After 43 years of telling Sydney what to think, feel and rage about, former 2GB heavyweight Ray Hadley has officially traded talkback for T-bones!
The retired broadcaster popped back on air on Thursday morning with Nova’s Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie to reveal that while rumours of him becoming a full-time butcher were a “slight exaggeration”, he has indeed been spotted wielding cling wrap and pricing lamb chops in Cherrybrook, just north of the Sydney CBD.
“I’m not allowed near the till,” Hadley confessed. “I just pack, weigh and slap the sticker on. Then the ladies come in and say, ‘Lovely to see you.’ It’s fantastic. You feel relevant again for about an hour … then you go home and sink back into retirement oblivion.”
Hadley also revealed he moonlights at a mate’s restaurant on the NSW Central Coast, though not behind the bar. “I haven’t got an RSA, so I can’t serve drinks,” he explained. “I think picking up glasses and butchery is the extent of my knowledge and skills.”
The 70-year-old insists he’s not pocketing a cent for these side hustles, describing them as “mate work” rather than paid work. But his admission prompted Fitzy & Wippa to suggest he sign up for Airtasker, an idea Hadley didn’t exactly leap at. “I’m a 70-year-old man looking for a new part in life. I draw the line at painting and renovation. I’m not very good at that sort of thing,” he deadpanned.
Hadley hung up his professional microphone last December, declaring it was time for “someone else to do the job”. Since then, he and wife Sophie have swapped Sydney for a more relaxed life split between the Central Coast and the Gold Coast, surrounded by grandchildren and, apparently, pork chops.
So while some retirees perfect their golf swing, Hadley seems happier perfecting the art of putting a price tag on sausages. And honestly, if you’re looking for a man who knows how to handle beef – on air or off – Ray’s your bloke.
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