Retirement can be fun!: Hilary Stevenson, aged 74, of Newport, Shropshire tells Weekend what it's like to be a pensioner

One is valued by their occupation and usually introduced as account/doctor etc. but once you become retired all that goes. People resent us our free TV licences, bus passes and heating allowance, but we are fighting back! Where would the charity shops be without the pensioners and several committees need us for the bits of community service that we do.

Let me tell you about a day in the life of a pensioner.

We will wake up whenever or when the medication hits in. We are no longer governed by the alarm clock, more by our bladders as we try to make the bathroom in time. Morning ablutions take a little longer than they used to as everything doesn’t work quite as quickly as it used to and your arms have got shorter so the floor seems further away. If, by any chance, you do have to get down on the floor, you do everything that needs doing at that level because you are not getting down there again for some days.

Dressing can be a bit of a problem as our underwear seems to shrink over the years and socks can only be put on sitting on the bed.

Breakfast is a leisurely meal which needs to include prunes at our age. We have time to read the papers and to check the diary for any activity we might have on. Nowadays, it is dentists/audiologist/hair appointment/physio/ optician or most probably, the GP. We seem to spend a lot of our time visiting the local health clinic and do like to compare medical notes and medication.

When we go on holiday the sniffer dogs really enjoy it as we have more drugs on us than a dealer!

Today we have nothing on so a wander down to the supermarket will be on the cards. Any tasty lunch can be bought but the main reason is that we might see a friend and that will mean a cup of coffee and a chat. We do not have a phone that we keep checking, we talk to each other.

Technology has left us by, that is something we leave to our grandchildren to try to teach us. We prefer face to face.

After lunch we sit down with a nice cup of tea and may doze off and then wake up to Countdown, where we try to keep up with the contestants. Dementia is always at the back of our minds, so we try anything to keep it at bay. We all have friends that have the dreaded disease and we check ourselves regularly.

Tea or supper is next on the list. Nothing too heavy as we are more inclined to get indigestion now and then an evening in front of the TV. What did we do before the invention of television? Yes we spoke to each other, not playing on ‘tablets’ as that is something we all take with our morning tea.

We may need to phone (on a phone line) to see how a friend is getting on, or check that someone it still in hospital and doesn’t need a visit. Then it is to bed, to sleep and hope we don’t have to get up during the night to visit the bathroom.

So not all pensioners are the same some will have gone to the local art club/keep fit group/ tai chi/ dance club/ bowls etc. and others help out in charity shops. What I’m trying to say is do not ignore us we all have a lot to tell you, we have been there, done it , and grown out of the T shirt.

We have opinions and ideas just like you. We have decades of experience and, who knows, the old looking man if front of you in the supermarket queue was, in fact, once a research scientist in atomics.

Me? Well due to fact that I’m what is known as ‘an age grouper’ (in other words I race in my five year age band) and I represent GB for my age in triathlons so my life is a little different. Most mornings I can be found swimming/ biking/running or gym work. I can say that I have won the European Championships and have come third in the World Championships all in my age group. (My times are a little slower now!). I am also a ballroom dance teacher so three evenings a week I can be found dancing somewhere.

Next time you get cross with an old looking lady in front of you in the supermarket I can probably out run you!

Retirement can be fun but please don’t ignore us.