May - Old Scarborians

38there I topped up my qualifications atLonglands College in Middlesbrough, actuallygaining a scholarship to do A-level maths andphysics. Joey and Bill Potts would have beenproud. From there to the City of BirminghamCollege of Education and Teacher Training. Imanaged to scrape through on a little workeffort while mainly concentrating on the rockmusic band that we were forming. After collegeI taught in Birmingham schools for ashort time then went fully pro in pursuit ofthe elusive ʹbig timeʹ. We had the same recordingmanager and sound engineer as ManfredMann. Unfortunately none of our effortsever made it. However we did have the privilegeof working alongside some big name entertainersas their supporting band includingBen E King, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones,Lulu, The Barron Knights, The Move, TheBonzo Dog Doodah Band, The Everly Bros,Chuck Berry, The Tremeloes and The Pedlarswhom I think were Luluʹs old band, The Lovers.After this faded I ran a pub in Smethwick,made enough to start a business, childrenʹsboutique, got so badly ripped off in a scam bythe vendor that I was on the verge of bankruptcy,went back into showbiz to pay off mycreditors, formed the rock and roll duo, MarkArran and Stevie Lee, fabulous girl drummer(actually the wife,- game girl), got to the finalsin the Mitchells and Butlers Talent Extravaganzaat the Wolves Molyneux GroundSocial Club. Solvent again, went into specialeducation, read for the degree of Bachelor ofPhilosophy in the Psychology of ChildhoodEmotional and Behavioural Disorder at BirminghamUniversity. Took a further qualificationin clinical hypnosis and psychotherapy,opened and ran the Dudley HypnotherapyCentre from 1984 till 1998.My next job was on the original part of the M1motorway as a Quantity Surveyor that lastedabout a year.Two or three times a year we travel up fromWorcestershire to visit friends and family allover the North East. From now on we willhave a new respect for the M1.I returned to Bournemouth and have spentmost of the rest of my life here, working forvarious firms of builders and professionalquantity surveying firms. My only other periodaway was in 1984/85 when I went towork in Bermuda as QS for a firm of builders.I got that job through a Bermudan friend whoI met when he was in the UK studying to be abuilding surveyor. Good fortune enabled meto retire in November 1999.The Bermudan episode sounds great. I trulyenvy your experience. Never knew why butIʹve always had a fascination with Bermudaand the ʹtriangleʹ, (or is it a ʹrectangleʹ now?)but never went there. It may stem from mydeep interest in the paranormal on which Ihave conducted a fair degree of ʺamateursleuthʺ investigative work.My first marriage took place in 1962 andlasted until 1986 when we separated, we weredivorced in 1988. We had two children, one ofeach. My daughter is now forty and is marriedwith two children, both boys. My son isnearly thirty eight and is not married but hasa partner (female), no children. I re-married in1991. My wife has two daughters, one marriedand one divorced, both with two children(each have a boy and a girl).Pat and I met at night-school in Middlesbroughin the biology class. We married twoyears later and are still going strong, twoboys, two girls, seven grand-kinder.That more or less concludes the story of mylife so far and Iʹll leave you to assess the answerto the second question in your email.(ie. What have you been up to for the last 50years, owt or nowt?)My brother, Dave, was a chef and spent thewhole of his working life in the Bournemoutharea. He was head chef in various hotels andhad his own business for a time. He has alsoretired and has recently bought a property in