But do I feel I'm about to go over the hill and that I'm moving inexorably towards the end of my usefulness to society?

Not a bit of it!

Am I going to become a burden on society? You bet I'm not!

But I've worked continuously since I turned 16 – the best part of 50 years – so do I feel I deserve a break, a rest, and to be master of my destiny? To run my life without waiting for the alarm clock to signal the start of another working day and to do, within reason, what I want to do?

You bet I do!

Don't get me wrong, for the majority of the time I have enjoyed my working life, taken a lot of satisfaction from it and made many good friends.

And to anyone just starting off, my advice would be to give it your best shot but, most importantly, to enjoy it. Let's face it, we spend a large proportion of our life working, so we might just as well get something out of it. It's a long time to be miserable.

However, that chapter of my life is almost over, but do I feel that I am being put out to grass?

Or am I approaching it with the opposite outlook? That, in fact, the door to another, enjoyable and exciting era is opening? That a new stage of my life is starting and to view that positively and constructively?

I know what option I will take.
Yes, there are a few aspects of work I will miss, but now it's time for something completely different – so bring it on!

Now I can get down to doing all those things I never seemed to have had the time to do – and at my leisure, with no pressure.

I love my garden and greenhouse. Now I can really get down to it instead of snatching a few hours here and there, subject to the vagaries of the English climate.

I have recently taken over an allotment. Yes, it's hard work. But now there won't be the pressure of getting everything done in those few long summer evenings and at the weekends. I can now really enjoy it.

The allotment won't be my master any more, I will rule it in future, thus less pressure and more enjoyment.

And there's nothing quite like sitting down to Sunday lunch with a plateful of home-grown vegetables. You want to try it some time.

I've lost count of the number of books I've bought and put in the bookcase where they remain unopened. Now I will have the freedom to read them.

And there must be a dozen or so 1,000-piece jigsaws untouched and gathering dust in the loft. They'll keep the grey matter ticking over during those long winter days.

Turning to a topical note. Take those big sporting events staged on the other side of the world and transmitted during the night, like the Beijing Olympics. I have to be satisfied with recorded highlights as I can't sit up to watch them live when work is looming just a few hours away. That will change soon.

I will also join the National Trust. For a reasonable membership fee I will be able to enjoy numerous stately homes and landscaped gardens whenever they take my fancy.

Finally, here's one option I really hope to take advantage of. Several package tour operators offer six/eight-week holidays in warmer climes during the height of the British winter.

The above may not appeal to everyone, but there are numerous other activities/hobbies – and a whole world waiting to be explored and taken advantage of.

To me, retirement is not something to dread, but to look forward to and get excited about. After all, I've earned it.

My aim is that, after my first year of retirement, I can turn around and truthfully say: "I don't know how I found the time to go to work!"