The 93 -year -old grocery worker loves his work, does not intend to stop

John Shipton is starting to work three days a week at 8 a.m. at the checkout in a supermarket in Exeter, in the southwest of England. He is no different from his colleagues – in addition to being 93 years old.

“It’s so fun. I have beautiful customers,” he told Business Insider. “I think I’m going to hang out a bit – I’m not going to rush at 95.”

Shipton started working at Waitrose, a high -end British supermarket channel, on a three -month contract in 2011 before being offered a permanent role.

“Each week, the same customers come back repeatedly,” he said. “They are great, I love them.”

“I do not have the impression that it is work – it’s more like playing, to be honest.”

He described Waitrose as an incredible employer. Shipton said that when he had only worked at the store for about four years, he had broken his hip during gardening but had received three months of leave paid to recover.

“And when I returned, they made sure that I had everything I needed to charge me life,” he said.

Shipton has decided to apply for the supermarket post after reading a book by John Spedan Lewis, who created the John Lewis Partnership, owner of Waitrose with John Lewis store chain. It is the largest company belonging to the UK employees and all staff have participation in the company.

“I thought this man was going to be ready to work,” he said. “I thought that, although he died, his business was still running, and she worked as they organized.”

Shipton said that he had already worked in another supermarket for six years but that he was not completely satisfied there.

His career lasted a range of industries. He worked in electronics, as a maintenance controller for his municipal council and freelance as a computer programmer, and repairing old furniture.

Shipton frequented university for two years, but decided that it was not for him.

“They did not teach me what I wanted to know,” he said, so he decided to join the army.

“I really enjoyed it, but I could see that when I arrived at the age of 45, I was going to grow up,” he said.

Shipton then worked in sales and marketing for major electronic companies. “I always wanted to do something.”

“ Curious of the world ”

Shipton said he was “at a loss” for about a year when his wife Julia Mise died in 2021, followed by her cat a year later.

“Then I thought:” Okay, I will face certain Ukrainian refugees “,” he said.

Shipton said he had spent his school days with Jewish refugees after the Second World War.

“There was a lot of information on Auschwitz and so on, which made me think, you know, how can people trigger a war and treat people so bad?” He said. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Shipton said it had to do something to help.

He wrote to the president of John Lewis to help Oksana find a job with the retailer. Her son, Illia, is in his last year of school and is expected to go to university next year.

“These are fabulous people,” he said. “I might have prepared three dinners in the past three years.”

Shipton said he and Illia have linked their common interest to mathematics. “I am very interested in the anti-matter and I study it for the moment.”

No retirement plans

The 93 -year -old man painted and also reads regularly. “I try to learn almost daily. I am curious about the world. I am curious to know people.”

Shipton said he had never retired – and did not intend to do it: “I just like to work. As I said, it’s not work, it’s the game.”

A few months ago, Shipton said he was planning to work up to 95, but decided to continue even longer. “My life is very full.”