Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Finley Mackenzie

Woman, 50, confesses taking annual leave from work to spend entire week GAMING

A 50-year-old woman has confessed taking annual leave from work - to spend time gaming.

Self-confessed nerd, Caroline Alexander takes seven days off each year to play on her Xbox Series X.

She's been gaming since she was six and has even roped in her husband - with the pair now spending date night playing Diablo 4.

Caroline, who get 22 days off for annual leave each year, first fell in love with gaming through a popular arcade game, Jetset Willy in January 1982, before moving onto modern consoles.

Now, she plays modern classics like Fable, Diablo 3, and Mass Effect with her husband, Phil Alexander, 57, a software computer engineer, after ''demanding'' he join her beloved hobby.

Caroline, who lives in Buckinghamshire with Phil, uses her annual leave to play games (SWNS)

Caroline, who has been taking annual leave to game for seven years, began booking weeks off after the release of Dragon Age Inquisition, an action role-playing game, and now continues to take annual leave for every big game release.

Caroline, social researcher, from Dundee, Scotland, told Mirror: "I've always been a nerd and I love it.

"I tell my co-workers about my staycation of gaming.

"I don't use my annual leave for anything else important.

"It's definitely worth the days off."

The social researcher likes modern classics such as Fable and Diablo 3 (SWNS)
Caroline tries new games nearly each time one is released for X Box (SWNS)

Since childhood, Caroline says she was only interested in ''nerdy'' activities and fell-in-love with gaming upon the release of arcade games in 1982.

Despite her mum being keen for her to develop more ''feminine'' hobbies, she gave up after buying Caroline her first console, the Saga Master System in 1989.

Caroline said: "My mum never thought any man would want me."

"A girl gamer who loved spending their evenings killing monsters."

"Fortunately she was wrong."

The couple met online nearly seven years ago and wed in December 2020 (SWNS)

After attempting to date men who didn't share her passion for gaming, the researcher eventually included her gaming interest in her Okay Cupid bio.

Caroline and Phil clicked matched in October 2016, and began chatting online with Phil being in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire - more than 450 miles away.

Although Phil wasn't initially interested in gaming, he soon shared his eagerness to learn and the pair became official just two days afterwards.

Caroline said: "I invited him over and sat him down.

"I passed him an X-box controller.'

'I let him know him know for the relationship to work he'd need to be a gamer."

After teaching her new partner the ropes, the lovebirds continued to game together after their marriage in December 2020 at the Aylesbury Registry Office, Buckinghamshire.

Phil was quickly introduced to Caroline's annual leave scheme and soon followed suit.

Phil was quickly introduced to Caroline's annual leave scheme and joined in (SWNS)

Phil, who also does stand up comedy, said: "I very quickly came around to gaming.

''I loved that she was honest about her love for gaming.

"It's just like taking time off for a holiday.

"But this one is digital."

Caroline, a mum to nine cats all named after Scottish foods, started to book weeks off her job of two years upon the release of Dragon Age inquisition on May 2016.

Caroline, originally from Dundee, said she is 'proud to be a gamer' (SWNS)

She continued this trend with the release of Elden Ring, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Diablo 4 and The Witcher 3.

In total, Caroline states that she has taken seven weeks holiday over seven years- to sit on her sofa and game.

Caroline, who games 14 hours a week, said: "I'm proud to be a gamer. Everyone is shocked by my age, and my time spent gaming every week. I have thousands of hours clocked on Diablo 3 alone.

"I'm so glad I was able to find someone that accepts my hobby.

"I can't wait for the next big game, so I can book off another week."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.