DYEP
Betty, please tell us how anything on here will make things worse?
The forced premature end of what should have been a career until age 55 is devastating for some. How on earth is some humour on a forum going to compare with what was in the envelope this morning.
I'd suggest that anyone with sufficient remaining capacity for being upset by pprune, is not entirely consumed by the redundancy issue.
What exactly is the issue with having to get a job in the real world? You may have noticed that some people are still able to do so. Quality rises to the surface, and the scum floats on the top. Sometimes it is hard to determine what you are looking at, but some people will demonstrate to their next employer, what made them of value to their previous employer. Technical skills may not transfer, but personal skills do.