So, subconscious mind, get used to it: I'm still an academic, but I'm not going back to the Day Job, ever!
Author: fluff35
I blog on a range of subjects arising from various aspects of my life. On https://theretiringacademic.wordpress.com, I focus on my reactions to early retirement and think about aspects of teaching and research which I hope will be stimulating to those still working in higher education. On https://shared-conversations.com, I blog as an authorized lay preacher in a pretty standard parish church of the Church of England, who needs to write in order to find out what she thinks. I took part in the Oxford/St Albans/Armed Forces C of E 'Shared Conversations' in March 2016, worked on the Living in Love and Faith resources from 2017 and was elected to General Synod in October 2021, and continue to try to reflect on some of the issues. On https://mistakinghistories.wordpress.com I share my thoughts on various aspects of the history of medicine and the body.
I have also written for The Conversation UK on https://theconversation.com/profiles/helen-king-94923/articles
Rites of passage (2): cake and flowers
On a beautiful spring day, what better way for a retired academic to spend an afternoon? Off to Milton Keynes, where the campus crocuses were looking particularly lovely, for the School Assembly to include my final official farewell. Today's School Assembly was a new experience for me, one of the features of the restructured Faculty of… Continue reading Rites of passage (2): cake and flowers
Rites of passage (1): lunch and visibility
Yesterday marked a double rite of passage. My first pension payment arrived in my bank account (always a relief to know that this sort of thing works!) and we had lunch with my former department to mark my retirement. Held well away from the office (as in, not in Milton Keynes but in Oxford - distance… Continue reading Rites of passage (1): lunch and visibility
Ten days of retirement
Naked Minotaur, ancient and modern science, and a MOOC - and no REF in sight!
Doing it
So, the great day has passed. I retired on Tuesday. I suspect retirement from The Open University proceeds very differently from the practice in most universities, let alone most jobs. Since I was working from home on The Day, absolutely nothing happened. No presentation of a clock, no round of drinks with colleagues down the… Continue reading Doing it
Approaching the exit door
So, I'm entering the final stages of the official side of the process. My P45 has arrived (for non-UK readers, that's the form which ends an employment and states the tax paid in it, so that if you were moving to a new job they could see your tax status) and tomorrow I have my… Continue reading Approaching the exit door
And… relax
Today I rearranged what I had to do in order to take up my first Retirement Activity. I discovered that there's an over-50s Tai Chi class every Tuesday, under five minutes' walk from our house. I did some Tai Chi many years ago when I was a resident tutor at what is now Liverpool Hope… Continue reading And… relax
It’s this month…
A new milestone has been reached; in answer to the question 'So when is it that you're retiring?' the answer is now, 'At the end of this month'. However, while part of my brain is getting used to this interesting prospect, another part doesn't seem to have caught up with it. This is a very… Continue reading It’s this month…
Christmas for academics
I may just be going upstairs for a few minutes...
Stages of withdrawal
It's an odd process, this retiring business. Last week, I filled in the form stating how I want the percentage allocation of the lump sum and the pension to be managed, and posted it: that felt like a very serious step. But there are all sorts of other, tiny, steps happening and it seemed like… Continue reading Stages of withdrawal
The retiring academic 