"Life is Short
Drink the good wine first"
Here I am, having fun in a rally car at Silverstone in 2005. This was a birthday present from Glyn. She got the idea when we went for a drive through Kielder Forest on an unsurfaced track with a 25mph speed limit. (See Northeast Photos page) (The track through Kielder is occasionally used by rally cars for whom the speed limit does not apply!)
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Who am I?
This is me,
some time ago------------->
(there was a recent photo here once but my sister said it would
frighten the visitors!!). Point (your mouse) at the picture to see why I'm
laughing
I was born on Cannock Road in Wolverhampton just before Wolverhampton Wanderers won the F.A. Cup in 1949. I followed the Wolves during the 50's and 60's.
My school life started at Woden Road Infant and Junior School, and continued between 1959 and 1964 at Wolverhampton Municipal Grammar School . (the Muni!)
I left after O'levels and began an apprenticeship with Post Office Telephones, later to become BT, where I eventually worked for 31 years. While in Wolverhampton I was also a menber of the REMO Players Amateur Drama Group
I lost touch with most of my school friends after I left school but I have now joined the WMGS old pupils association and have created a Web site which may be of interest to ex-pupils. Please click on the school name above to find out more.
I married in 1971 and have three children (girl, boy, girl)
I left Wolverhampton in 1979, moving to Stone in Staffordshire when I went to work as an instructor/Lecturer at
British Telecom Technical College, YarnfieldAn aerial view of the British Telecom Technical College at Yarnfield, near Stone, looking north-west.The General Post Office Engineering Department Central Training School opened in Yarnfield in 1946. ...View Full Resource on Staffordshire Past Track
I moved again
in 1987 to Northampton when I moved to work in a BT head office
department in Milton Keynes.
Leaving BT in 1996, I worked as a Technician for 
until July 2003 but after a
complete career change I worked as an admin clerk for Northants Police for about four years before retiring to South
Devon in 2008.
Why not visit my Cousin's Home Page. Colin is an artist who specializes in Pastels and has a web site where you can see them.
My Son William is also an illustrator/graphic designer and a few of his pictures can be seen on his site (always seems to be under construction)
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Some of my other hobbies and interests.
Music, I like Blues, Rock and Pop from 1960's onward.
I used to play Snooker but retired after losing against 6 times World Champion Ray Reardon. (actually I stopped playing snooker when I took up bowls). I have recently picked up a cue again, to see if I can still play now my eyes are worse.
I
also enjoy Ten Pin Bowling where my highest ever game
score for many years was 246, (611 series, achieved in 1979 ay Humber Bowl in Wolverhampton) In 2011 I achieved a new personal best 3 games series score
of 616, (205 average per game). I'm not telling you my lowest score!
I started ten pin bowling again in 2004, after a 22 year
break. Until recently my highest score since I restarted was a 222
game (598 series) at Leeds Bowl in a tournament where I
was playing for Northants Police in a British Police National tournament in November 2007. I beat that in Dec 2011 with
a 233 game at AMF lanes Torquay.
Click here to see Video of some police
bowlers in action.
My highest game in the League at Northampton in 2007 was
a 220 and I had my best ever season averaging about 169.
My game improved when the lanes were refurbished.
If you are interested in joining the Tuesday Night League
in Northampton, playing from 6:20 to 8:30 approx from Jan
to November, turn up on the night at 6:15 and ask for
Tag. (League Organiser) Click here to see Video of some
Northants Tuesday night bowlers in action.
I am not now bowling as the Torquay Centre Monday night pairs league which we joined in 2008
folded this season due to lack of support.
I like messing about on computers ( Although I have been known to curse them) (I have learned how to produce simple Web pages, and like the way they let me contact old friends and people who have interests aligned with mine. )
I am also a National Trust Member and like walking. Click here to see our trip up Snowdon in 2002 or Pen-Y-Fan in 2003. Our 2004 walk was in the Yorkshire Dales. (Each year the hills we walk up get smaller, however we made up for it in distance that year! ). Click here for more info on the above and 2005 & 2006 walks
I am interested in family history and have traced my line of the TAME family back to 1806 in Marcham near Abingdon in Oxfordshire. (Previously Berkshire). For more info on the origin of the name TAME click here. As a result of the web site I have been successful in contacting others researching the same name.
My Mothers Maiden Name was Proom (Originating from Tyneside) and I have some info on Prooms and know someone who has much more.
Glynis, my wife has parentage that is all Welsh, before marrying me she was an "Evans" descended from "Edwards" and "Morgan" - (probably Morgan the Pirate!) We now have a cat called "Morgan"
Glynis's main hobby is amateur dramatics and she is currently a member of the TOADS and the SADS groups in Torquay, check her web page for details.
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When I worked at BT's Technical College in Yarnfield, Staffordshire (1979-86) I used to organise an Inter-department Snooker League (with over 100 players) and I used to play a bit of snooker (not that well) when I had the time. (Best ever break = 27)
The highlight of my snooker playing days was reaching the final of a weekly competition at Pontins Holiday Camp, Brixham in 1983 and as a result I then played Six Times World Snooker Champion Ray Reardon in an exhibition game. I scored 8 points and then missed a red ball. Ray came to the table and compiled a break of 102. He made it look so easy! Here we are after the game.
I gave up playing snooker when I took up outdoor bowls at Northampton West End Bowls Club in 1990, and played there until I left Northampton in 2008 (although when I'm playing outside on a rainy afternoon I sometimes wonder why!). I do now play a couple of frames of Snooker each week at the Conservative Club in Paignton
I now play bowls at Marldon Bowls Club
I was a pupil at WMGS (The Muni) from 1959 to 1964. My three sisters were also there, as follows:- Rosemary 1961-68, Dorothy 1968-73 and Mary 1972-77. I am a member of the Old Pupils Association and have created a web page for Ex Pupils which I am slowly developing with the help of other pupils. The page includes a few old school photos .
If you were at the Muni when I was then I'd love to hear from you. Please email me.
Credits:-
The pages on this site were produced using "AOLpress and Microsoft Frontpage Express" and with a bit of HTML editing in Notepad and CuteHTML.
Animation is from the animation factory (www.animationfactory.com)
The page is designed for viewing with Internet Explorer 5 or above but should work with other browsers.
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TRIVIA
Argos - I would like to recommend Argos for excellent customer service both for items ordered on internet which arrived exactly when they said they would, and with resolving problems following a purchase in the Northampton shop (Not related to the goods).
Flybe - Unfortunately they sold me a flight and then decided not to fly - leaving me with a one way ticket back from Spain and no outbound flight. What is the point of selling the cheapest tickets if you don't actually fly. I could do that!
Post Codes a
useful royal mail site.
I
cannot however recommend the use of Royal Mail since they
lost some of my Holiday Photographs (Of my one and only
trip to Los Angeles, USA) somewhere between Newton Abbot
and Northampton.
Postscript:
Never test the depth of the water with both feet.