| National Photographic Archive > | WETHERBY | Return to the Assembly Hall | Site Map |
 |
||
| myoldschools > Autobiographies > submit your life story | ||
| National Photographic Archive > | WETHERBY | Return to the Assembly Hall | Site Map |
|
||
| myoldschools > Autobiographies > submit your life story | ||
... dropped out of secretarial college in year 2... worked at George Moore's... had my first son Robert at 20... met my husband Steve and married... worked behind the bar in the New Inn for six years... completed my RSA's III's... had my second son Michael... now working for the Press Association... ... dropped out of nursing college (is there a theme here?)... decided all that caring just wasn't me (what was with the careers advice at WHS anyway?)... took secretarial and accounts courses... worked in rubbish jobs... took a management diploma... worked in recruitment... went to America to "find myself"... started my own business 9 years ago... gained two kids (Chris and Emma)... and an ex husband... now doing a BSc in computer science, management and languages at York Uni which I finish in June... then I'll doss about all summer, close down my business and go back out into the big bad world of IT recruitment/HR - any job offers considered! - anything I left out was completely intentional
... didn't do a great deal... went to Thomas Danby to study travel/tourism... went on work placement to the Isle of Wight and met lovely lovely Adrian... haven't been home since... now living in Bath with Adrian (not married - don't do the wedding thing) and 2 cats (don't do the kids thing either)... worked in global finance for IBM - not bad for someone who failed maths O-Level! PS:hated school... left as soon as possible...
... was sent to Harrogate Ladies College boarding school to do my A-Levels amazingly I got some!... headed off to Nottingham with one bag to study for a degree in Economics and never really came back... worked as a Sales Rep, crashed a lot of cars, and put my lipstick on at 110mph while being late for my next appointment... trained as an IT Professional, worked my way through a 'career' in IT without complaining about 5 minute warnings to go to France, Italy and Poland and turned independent 4 years ago... worked in Munich, Amsterdam, Middle East, Vienna, Amsterdam again, Middle East again. I've dragged my partner Guy through most of my antics over the last 15 years. We have been trying to 'travel the world' by fitting in a few places between my assignments but it's a slow old task.
... went to Tadcaster to do A levels (with a load of other Wetherby "exes")... did a BA in Zoology at Newcastle... moved to Reading and became a Zoologist at the Uni (an excuse to continue
the student life)... got fed up and got a job as a Computer Programmer for a Publisher... got fed up and joined Digital as an IT Consultant... got fed up and started my own IT business in 1992, now employ about 20 people... did a lot of drinking (still do)... did a lot of travel (still do, but mainly work)...
did a lot of really stupid things (still do, but slightly less often now)... got married and had two kids, but I can't say I've "settled down"... failed to keep in touch with any of my school mates (big regret), and
haven't been back to Wetherby for years and years... ..
... went to Jimmies in Leeds to train for RGN
... qualified in 1986 and did a stint on nights before going onto Intensive Care... worked there until 1993 by which
time I was a senior Sister and married to Garret... bought a ruin of a house in Inveraray on the west coast of Scotland and jacked in the rat race to run a B&B (anyone interested?)... Garret is a self employed electrical engineer... seven years later we are still doing up the house but have plans to make an old mill on the property self catering... we also have Toby(6), Rosie(4) and
Freya (2) and life is pretty good!...
... worked in a garage in Tockwith for 7 years
... Married Linda Mackenzie and moved to Canada .. had a son in 1982. Couldn't settle .. moved back to England did some scaffolding work for a couple of years... had a second son... moved back to Canada in 1986 to give it another try... started working for a construction company and I'm still there... mostly building shopping malls... third child born in '92, a daughter... have not been back to England since '86 ... doing well here but sometimes miss home, Tetley beer and my old mates... probably always will. Cheers to everyone who remembers me...
... joined the army and became a rifle nut
... left in 1997 on the run from the military... went to Europe with 18 quid, grew a beard and became a bum... worked as a DJ in Athens and got swept up with the mafia in
Italy eventually seeking asylum in the south of England and doing 115 days in Colchester for going AWOL... got married in 1998... had a couple of hippy kids then got a shave, went to UNI in Southampton and became a 'Business Information Technologist'... stuck up a middle finger to the world (honestly that's how it happened!)...
