at home during the day, I should mention the many unsolicited telephone calls informing me that my computer has a fault. My wife was bemused by one advising her to make a claim about a car crash as she has not driven for more than 20 years. Though retirement is eagerly anticipated by those facing the daily grind and commute, the reality is often far from the dream.
COLIN BOWER, Nottingham. SPEAKING as someone who sometimes feels a spasm of revulsion at my own decadence, I have a few words of comfort for Tom Utley, who is concerned about the health implications of all his bad habits. No one gets out of here alive, whether or not you have the occasional pork pie, bacon buttie or glass or two of whatever takes your fancy. Enjoy what gives you pleasure, Tom. Life is too short not to. JOHN BARWELL, Norfolk.