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Hello, I'm
Curly your genial shopkeeper.
I was born in John Williamson Street, South Shields,
U.K. in 1956, to an average sort of family, never rich
but never absolutely destitute either. I went to Barnes
Road School, South Shields, and joined my first football team there,
indeed I played my first representative match for South
Shields under 12's while at the school. I passed the
eleven plus exam and then went to
South Shields Grammar
and Technical School for Boys, and that is where I got
this "Curly" nickname.
My father was determined that
my hairstyle should remain a nice traditional short back
and sides, and I was upset at not being able to follow
fashion, but on his insistence went to the barbershop.
However, I'd already laid bets with the lads at school
who dared me to have it all shaved off in protest.
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%201024.jpg) Newly
shaved I went home to send my father into a rage and be
told "of course this means you won't be able to go to
Roker Park until it's grown in again". On return to
school I picked up my winnings and also the nickname
(the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team was touring
the U.K. and one of their top players was bald and
called Curly.)
Dad had taken me to Roker Park to watch
Sunderland
for the first time in 1963, the season before they were
promoted to the First Division, and following my team
has become a lifelong agony! Promotions, relegations, F.A. Cup win in 1973, F.A.Cup Final losses, Milk Cup
Final losses, Play-off Final losses, Divisional
Championships, you name it, this team has managed to
explore all of the
emotions of it's followers!
I left the Grammar School with a handful of A-levels,
O-levels, and C.S.E.'s and went to Sunderland
Polytechnic to study a B.A.Communication Studies degree.
I had intended to be a journalist but in the mid 1970's
unemployment was rampant at over 3.5 million, the
chances of getting your dream job were very slim indeed.
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Hence, after
10 months on the dole, I found myself starting a career
in retail, first off with a two day a week part-time job
with the bookmaker Ladbrokes, then I landed a job as
buyer for a departmental store in Byker, Newcastle. This
was followed by a few managerial positions in a small
chain of variety stores, before I became a Trade Manager
for a leading builder's merchant on Tyneside. They made
me redundant on April 1st. after I'd returned from a one
week holiday, and I thought someone was pulling an April
Fool Day prank until the cheque was put in my mit. I was
quickly back into work, picking up a temporary job with
my present employer in 1985. This company is the U.K.'s
largest retailer of D.I.Y. goods, and I am now an RF
Stock Manager, over the last 19 years I've worked in
every store down the the East coast from Edinburgh to
Grimsby, including a spell on secondment to the Systems
Dept. at Head Office.
In 1980 I was elected as a Progressive Councillor for the Beacon and
Bents ward, I was also Chairman of the Young
Conservatives, and a successful agent for a Conservative
County Councillor. I have not been involved with any
political parties since 1988 when I married my wife.
We have two young children, a son born in 1997, and a
daughter born in 2001.
I also hold an
Amateur Radio Licence, but my callsign,
G6UXL has not been active for seven years, my other big
interest has always been photography, I had been using a
Ricoh XR2s SLR camera with a selection of lenses for
many years. However, as the world went digital, I had to
join in. I graduated to a small cheap Konica Digital Revio
KD220Z, and then the 4m pixel Dimage Z3, but couple it
with Adobe's Photoshop software and you get some good
results. I hope you like my Photo Galleries.
If you happen to be visiting, you'll often find me
enjoying a pint at the bar of my local, The Shields
Snooker Centre, on Chichester Road. Why not pop in and
look me up next time you visit South Shields?
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