After retiring at 54 I had grand plans to play lots of golf, but I soon became bored, so this was the perfect solution
I read the news this week that the over-50s are being urged by the Work and Pensions Secretary to get jobs as Deliveroo drivers with some interest. It is a little patronising that we senior citizens are always being told to “get back out to work”, but when I retired, getting a blue-collar job as a Tesco delivery driver was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
I retired in 2001, aged 54, from a job in the motor industry. I got bored very quickly after giving up work. At first, my grand plan was to play golf seven days a week, but that idea was quickly quashed. It was decided that I wasn’t going to sit around doing nothing and being bored, and I was hardly going to be much help at home.
So, instead, I got a job as a supermarket delivery driver at my local Tesco in Aldershot. This was before the dawn of Deliveroo, so bear in mind that I was in a van, not on an e-bike. I’m far too old for that – haring around on a bicycle is dangerous enough as it is.
I loved it. I had total freedom, I was keeping active, and then, most importantly, I could go and play golf afterwards. We drivers largely came and went as we wanted and that was fine as long as you got the job done. My wife was pleased as it got me out of the house.