15 July 2009

Road

Friday creeps closer. The end of thirty two years as a wage slave. The earning will have to continue beyond Friday but it will take different forms and I feel no pressure to get straight back in the work groove come September. Instead I may travel....Tanzania, Antigua, Guyana...who knows? I gave instructions that there were to be no flowers, no present, no card but my immediate work colleagues kindly mustered £85 and asked me what I wanted.
At the weekend, it happened to be "The Great Sheffield Art Show" - an annual exhibition of amateur art held in the university's Octagon Centre. I met up with Sofia - our Higher Level Teaching Assistant - and we moseyed along the aisles and through the catalogue until I found a picture in the price range that I could live with and which would be a simple but lasting memento of twenty four years service in one secondary school.
The view is of a country road in Derbyshire not far from the Nine Ladies stone circle. It's called "The Road From Stanton Lees" and it is either by Philip Towler from Doncaster or Geoff Kersey. The label on the reverse is unclear and the picture isn't signed. I like the idea of the road going off into the distance - a journey travelled. I like the architecture of the winter trees and the confidence of the colouring, the big tree clothed or choked by ivy. I wonder where that road will lead me now that the chalkdust of thirty two years and more is finally settling. Beyond the nine ladies and into tomorrow.

"The Road From Stanton Lees"

13 comments:

  1. I would say "CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR RETIREMENT!" except that I sense (a) you don't want any sort of fuss made about your last day at work and (b) you're not really retiring, you're still going to be working at something that for right now shall remain nameless, so I will just say:

    Hope you had a happy St. Swithin's Day....

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  2. Well congratulations, not only on your retirement but also for choosing a picture I too could live with. I always feel I want to travel roads and paths to see what's round the corner.

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  3. "I (like you) gave instructions that there were to be no flowers, no present, no card but my immediate work colleagues kindly"...gave me a tee-shirt printed with the words..."Thirty two years at xxxx and all I got was this lousy tee-shirt"
    This is true...you were lucky to get 85 quid.
    Welcome to the "bus-pass" club...
    It's great!

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  4. Congratulations on the 'thing-you-don't-want-any-fuss-over". The picture is a lovely choice for the road to your next adventure. Best of luck to you!

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  5. Just around the corner...

    Is Bangkok... the perfect hub for South-East Asia and the stop off to Australasia!

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  6. Congratulations anyway, YP and welcome to a happier, less stressful life. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you will find it fulfilling. :)

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  7. Congratulations YP! You may not like the fuss but there is an award for you over at mine. Look forward to hearing about your travels or whatever else life may bring....

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  8. Nice picture. Nine Ladies is lovely. I met some (pagan) friends there for the Summer Solstice, and although I'm a total atheist and don't believe in anything supernatural at all, it is a very calming place.

    Maybe it's all in my head, but hey, whatever.

    Enjoy your retirement!

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  9. Will be thinking about you tomorrow. A huge thing after so many years.

    Wishing you every happiness what ever you choose to do next.

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  10. RHYMES You readme like a book! Uncanny.
    VALERIE Glad you approve of my artistic taste.
    KIPPERS Did you work for Castlemaine XXXX ?
    MS GEORGE You're right. This is a beginning more than an ending.
    BANGKOK BOOBS See ya Saturday.
    JENNYTA Thanks. Fulfilling sounds good.
    ANNA Surely you have to believe in the sun. We can see it each day and isn't that at the heart of paganism? Thanks for your good wishes.
    JJ And thanks to you too long time blog buddy!...More to be reported this weekend everybody. Don't yawn at the back!

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  11. All the very best for your last day as a teacher, YP! And I wish you all the best for the future, whatever it involves. (And I'm confused when people retire who are younger than me!!)

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  12. DAPHNE I'm older than you. I was born in 1953.

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  13. Deirdre8:18 am

    too late to say 'good on yer'?...enjoy the travelling to come...

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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