Hello people,
Somebody suggested that I should put something about myself on my site! Hopefully I shall not bore you too much - I do tend to go on a bit. Please excuse the music, I like it anyway!

Well, I was born on 23rd April 1948. One of 5 boys, I started my journey into this world just as my dad was getting ready to get into bed and he had just taken his socks off! - so I was once told by my dear mother, sadly no longer with us. My brothers - John, Michael and Robert are older than I am and Philip is ten years younger. I should have had a sister, but unfortunately Hazel died of meningitis many years before I was born, I think that she was four years old. I was born at home in Headley Heath, just south of Birmingham (England) where I lived until I was nearly 21.

(April 23rd is St George's Day - the patron saint of England - and also the birthday of Shakespeare and Shirley Temple. As far as I know I am not related to any of them).

I remember something of our home in my early years. There was no electricity in our house and gas lighting only downstairs. We did have a cold water supply though. Mains water could not have been installed for long though as I remember a communal water pump in the road at the front of the house which was shared by six houses. The pump still worked - pumping water from the well below when we pushed down on the handle. I can vaguely remember a chemical loo in the outside toilet that (I think) was supposed to be emptied regularly by the local council. I also remember holes being dug in the garden and the contents from the loo being buried here. We had some really good home-grown vegetables! Hot water for bath night had to be heated in a solid fuel boiler (it was called "the copper") situated in the kitchen and the water carried a bucketful at a time through the hall and into the bathroom - we did have a fitted bath! "The copper" was also where my mother had to do the washing. Except if one of us was confined to bed through illness there was only one heated room. This was called "the living room" and had a black leaded grate. Toast made if front of the glowing coals and spread with butter while the toast was still hot was superb; it never tastes the same made under a grill on a modern cooker. We had a radio set that was powered by an accumulator (a lead acid battery that had to be re-charged). Some people in nearby houses had mains electricity and the accumulator had to be taken to one of these houses to be re-charged. My favourite program on the radio was called "Journey into Space" and if the accumulator was flat (discharged) my brother Bob and I were allowed to visit one of the houses with mains electricity to listen to this on their radio. I remember the electricity supply being connected and the excitement and luxury of getting hot water from the tap!

Now I live in Kings Norton, a suburb on the south-west of Birmingham, and am happily married to Lil who is also, it turns out, my best friend. I have three children - Jackie, Tina and Ron - and seven grandchildren - Andrew (the eldest - 18yrs old in 2001), Daniel, Sam, Catherine, Michael, Jack and Elle. Elle is the youngest and was born Tuesday September 18th 2001. Lil and I have been together (for most of the time) since 1976.

I find drug barons, child abusers, racism, sexism, fascism and any other sorts of dictatorship particularly repulsive. There just isn't enough space on this earth for things like that - so draw your own conclusions as to what I think should be done with those involved. My father-in-law had used to say that any sort of 'ism is bad. I think he was probably right, God bless him.

I should like to think we are civilised. However, looking around I think we have a very long way to go and most times lately we seem to be going in the opposite direction.

During my short life I have worked in many different occupations ranging from sports ground maintenance to office work and have had a couple of tries at working for myself. I love learning new skills. I tried being a local representative as a councillor on the City Council while at the same time working for a Member of Parliament as her organising assistant (It was at this time that I cracked up).

Well, that's enough about me, if you want to know any more you will have to take me for a drink some day - email: Click to E-mail me

My wife, Lily, is one of the most considerate caring people I have had the privilege to know. How she has put up with me for all these years I just don't know!