... worked for a year and retook my A-Levels
... went to university in Liverpool... moved to Newbury... worked for a Pharmaceutical Company... got married... got tranferred to America (Connecticut - horrible place)... got
divorced... moved to Los Angeles in 1999... work for another Drug Company as a Project Manager and live with my girlfriend...
... followed boyfriend to college... completed college in 1977... worked in hairdressing for several years... went to Australia in 1982... returned in 1983 (homesick!)... married Martin in 1989... had son in 1988... and a daughter in 1990..now working as a childminder... cringe at my son's school parent/teachers meetings as I see former teachers!...
... started at General Accident in 1987
... moved to a similar company in 1990 and have stayed with them despite being taken over twice (couldn't even become a statistic with a redundancy)... married in October 2000 to Jo Millican (local girl who went to Boston Comp - do I remember the fights or what!!)... currently living in Harrogate...
... was made redundant from two firms before I was 19... did a stint at the British Library... joined Royal Mail in 1980... still there... currently work for the main mail processing centre at Stourton... did a lot of further education work in recent years, but haven't managed to find a mid-life career change... Royal Mail is not the most interesting job in the world, but at least it's kept my
wife Susan, myself and my two teenage children in a reasonably good standard of living... don't suppose I can ask for more than that... started studying with the Open University with good intentions of getting a science degree... began writing my own novel and I am pleased to say that it's nearly complete... several people who've read extracts from it have given me the thumbs up, so who knows? I live in Whinmoor, Leeds and cheers to anyone who remembers me... sometimes I manage to
get into Wetherby for a pub crawl. ...
... worked for the Yorkshire Bank for 6 years... got sick of it and took a year off... travelled to Pennsylvania for a year... met Michael... never came home. Got married... had Miles (9) and Emma (5) and live in a farmhouse in the
country... Michael has his own Landscape design business and I do his officework - oh joy! ... go back quite regularly and miss home a lot - the pub is non-existent in the U.S. - heathens!
... went to Park Lane College in Leeds to do business studies... worked at George Moores then got bored and went to live in Spain for a year... met David (a Londoner) and came home to England... got married and lived in London for 4 years... got homesick (I really don't know why to this day).. settled in Wetherby with David and my three girls Kirsty who is now 14, Lauren (12) and Hope (9)... now working in market research... I would love to know what has happened to most of the people in my year...
... went to York Art College... went to Edinburgh Art College... worked in hotels in Eastbourne... came back to Harrogate to work... followed my fiance Ian down to London... got married and worked in Marketing... had a son Christopher who's now 13... lived in Tunbridge Wells... got divorced and came back to Yorkshire (Selby)... retook my degree but this time in Business and Finance and went on to become a TEACHER!! of Business and ICT... have now lived in the Isle of Man for the past six years with my son and loving every minute.
... failed all my A levels... and re-took at Harrogate... passed two... did bi-lingual course at York (there you go Frau Smartt and M Lawrenson!)... worked in export... was a PA to MD... life went downhill... apart from B grade in English Lit taken later in life... one husband, three children, two dogs, two cats, two guinea pigs, one rabbit, three fish, house in Harrogate...
... wanted to get a car and get a life... went to work as a shop assistant in Mothercare (even though Mr Payling said it would be a "waste of my education")... went into branch management at FHW, Saxone & Salisbury's... became a
Trainer... did a bit of Buying and Merchandising... a bit of consultancy...
... Commercial Systems Manager for Freemans and Grattan in Bradford,
responsible for e-commerce and marketing systems... am now managing a team of Business Analysts at ASDA's Head Office in Leeds... married in 1987
... moved back to Wetherby in 1999 when my husband set up a kitchen, bathroom & bedroom
showroom ("Upstairs Downstairs")... now do his accounts,
VAT VAT and am due to finish my MBA in April (2003) - so much for Mrs McDonald (Maths) saying I "just didn't have a logical brain"!
... went to Solihull sixth form ... then Coventry Poly, doing Computer Studies... couple of years as an Analyst Programmer for Bass in the concrete jungle (West Bromwich)... moved to Essex to work for Hambros Bank.. after seven and a half years I left to go contracting (aka temping) as a Business Systems Analyst... worked in Bradford for a few months, then Stevenage, Manchester and the last five and a half in London for Lloyds TSB... after a near miss earlier, I finally got married in May 2001 to Kellie... now living in Berkshire.
