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Much to my surprise I'm quite happy not being on the radio - at least for the time being. Everyone was telling me 'you'll miss it', but I've been keeping busy doing fun stuff, plus a couple of nice voice jobs have appeared out of the blue - perhaps thats the way to go in the future.

I have at least turned a radio on this week and had a tune around - I've heard a few OK bits, but nothing that really impressed me much - shouty or boring ... I hope it's just a silly phase I'm going through and that radio might start to excite me again one day soon.

The walking and cycling thing is still going OK - if I have to get older then I'm determined to stay fit - and after 39 years of teaching my wife, Shelley is retiring this week - now that WILL be a loss for the good of mankind.

Life goes on - be happy

Well, after two weeks of being retired I've still not had the urge to rush back to work. ... yet.

Busy ...? I have been so busy relaxing and chilling out ... apart from working on the radio for two days !!

OK, a friend of mine from Caroline days was running a short term radio station to promote an event in Buckinghamshire - proper studio, proper station .. but the beauty was, I just had to turn up - do the show ..and then watch tennis all afternoon ... with the added pleasure of an evening curry.

So, week two of retirement has included: Elton John concert, 2 radio shows, a couple of great tennis matches, bike ride through the marshes, gardening - well watering and sitting in the garden .. looking at a holiday ... and an MOT - for the car, not me - passed.

Still feel a bit guilty for not working - until I remind myself of the years that I've done!

More sun please ...

As Murray goes into his second week at Wimbledon I come to the end of my first full week of retirement...and you know what? ... I'm lovin' it.

After 16.060 days of working, give or take a few hundred, I've been fully occupied all this week doing stuff that Raymond Colin wants to do ... apart perhaps from having to watch Eastenders on Wednsday, which is what Shelley wanted to do... oh, and Holby City - but with headphones on listening to a selection from Radio Ray on my ipod.

The fact that the weather has been great and the tennis has been on helps ... and I do wonder if I'll be quite as keen on the idea of nothing to do in the middle of January.

So, the plan is still on course, a summer break and then ,perhaps, a bit of work .... I might well feel like that in September - but for now ... can't be bothered with work - I have too many important things to do.

...except that I'm back on the radio next Tuesday and Wednesday .... but thats not real work ... !

Day Three and I'm far from bored yet, enjoying the freedom of not having to stop doing stuff and going into work, the sunshine and watching a bit of tennis too.

My promise to myself is a walk or cycle ride every day - so around 3 miles on Monday and Tuesday, today 13 miles on my bike through the marshes ... and my first potential problem: the automatic water spray for the potato field was intermitently spraying across the road - could I pedal fast enough to avoid a soaking?

The lady at the farm shop, the lady in the Co-op and the lady in the Post Office all expressed surprise at my decision ... "Have you really retired?" all three asked .... "yes, sort off" was my reply.

Still promised myself a rest through the summer months, but just to keep my hand in I've said yes to a couple of radio shifts for a friend in Buckinghamshire next week and yes to writing a magazine and online article ... apart from that I'm still retired ... and lovin' it, so far!

After working full time for 44 years the day has finally come when I don't have to go into work, which is just as well since I resigned on Friday - although I hope to go back at sometime... though only when it suits me!

So, what to do with all this free time?

I got up at 6.27am, Shelley's hair-dryer makes a horrible noise, and then I carried on as usual, cup of tea, fed the cats, had a bowl of porridge, water the plants, wave off Shelley - she's still working for a few more weeks.

Don't get sloppy. It would be so easy to be lazy: washed and shaved by 8am, I'll shower later.

First new job: polish the bannister - been meaning to do that for ages .. don't think that'll be a daily job though.

Then fill out a form for another lump of work pension money .. there are loads of these to do, fortunately we have a good money man who takes care of most of this stuff, I hope! ... they want their form written in black ink, they'll have to make do with dark blue - I'm still a rebel, that's good

One lot of washing on the line and another in the machine - this must be what retired people do I expect, and then to the allotment, catching up on stuff like weeding - 2 hours of reasonably hard work.

The allotments seem busy - they're probably all retired - three people spoke to me and asked about work, told them I'd retired ... sort of....

Then I put my master plan into play, a walk or cycle ride everyday... this is how I'll keep fit and live to be 100.... a stroll along the quay turns into a 3 mile walk along the seawall and back over the fields... and the cuckoo was still in good voice .. I thought they should have flown off by now... hearing him makes me happy though ...

I think I could get to like retirement.... as long as I don't eat too much during the day: 1 x tea, 2 x coffee, 1 salad (small), 1 piece of birthday cake ( large) and a glass of Robinson's lemon barley as I sit down to watch day one of Wimbledon

Then it occurred to me; I'm retired .... and so is my mum!!