15 years

It's exactly 15 years today since I started working at my current employer, so it's fitting that today's the day I received my formal dismissal letter. For those who haven't been paying attention, this is good news. The more I think about it, the better it is. It's like a gift of many thousands of pounds, and even more important, of a lot of time. As well as the redundancy cheque, I'll be able to draw an unreduced pension. If I had just retired early, my pension would be reduced by around 40%. So my employer has had to make a fairsized contribution to my pension fund. And the even better news is that all this lovely money is coming from the institution formerly known as evil govt. I have five days in which to appeal (as if) and then roughly six months' notice, with my final day being 30 September.

My intention to go back to University is stalled at the moment. I found out last week that I need a transcript of my academic record, and have sent to Cambridge for that. Their website warns that it can take four weeks. The other potential problem is that with graduate unemployment so high, it's possible more new graduates will be applying for a master's, so by the time I can get my application in, it may be too late. That would not be the end of the world. I can wait a year, and in the meantime prepare myself better. Over on the Ezra Pound blog you can see my critical powers coming back to life. Some of what's there is really pretty naive and certainly lacking much theoretical thought.

Last night we celebrated the first departure - Jill, one of our team admin staff, is off at the end of March. Her dream is to buy a property in Sligo, and spend her retirement there. Currently the exchange rate and the dead property market make it difficult but she made it sound so attractive! It's years since I've been to Ireland, but I feel tempted by the thought of somewhere like Galway - a lively town with a lot of charm, as I recall.