... left the country and lived on a Kibbutz (after making a balls up of my A levels)... returned following May... bummed around... went to college in Bristol to do Business Studies... met my ex-husband to be... did post grad in Personnel Management at Leeds... worked in Essex... London... now work as Personnel Director for an ad agency in Cheshire... Divorced (recommend it!!!)... have 2 kids - Sarah (12) and Sam (8)
... started my purchasing career at Farnell Instruments... (after poor A-level grades down to too much partying)... moved to Leeds to IMI and Cameron in various purchasing positions, getting my CIPS along the way... now working at
Sidhil, a manufacturuer of hospital beds as their Purchasing Manager and completing my DMS currently at LMU... never married, no children but a fond auntie and living very happily in Rothwell with my partner Kevin and cat Chloe... still like partying, but have fallen out of touch with schoolmates -
love to hear from old chums...
... served an Apprenticeship in Engineering ... married in September 1996 to Margaret and now have 2 kids (Hannah aged 10
and Samuel, 8)... spent ten years working at John Smiths Brewery as a mechanical fitter ... decided to have a lifestyle change and emigrated down to New Zealand. The only things we miss are the friends who are too many to name, pubs, a good Indian meal and, of course, the Northern Soul all Nighters.
... went to Harrogate FE to do Business Studies (Btec) (having been kicked out of the lower sixth)... had already met my future husband - although unknown to me at the time!... Married Stuart, a farmer, at Tockwith church in 1982... joined Dad's business and worked there until having my first child (Charlotte in 1988)... two years later had another child (Sophie)... enjoyed being at home and helping out with the pigs and sheep... in 1998 I went to Leeds Metropolitan University studying for a BA (Hon's) in Childhood Studies... successfully completed this year with a 2:1... now working for the City of York Early Years and Childcare Service as an Under Eights Officer... still living in Tockwith, still married.
... stayed around for a while working locally... got engaged..got un-engaged... Mum died in 1993... moved to Cleckheaton... worked at a Fiat/Lancia garage in Leeds... got a job closer to 'home' in Debt collecting (little me!!)... in 1997 got married in Sri Lanka to John... had son Ryan November 1998 and Shaun, June 2000... now work part time (10 hours a month - well I DID say part time) and it gets me out of the house... the rest of the time I look after the kids, surf the net, mess about with web sites, and play with our daft husky (dog) called Connor... thinking of doing teaching qualification when the kids are a little older and then hoping to work locally... (well it would be great to have summer hols etc. off work).
... went to Art college in Surrey and dropped out after two
years... got a job as a draftsman for a quarrying company... after a few years decided it was so mind-numbingly boring that I needed to get out... now work as Senior Graphic Designer for Corus, based in York, with a small team of Graphic and web designers under me... married Lizzie two years ago and live in Pocklington, East Yorkshire.
... spent a year working on various farms in France etc.... went to Bretton Hall college to study for a Theatre Arts Degree... left in '84 and went on to Middlesex Polytechnic to do Post Grad in Film and TV, whilst working as a despatch rider in central London... got offered a job as a driver for a film crew making a documentary about cycling across Norway, Sweden and Finland... learned a great deal about the job of Assistant Film Cameraman in the process and was taken on by that cameraman for several series afterwards... married my old college girl-friend (Helen) in 1987 in Barnsley... moved down to Hampshire in the same year... started working for a company called Cine Wessex (based in Winchester) where I transferred my allegiance to video... A year later in '89 Sky News were looking for young regional cameramen to cover news events in the central Southern region which I took over and eventually formed my own company (Forager Films)... 1993 saw the birth of our first daughter (Imogen) and the start of a new venture in gardening programmes for Meridian TV... in 1997 I was asked whether I'd like to try shooting a new BBC2 series to be called "Ground Force" which was a bit of an experiment as two of the presenters would be total novices (Tommy Walsh and Charlie Dimmock)... I have shot every single program since - including the Mandela Special - recently returned from the Falklands and Jamaica... second daughter (Molly) was born in 1999 and Helen is now on her third headship.
went to Airedale High School (Castleford), which was a disastrous move as I hated the place from day one... ran a business with John Wardle in the Brunswick Yard for several years (Wetherby Workshop, selling genuine (honest folk's?) stripped pine furniture)... took 6 years to find the escape tunnel from Castleford, but I finally did, and moved up to God's country in Northumberland... my three kinder are Hannah (29) who produced my first grand daughter Rosabel last year. Hannah teaches English. Samuel is principal Designer at a Design Consultancy in Sheffield, making hods of dosh, and Morgan lives in London, managing a YHA hostel. I still teach Art, but all computer Graphics, as well as having a senior role in the school.
