To hell with retirement

Equitable Life, before they caused me to lose a big portion of my pension, bombarded the market with adverts showing an older man walking a leafy lane hand in hand with his young grandchild, not a care in the world. My younger grandchildren are paralysed in the spell of computer games. Managing my pension became a major thing I had to care about. I entered the most demanding period of growing up in my life – for many years I did not realise that I was back in the kindergarten,

I entered the kindergarten at the age of 74. I was a sickly child. In fact being sickly I had a lot of time to study.

Luckily I had a good doctor.  An American in France.  People said I needed to get into the waiting room early as long queues developed throughout the morning. I was first in.  I paid my 23 Euros and he gave me a 45 minute consultation.  Diagnosis Depression.  I had never before suffered depression.  I had had many periods when I felt down.  I got a prescription for a three week dose of an anti-depressant, and the offer of the back door exit – rather than walking back through the waiting room, now crowded.  As I left the doctor said “don’t you think, at your age, and from all that you have told me, that you should stabilise your life?……………….