In this age of Web 2.0 I seem to have to enter many of these
details in many, many locations. Depending on the nature of
the site (professional,
personal or an attempt
at reconnecting old
friends) they all seem to want slightly different stories.
Hopefully, this is the most complete of them all
Where I lived
In approximate chronological order:
- 1968 - 1984
- Meopham, Kent. UK
Early years, infants and primary school in Meopham. Then secondary school in Meopham and grammar school in Gravesend. Sport involved lots of swimming & life saving, some rugby as well as the usual things such as cubs, scouts and man, trips to the Accident & Emergency section of the local hospital. - 1984 - 1986
- Southport, Merseyside. UK
Sixth form college and the first real adventures in beer. Sport was now lifesaving (no swimming) and the odd bit of rugby - 1986 - 1989
- Southampton, Hampshire. UK
University, so lots more adventures in beer. And the first travels to parts of the world less travelled. - 1989 - 1990
- Orpington, Kent. UK
First job, from which I was "terminated" (which I still think should have involved Arnold Schwarzenegger) and adventures in London. Sport was indoor cricket (yeah, it really existed) and a very silly game involving a frisbee.
At which point things start to get a little complex. In
June 1990 I got a job working on a seismic acquisition crew.
This meant that I was posted to various exotic parts of the
world such as Tunbridge Wells, Bridlington, North Allerton
and Haywards Heath. It was a nomadic lifestyle for a year
or so, living in caravans, camp sites and occasionally B&B's.
But eventually the postings got a little more glamorous;
Belgium, Milan and many different locations all over Germany
(where I got pretty good at speaking german. It was either
that or starve, so I learnt quickly). And then the locations
got a little more dangerous
My next posting was on the Yemen/ Saudia Arabia border. Except
that due to the contantly shifting sand dunes (they were up to
250m tall) and the lack of satellite navigation (GPS was only
just arriving) we were never really sure which country we
were in. And as the local Beduoin didn't really seem to care,
neither did we. Then finally in this nomadic existence, I
finished up spending two years in Kazakhstan.
After which, in this constantly travelling lifestyle, I
wanted a trip to one of the glamorous locations again. Only
I was offered Nigeria. This time, I
decided to leave the job.
It was 1994 and life became a bit simpler again.
- 1994 - 1995
- Sheffield, South Yorkshire. UK
University (again) so obviously more adventures in beer. Sport involved attempting to swim, but giving that up because it was just far too much like hard work, korfball and more silly running around after a frisbee - 1995 - 1996
- Tunbridge Wells, Kent. UK
Well, I knew all about it after looking for oil there, so why not get a job there? This was my first job after my second time at university. And was also the site of one of my most bizarre first days on a job (and let's face it, most first days are pretty bizarre). Sport now involved lots and lots of chasing after frisbees and occasionally hurtling down snow covered slopes with planks of wood attached to my feet. - 1996 - 1998
- Southampton (again, but not for the last time)
Second job after my second time at university. I was attracted to coming back to Southampton for a number of reasons: the job, the familiarity, the people. Whatever the final reason I got to buy my first flat (or apartment) and entered the final stages of bachelor life/ first steps into marriage. was pretty much just chasing after frisbees- with the occasional 10K run, just to keep with my girlfriend - 1998 - 2003
- Calgary, Canada
Something of an odd move this one; I moved to Canada (with my wife) in order to stop travelling. No, I don't think she really understood it either. In 2001 I created my own company: Maguffyn (Unfortunately, our motto isn't as cool as 'The Vinyl Cafe'; "We may not be big, but we're small" but see the story of what a maguffyn is) but kept chasing frisbees for sport and it seemed rude not to continue to attach planks to my feet and hurtle downhill. But I never did learn to skate with a stick in my hands, nor did I learn to "Hurry Haaaard". - 2003 - 2004
- Southampton (again, and this time for the last time. So far)
Canada was never intended to be the final destination so we came back to the UK. Good job we kept that flat, heh?. - 2004 - 2006
- Calgary, Canada
The only problem with Southampton was the lack of work. So back I went to Calgary, leaving the young family behind. Work was good in Calgary, but the commute was a killer (especially when I tried to come back to the UK for a weekend. Not recommended. At all - 2006 - present
- Cheltenham and den Haag
Work pulled me overseas again. A divorce meant that I wasn't actually missing out on my kids lives by being away (well not that much); the opportunity was good and the money wasn't bad either. So now I find myself accruing frequent flyer points like they are going out of fashion (in 2006 and 2007 I was at least a Gold Member frequent flyer in two airline's freqent flyer programs. You may think that is a badge of honour- trust me, it isn't)
Finally, and this is only really because I am a geek, there is the story behind this web site