When he was 57, Stephen Walsh found himself in hospital with a stomach bleed from an ulcer. As he lay in bed recovering, he thought about his future. \u201c\u2018You always had this vague idea that you\u2019d retire early,\u2019\u201d he told himself at the time. \u201c\u2018Well, I\u2019m going to do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Discharged from hospital, he gave his business partners three years\u2019 notice. They had worked together at the General Electric Company, and after it was broken up in 1999, they launched their own training and consultancy business specialising in how to improve companies\u2019 efficiency and outcomes.<\/p>\n
But his partners didn\u2019t believe Walsh. \u201cYou\u2019ll never retire,\u201d they said. He had been a workaholic most of his life. After three years, he kept his word. He told his remaining business partner (the other had died): \u201cI\u2019m not doing the retirement thing where I come back for 20 days a year to get some pocket money. This is really and truly it. Only invite me back for the Christmas parties.\u201d (He attends every year.)<\/p>\n
That was nine years ago. At first, Walsh did \u201call those projects around the house\u201d that he\u2019d ignored for 20 years. But after a while, \u201cevery day was like Groundhog Day \u2026 I thought: \u2018What do I do now?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Always one to analyse a process, he considered the prospect of ageing \u2013 he wanted to stay young as long as possible, and be supported in his later years \u2013 and moved into a retirement community, Great Alne Park in Warwickshire, run by Inspired Villages. A new world opened up. He gave talks to fellow residents on astronomy, became active in the film club \u2013 and learned to tap dance. \u201cRetirement once had that end-of-your-life feel,\u201d he says. \u201cNow you\u2019re not hanging up your boots. In this case, I was getting new ones \u2013 with taps on them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many people \u201cwait till it\u2019s too late\u201d to move, Walsh says, but he was 62 when he did it. \u201cThere were only 25 people here. Now there are 200. I\u2019ve seen it grow. I\u2019ve become part of that community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walsh grew up in Leigh, Greater Manchester. His dad drove a lorry for the National Coal Board; his mother worked in the textile industry. \u201cEverybody around us was working class. Everyone in the row of houses knew each other. There was closeness with your neighbours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walsh with fellow tappers at Great Anne Park. Photograph: Fabio De Paola\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
He used to play on the slag heap behind his house, rode bicycles too fast down hills, climbed trees \u2013 and on Sunday afternoons watched musicals on TV with his sisters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved watching the dancing,\u201d he says. But he was no Billy Elliott. \u201cI couldn\u2019t dance at all. Trying to learn the waltz, after three steps, I\u2019d get lost \u2026 I\u2019ve always had a mental block. I thought of myself as not a very good dancer.\u201d<\/p>\n
After he moved into Great Alne Park, a fellow resident and former dance teacher started a tap club. Walsh went along to give moral support. He was 67.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought: \u2018Why don\u2019t I overcome my mental block and keep trying?\u2019\u201d Soon, he was working on his shim-shams and flaps, and buying his first pair of tap shoes. When they arrived, he immediately tried them out on his kitchen tiles. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to break people,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s always one foot on the floor. No big jumps.\u201d<\/p>\n
The troupe \u2013 Pat\u2019s Happy Tappers, named after the class teacher and fellow resident \u2013 put on shows, and have taken part in a flash mob in Stratford-on-Avon. \u201cBefore you knew it, a whole group of us were dancing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tapping in front of an audience is \u201cexciting and scary\u201d, Walsh says. He is currently learning Anything Goes from the Cole Porter musical to perform for fellow residents. \u201cWe danced it [in rehearsal] and at the end we burst out laughing. It was pretty faultless. There\u2019s that buzz of it coming together. When we\u2019re coordinated, we hear it. It\u2019s not a clatter \u2013 we\u2019re tapping in time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tap is a replacement for work. \u201cI have a sense of purpose. I feel valued. I have a sense of belonging. And I\u2019m having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
In some ways, the retirement community reminds him of the one he took for granted growing up, and which he lost when he moved away to university. \u201cIt\u2019s about finding common interests and helping each other when we need help, and supporting each other through loneliness.\u201d As a boy, he enjoyed the benefits of a longstanding community. Now, he says, he is helping to create one.<\/p>\n