…left WHS in 1991, and, much to the concerns of my
father, decided not to go to University but formed Boyracer, a
punk rock band… spent the next 15 years releasing records and touring the toilets of the world, from Tokyo to Tyneside… often wonder what Malcolm Spencer and Belinda Swift-Howe would have thought of my musical 'direction' (I was tympanist/percussionist in the School Orchestra, so did have SOME musical direction at one point)… in 2000 toured with Rabbit In Red, an American band, in the UK where I met my future wife, Jen… married and moved to Flagstaff Arizona in 2001, where I now live and work as a cowboy. (Yes, a REAL cowboy roping cattle and castrating steers and wearing a hat and chaps and the works)… We now have 400 head of black angus and live very remotely, in the middle of the painted desert with our cows, solar power, dirt roads,
pumping our own water with no neighbours for several miles… a very different life from my leafy green upbringing in Wetherby
Ran as fast as I could and only just stopped… didn’t like school, didn’t like teachers, didn’t like Wetherby, didn’t like being told to do and still f***king hate it, only ever worked at English and Art and took some time working out that if I was working in a job I loved that I really wouldn’t be working at all… The careers officer was grade A, platinum-plated useless when I listed Formula 1 driver / Novelist / Producer as my preferred career choices which all goes to show how wrong teachers and indeed career Officers can be, I thank the teachers who supported me, the few. I thank Reg Taylor for being the only teacher who managed to scare me (He told me in Wetherby a few years ago how I had been the only kid to scare him which I took as a compliment)… follow your intuition and your heart and try not to let your head, your teachers or indeed your career officer in the way… "Two paths diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by and that made all the difference"…and so it does today. |
 Wetherby Schools - Autobiographies |
| submit your life story | return to the assembly hall | this is a FREE, non-subscription site but donations are welcome |
|
... dropped out of art college, man... worked in the British Library... posted letters... emigrated to France... came back... swept up in a warehouse... won the Guardian crossword competition... moved south... got married... increased the population... spent too many years farting around with databases, bar codes and other inane things... had an idea for a website one wet Sunday in January 2000... 
... never ever wanted to go to university... too shy you know... went to Sheffield and trained to be a Registered Nurse at the Royal Hospital... first Staff Nurse job at the Hallamshire when it was brand spanking new... headed to Exeter in Devon to train to become a midwife... 1983 and fed up of England I headed for Auckland New Zealand for a year's working holiday as a midwife... went back to General Nursing eventually and stayed in NZ for 12 years! If you haven't been out there make sure you go there one day... in 1995 returned to England with my partner Paul who is from Surrey... we live on a small farm and I have been agency nursing for some months... last job was Matron of nursing home... happy to say that most of my nursing school of 1976 are still in nursing in some shape or form - don't think you get that with today's training... 
... suffered at the caring hands of the Jacob Kramer lecturers (I use the term advisedly)... failed to get a B.A. place... posted letters on the 'Lakes' estate up Spofforth Hill for a year... helped form the 'best band in Wetherby' (sic)... went to Newcastle Poly for 3 years doing graphics/illustration... graduated 1980... some grim years trying to work freelance and keeping the alcoholism going by
doing other jobs as well... started posting letters again then did the kids/marriage thing (in that order)... still with Royal Mail, in recruitment, which is the modern equivalent of painting the Forth Bridge... 
... got 3 Ds and an E for A levels (thats what happens when you work in a winebar instead of revising for exams)... went to the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne through UCCA clearing... got a degree in Chemistry... started a Ph.D in Chemistry... moved in the first year of my Ph.D to Kansas State University (advisor got a new job)... travelled to as many states as possible... finished my Ph.D... married Karen (a Kansas farm girl)... moved to Virginia as a visiting professor... left academics... started work at Sherwin-Williams (a paint company)... had 1 kid (Nicholas)... waited 9 years... had another kid (Allison)... 
