There comes a time when the life you know comes to an end. Then you have to decide what to do next or, just go straight into a care home.
The sailing days are now over, the skiing’s become a danger, the sons have fired me from the cleaning materials business I created, and I hate gardening.
The Royal Enfield motorbike was a ticket to hospital. The Ferrari, having crashed through all the pot-holes, is just too expensive to maintain.
I have always thought that if others can do it, then so can I. So, having been thrown out of school & then catering college I moved to the middle of London. Drifting around for a few years, working as a man & van for hire.
I was adopted by my wife-4-life Gail, I grew up & became respectable. As you do, we got married in 1971. Having retrieved my passport from HM Gov, repaid them the cost of repatriation from Italy in 1969, took my first airplane journey.
Being a bookings manager for Butlins holiday camp in Ayr, Scotland was interesting, but we didn’t speak Scottish. So, following on from my brief spell in Catering college, the idea of becoming a chef & working abroad, took us offshore to Guernsey. How exotic we thought! It was only when we turned up did we find out that it was, just like the Isle of Wight, still part of the UK. Whilst there I learned to peel hundreds of potatoes and make babies.
Back in the early 1970’s, it was always easy to find work as a chef. Gail had the car, a mini countryman, & I had the Honda of road motorbike. Chefs worked split shifts & so getting to & from work was always a race. The daily event, Wycombe to Amersham was a time trial with record times to be improved. That was until the first Motorbike write off. A couple having tea in the back of their camper van, coming the other way on the fast downhill right curve drifted across the white line, into my space, & took me out.
Now with a baby Ben, convalescing game time to apply for a proper job that provided a car with a bit more protection that a motorbike. Back in 1975 companies properly trained their employees. Out of 70 sales-people, I quickly became top salesman, got a trophy and a warning about crashing their cars.
Along came Claire & Rebecca and so did the need for more money. So London was buzzing and Robert became Seldram Supplies. 50 years later we’ve survived bankruptcy threats from HM Gov, educated the kids to the best of ability. We bought and successfully sold our 11 homes. Sailed around the Caribbean for 5 years and bought a house in Spain. Were still going & the two boys now run the business.
Selling odour control packages, I’ve seen inside enough care homes and that’s not an option yet. Having discovered writing a couple of books has given me a new direction. I don’t take myself too seriously and hope you will support my efforts & encourage me to do it again.
