Barrie pursued a very active retirement.  He was passionate about all types of sailing, from dinghy building and racing to cruising the canals of France, Holland and Belgium, and crossing the North Sea. He also enjoyed playing tennis and badminton, the latter up until the year before he died. 

He researched the history of uranium glass and published two books on the subject.

Other books he wrote include ‘By a Slender Thread’, published 1995, set in the cold war years about an attack on the nuclear industry. In 2014 he finished writing ‘The Day England Died’, a follow up to first novel and again centred around boating and the nuclear industry. See his Lifestories for other books he published.

Researching his family history was also a passion. He was a frequent speaker around the county on a variety of topics, and a regular contributor to the letters pages of the East Anglian Daily Times and the Daily Telegraph. He always enjoyed a good debate!