... went to work as an apprentice 'snapper' at a small photographic studio in Olney, Bucks... after three years tried my hand in the big city, a commercial photographic outfit based in Camden Town and spent the best part of 6 months photographing every kind of fire extinguisher you can think of for Chubb... got fed up finding a place to park the car in London and decided that the grass must be greener elsewhere... had a chance conversation in a pub called The White Hart in the Buckinghamshire village of Stoke-Goldington with a mate whose mum was from Guernsey ... asked if she knew of any photographers over there... got the addresses... dropped them a line... one said thanks but no thanks, the other said hop on a plane and come and talk... apart from a year in the 80's spent in Jersey have been here ever since... now snapping for the Guernsey Press as their Chief Toggie. Married Sally, and have 1 daughter, Sarah (9)... 
... went to Tadcaster to do A levels... Manchester Uni to do a Physics Degree... worked for Pirelli in Southampton, where I nearly went insane with boredom... was sacked when it was noticed I didn't do anything useful... met my future wife, Annette... we produced two children who are now 19 and 17... went to Southampton Uni to do a Ph.D. and then to Queensland Uni in Oz for a couple of years for some time out in the sun... came home because Annette didn't like the spiders and snakes, although everything else about the place was brilliant... went to City Uni in London to learn how to be an Optometrist... qualified in 1996 and then shared a rollover jackpot and won 5.7 million on the lottery!!... er, actually that last bit not true, sorry. I'm currently a self-employed optician and still living in Southampton...
... did various dead-end jobs in and around Wetherby ... worked on a boat in the Med for a while... got engaged and disengaged a couple of times! ... started to get my act together in early-20's and ended up as a secretary in Leeds (who'd believe that one!)... met and married first husband and moved to Sheffield... had daughter number one, Sam, in 1983... worked for Sheffield CC and finally achieved degree - even more unbelievable! - after splitting from hubby (is there some moral there?)... became personnel officer and met second hubby in 1990 which ended in move to Portsmouth and second daughter, Kerry, who was born in 1991... at same time was administration manager/bursar of a secondary school (oh my word, and how I HATED school) and obtained CIPD... left there to move to current job as a facilities manager on PFI project in Portsmouth... currently, living with Rob (biker boy!) and very happy... finally.
... worked at Farnell instruments on Sandbeck Lane... Turnpike Hotel... left Wetherby in 74... lived and worked in Jersey C.I. for a season... to Toronto Canada in 75... worked for Holiday Inns for a year or two... entered the wonderful world of Automotive retailing (flogging cars) and never stopped... worked as sales rep, sales manager, leasing manager, general manager for Mercedes, Volvo and Audi... managed to persuade childhood sweetheart Veronica Moorhouse of Linton to come and visit me and have not untied her yet! Result of over 20 years of wedded bliss - 3 children and a Jack Russell terrier (we bought the dog)... oldest daughter Sara 19 is obtaining her bachelor of fine arts in Toronto... Michael 16 and James 11 stay at home and turn my hair even whiter. We live in a small village called Brooklin 50 kilometers outside Toronto. Veronica is in the healthcare profession, I am now Vice President of a Volkswagen dealership in Toronto. I enjoy riding my motorbike , I currently ride a BMW K1200rs (way too fast). I take a few rides a year into Vermont and Maine. I enjoy skiing with my family and wilderness fishing trips without them! My youngest sister Allison lives in Leeds and I do manage to return to England every 4 or 5 years... 
... moved into a communal gay household in Leeds... worked at a travel agency in Leeds for a couple of years... quit and moved to Berlin... had various jobs, teaching English, building bicycles and barking into the microphone for various bands... toured Germany and Holland with a band called Leningrad Sandwich!... released a couple of best-forgotten records... moved to London in summer '83... studied for a degree in German literature at Goldsmiths College... met Bruno, a Frenchman with whom I was together for 12 years... spent a year in East Berlin (1986-1987)... graduated 1988... couldn't get a decent job so worked a couple of years for Marriott Hotels as a European and Middle East sales executive (what a pompous title!)... worked for the Gimpel family in London, who own the Gimpel Fils art gallery... in 1993 I became a freelance German translator... set up my own translation and interpreting agency which is still running successfully... the following year I accepted a position as tutor of creative writing at City University, a part time job that I still enjoy... I have always written and have had some short stories published, written one unpublished novel, the second currently being finished... I've also translated several plays from German... for the past three years I've been living with my current partner Stephanus, a South African guy who is a corporate lawyer. Life's good!