To wonder what retirees do on a grey, wet Tuesday morning

[BeaQuiet]

I'm just a few years from State Pension age but can't imagine giving up work completely (work 28 hours pw at the moment).

Summers like this, yes, I'd be perfectly content but AIBU to ask what retired people do on a wet Tuesday morning in winter. Especially as Wed, Thur, Fri etc are likely to be wet or grey too.

This was raised on a Mel Robbins podcast on ageing and it got me thinking.

I've never stopped working because I enjoy what I do. I used to be a teacher, so I've taken on some work as a senior examiner (no marking - had enough of that), I published a couple of novels before I retired so I work on books - my most recent got published and I've just finished another. I don't do it now to be published (though obviously that's what I want) but because I love doing it. Friends of my age pursue the things they love that they couldn't focus on when in full-time work. One friend had turned her garden into a paradise (and talking about full-time work...), another has developed the interest in sewing she's had for years. Others volunteer. One has got the dog she never felt she had time for before and no matter what the weather, the two of them are out in it. Tbh, I'm not sure these days how I ever found time to fit in a full-time job. Don't worry. You'll be fine.

If you still have a partner everything is fine but when you are on your own it can be so boring. I hate rainy days and could happily stay in bed and watch catch up TV. Coffee meets bore me to death, I don't need to do much shopping and just wish there were decent exercise classes near to where I live but I have to make do with ytube. Swimming twice a week is about it so most of my spare money goes on train fares to places I enjoy.

Look into U3A: Even if people have partners they don't normally do the same things together. Lots of singles as well. Most of the activities begin in September and all activities are welcoming to new members. Look it up in your area and see what you would like to do. The first year I did 4 different activities a week and found it too much and find 3 is about right for me. Some groups go out for visits/holidays etc. The cost is minimal.

Some people seem to think that pensioners just sit in front of the telly all day with a cat or dog on their lap and do word searches or read every word in the local paper before going back to bed at 2 pm for a nap.

A couple of my neighbours do this, but these are some of the things my retired friends and I have been doing and will be continuing to do on wet Tuesdays in winter:
Working at B&Q
Selling things on Ebay and Vinted
Going to different towns to shop, mainly in charity shops, and have coffee and cake in a cafe and people-watch
Tinkering with motorbikes
Doing online and in-person courses and
Passing English and Maths GCSE and 2 more A-levels
Completing an MA
Taking part in church coffee mornings/sales
Volunteering in charity shops
Travelling, both inside and outside the UK (one is going to Uzbekistan)
Taking part in a dance class and doing Charleston (didn't end well)
Researching local history
Swimming in indoor pools
Exercising at home or at the gym
Going on daily walks in all weathers
Planning next year's work in the garden and ordering seeds
Making clothes and costumes
Running a painting group
Seeing family and friends for tea
Going to the ballet or cinema
Painting and selling their work in exhibitions
Building a website
DIY
Editing Wikipedia
Seeing their children and grandchildren
Volunteering for a food bank or community fridge
Cooking
Sorting out their possessions to declutter and donating items to children and grandchildren or give to charity or to bin

Personally I've been continuing to do the things I enjoyed doing in my spare time before I retired, only now I've got more time to devote to them, which is wonderful! You don't suddenly become another person when you retire. But if you internalise ageism and just veg out in front of the telly and give in to your aches and pains then you won't enjoy your retirement very much and will (according to some research) die earlier.

DM goes to a French conversation group on Tuesday pm.
At other times of the week she goes to Tai Chi or Culture Club (they arranged trips to exhibitions and plays etc). She’s also volunteered at a charity shop, at the dc’s primary school and been a tour guide at Wells Cathedral. She didn’t like Bridge.

Judgibg by the U3A board in our library, life really does begin at retirement!

I have enough hobbies to keep me busy for multiple lifetimes. It’s one of the perks of ASD I guess as I’m learning that other people don’t seem to find it as easy to keep busy. This week I plan to do some sewing and to start working on a new app.

The library , market , visit my friends , shops, charity shops , go for a drive , church and DIY.

Pickleball seems to be a craze

Thank God - thought I was the only one!

I like the sound of your Mum!

"To wonder what retirees do on a grey, wet Tuesday morning?"

We lie in bed with a cuppa thinking how good it is not having to get up and go to work!😁

Yes

With all these activity and good works, does anyone do any housework?

Ideal!

Do you lack the imagination to realise that you would choose to do things that you find interesting? Which is hopefully not pouring scorn on other people's interests.

I've never been bored, for what it's worth.

I need to know about the runway!

Yes unfortunately, we share it but I am thinking of getting a cleaner.

A lie in, leisurely brunch, do some baking, catch up on housework and laundry/ironing, watch a movie, do some crafts, do some decorating, go to the theatre or cinema, go to a museum, go shopping, meet a friend for coffee, catch up on admin, do some volunteering.

Basically anything you might do on a wet weekend.

When I went on maternity leave, I craved routine. Now in retirement I like to have an empty diary and make my mind up that day what I would like to do. I’ve found a food charity I can volunteer with on an hoc basis and that suits me down to the ground. No plans to go anywhere in the school holidays, so have been helping at holiday lunch clubs. Sometimes you just have to put something in the diary.

Homes under the Hammer is ideal for a wet afternoon, along with some knitting and a cake. I can save cycling and sculling for nicer weather.

Watching Bargain Hunt

My dm loved bargain hunt. When we lived with her during lockdown dd who was 13 at the time used to watch it with her. Fun times!

In good weather, I will jog 3k around my local woods before lunch. I like watching horse racing on ITV when it's Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood or Cheltenham. I follow 3 local football teams, all at various levels of the football pyramid, so once the season gets started, I will have a game to go to every weekend. Occasionally, I turn up for a park run.

Running, hiking, gym, garden, meeting friends, holidays, list is endless. I can't get my head around people not being able to imagine not working tbh

Odeon do 'silvers' on a Tuesday. £2 for a movie, a coffee and two biscuits.

Defo, if its on.