Well, pleasantly taken aback with all the kind replies. Here we go...I turn 60 in 5 days time, took early retirement (with a nice pay off, so can still enjoy some of the finer things in life, malt whisky etc.), cooking won't be a problem as I love to do it, pretty good if I say so myself and, as to the housework, that will be shared, with outside help once every 2 weeks. Believe it or not, I find ironing very therapeutic, did most of it when my wife was alive, so that's not a problem. I still intend to keep up most of my personal life, love to write and am signing up for some courses. So expect to see some long diatribes on here as I practise.