Earlier this year I was under quite a lot of pressure from a number of places. For a lot of reasons I decided to request early retirement and had to wait months for a decision during which time I was under some extreme pressure at work which bordered on me walking out. I didn’t walk.

Anyway, during this period I had a few support meetings with a senior manager who said Alan it may be that you will get your retirement and be walking on a Pembrokeshire beach before summer is out but on the other hand you may be refused and have to stay in post till May.

The manager really hoped I would get my request granted because she knew how much it meant to me; this photo is dedicated to her x