From a male line having origins in Yorkshire in 1650, I was born just 300 years later, in North Wales. It was, therfore, the land of my footsteps rather than the land of my fathers. The early part of my life was an idyllic childhood amongst farms, simple, honest, people and the wildlife of the countryside. Interests in music, wildlife and fishing flourished.

Our family moved to Blackpool in 1958. The bright lights and razzle-dazzle came as something of a shock to a country boy! Education suffered a significant setback in this new environment.

Adolescence

Another move north to Fleetwood in saw the start of a period of ill health for my father, and instability for our family. It also saw me begin work in Fleetwood Parks Department and I found there was something I could do quite well.

This was followed by a move to Blackpool Parks Department. A bigger set-up where I was to gain more experience.Training and exams followed. Then, after a spell in the family floristry business as my father's health declined, I went to work in Shropshire as foreman of a commercial forestry company.

I spent the time expanding my knowledge of both forestry and the world of commerce. A period of illness following an accident at work, then some pretty harsh working conditions -- including hauling laden sleds through waist deep snow during winter in the forest -- convinced me that my destiny lay elsewhere. It did. I moved on to Somerset College of Agriculture, at Cannington.

Early Maturity

A period of consolidation now began. Competent and confident, life was to be lived to the full. I met Barbara, my wife to be, and moved back to Lancashire to be married. In one of those classic head and heart decisions, I resolved to leave the most enjoyable job of my career and return home to marry. There was also a short spell in the family business again as we prepared for the retirement of my parents, then I went to work at the Lancashire College of Agriculture, both at the Myerscough and Winmarleigh Centres.

I spent some time there working -- and completing my qualifications -- before moving to work as Assistant Parks Superintendent for South Ribble Borough Council where I was for 13 happy years. South Ribble introduced me to Action Centred Leadership training via the Industrial Society. This built a solid foundation of management skills which have stayed with me since and remain my guiding light. They are akin to the values espoused by Sir John Harvey Jones, ex Chairman of ICI, and a man for whom I have great respect.

At this time, I also became involved with our professional organisation, the Institute of Park and Recreation Administration. I was an ordinary member before joining the North West Executive Committee and, in its final year before merging to become the Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management, I was North West Branch Chairman. I was an Executive Committee member of ILAM for several years, and remain a full member.

This period saw Barbara and I set up our home together in Penwortham, near Preston. Our life together had become stable and secure.

The Middle Years

Having grown at South Ribble, and with the end of funding for the development work which had held my interest, I felt it was time to move once again. Throughout the country, most parks departments had been subsumed into leisure conglomerates. This effectively downgraded the status of parks, making them one of several services competing within a leisure budget for a slice of the funding, rather than having their own, discrete resourcing. I looked at several places, Southampton, Oxford, Luton, but none seemed significantly more interesting that where I was.

Then, in 1986, Fylde Borough Council, probably the last autonomous parks department in the country advertised for a Superintendent. The main town -- St Annes -- was also the home of Les Dawson, an English comedian, who described it as "a graceful maiden aunt with billowing skirts." It is just that -- gentle, relaxed, graceful, and brimming with old world charm.

En-Route to Retirement

An unexpected (and unwelcome) heart attack in 1994, brought a change of lifestyle for us. Since then, life has entered a further period of consolidation. Barbara and I now take great pleasure in watching our many nephews, nieces and godchildren passing through childhood, to take their place in their own communities. We have enjoyed visits to many places in the world that we did not think that we would have seen. We have seen mountains, stood on a glacier, and on a volcano. The sights of Russia, Bermuda, America, Madeira, the Azores and the Mediterranean countries have all added to our experience.

With perhaps ten or fifteen years to retirement, your attitude to work begins to change. There is so little to time to do all the things that were planned such a short time ago. Hardly time even to see trees properly established. Priorities and plans for the future are the order of the day. Setting into place a tone and a landscape in harmony with the area that will live on to the future.

A New Start

A second unexpected event in my life disrupted what I thought were settled plans. In July 1998, it became clear that trying to meet what I felt to be the legitimate expectations of the community, whilst sucessive Governments embraced the objective of reducing public expenditure, was a circle that was impossible to square. As a consequence, I was advised that the stress of not being able to produce what I thought was a proper level of service was further damaging my health, and my doctors advised early retirement from that environment.

If you read this far, you will know that I am not one to vegetate, but clearly, I ought not to disregard the medical advice. So, after a few weeks of thought, Barbara and I have decided to begin a new style life together, and to establish a small business linking our interests in technology and the internet with my experience in tourism and leisure, and Barbara's flair for family history research.

This should enable us to find an outlet for creative talents, and allow us to offer a service limited by scale, but not by quality.
We began in January 1999, and to date have undertaken several commissions for discerning clients. If you would like to see them, follow this link to our Client Websites

I will post further updates here from time to time.