The Beginning of the Beginning

My employer's pension scheme contains a well-hidden provision, buried deep in the small print, that allows staff approaching retirement to reduce their hours of work with little, if any, loss of income. Its so little-known that having discovered it by accident its taken me since Christmas to convince my managers that a) it exists; b) I'm entitled to be considered for it; and c) it won't actually cost them anything to grant it to me.
However, I've now got the necessary five signatures (!) on the application form and can reduce my time at work to four days a week. I've been left to make my own arrangements as to which days I work, so I've chosen to alternate between Monday to Thursday in one week and Tuesday to Friday the next, thereby giving me a long-weekend every other week. It means I'll have a lot more time available to spend on Starcross and, equally importantly I'll often have four days at a time available, which should extend the range of trips I can do from Norbury Junction. The arrangements will continue until October, when I shall be permanently retired  and able to spend a lot more time aboard.


Sod's Law, however, has come into operation and the first extended weekend's jolly has had to be cancelled due to an unexpected family commitment but its still the beginning of the end for work  - and the beginning of the beginning for a new life with a lot more time on the cut.