I was born in a suburb on the outskirts of East London within the county of Essex. As an adult I moved away, but later returned to serve the community working as a London Firefighter. I never planned to become an author, however, I found writing about my experiences as a child and later about the untimely death of my wife really helped with the grieving process. I hope that my story will help and encourage others to talk about their grief and loved ones. It’s okay not to be okay!
I was born in a suburb on the outskirts of East London within the county of Essex. As an adult I moved away, but later returned to serve the community working as a London Firefighter. I never planned to become an author, however, I found writing about my experiences as a child and later about the untimely death of my wife really helped with the grieving process. I hope that my story will help and encourage others to talk about their grief and loved ones. It’s okay not to be okay!
About Me
I was born in a suburb on the outskirts of East London, within the county of Essex. I lived in several different towns and villages in Essex, right up until May 2022 when I retired from The London Fire Brigade, where I had worked for thirty years as a whole-time firefighter. I then moved into a rural village, in the county of Suffolk.
As a child I had never dreamt of becoming fireman (as they were called back than), instead I wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps and become a carpenter and joiner. Leaving school at the age of sixteen, with below average exam results, I was lucky to get a placement on a Youth Training Scheme for twelve months, which at the time was the only way to obtain an apprenticeship.
I was finally doing something that I enjoyed, obtaining excellent exam results in communication skills, carpentry, and joinery. To my surprise, I was even awarded the Best Student Award whilst I was studying at college.
By the age of 24, I had worked my up the ladder in the construction trade, first becoming a joinery foreman and later a contracts manager, working on multi-million-pound projects in and around London.
The financial recession of 1991/92 hit the building trade hard and sadly along with many other highly qualified and experienced trades people and managers, I was made redundant.
In April 1992, I started working for the London Fire Brigade and completed a twenty-week training course before being posted to a busy East London fire station. What happened next was thirty years of shift work, days, nights, weekends, and public holidays which resulted in me missing many special occasions. But that had to be expected, working for a 24-hour emergency service.
Becoming a writer, let alone a published author, was never on my radar. My author journey began in November 2018, two months after I had lost my wife to breast cancer.
I was sitting alone on a beach in Turkey, (I needed to get away and try and make sense of if all), on what would have been my wife’s 51st birthday. As you would expect, I was emotionally drained, I felt alone, lost, scared, and frightened. Frightened that I would forget special times and places that my wife and I had been to. So, I began to write a few things down in a notebook.
Over the course of two years, my words became sentences, paragraphs followed by chapters and slowly it evolved into a book which I named, LOVE BEYOND LOVE. I submitted it online, and in November 2022 my book was published.
Since retirement, I have joined social media writers’ groups and coordinated a monthly writing group meeting at a local village hall and give public talks about my career in the fire brigade and writing journey. I love to meet people and enjoy attending book signings and have received the number one bestseller spot on two occasions at a local book shop.
I continue to write, with book two well on its way.
By the age of 24, I had worked my up the ladder in the construction trade, first becoming a joinery foreman and later a contracts manager, working on multi-million-pound projects in and around London.
The financial recession of 1991/92 hit the building trade hard and sadly along with many other highly qualified and experienced trades people and managers, I was made redundant.
In April 1992, I started working for the London Fire Brigade and completed a twenty-week training course before being posted to a busy East London fire station. What happened next was thirty years of shift work, days, nights, weekends, and public holidays which resulted in me missing many special occasions. But that had to be expected, working for a 24-hour emergency service.
Becoming a writer, let alone a published author, was never on my radar. My author journey began in November 2018, two months after I had lost my wife to breast cancer.
I was sitting alone on a beach in Turkey, (I needed to get away and try and make sense of if all), on what would have been my wife’s 51st birthday. As you would expect, I was emotionally drained, I felt alone, lost, scared, and frightened. Frightened that I would forget special times and places that my wife and I had been to. So, I began to write a few things down in a notebook.
Over the course of two years, my words became sentences, paragraphs followed by chapters and slowly it evolved into a book which I named, LOVE BEYOND LOVE. I submitted it online, and in November 2022 my book was published.
Since retirement, I have joined social media writers’ groups and coordinated a monthly writing group meeting at a local village hall and give public talks about my career in the fire brigade and writing journey. I love to meet people and enjoy attending book signings and have received the number one bestseller spot on two occasions at a local book shop.
I continue to write, with book two well on its way.
I was born in a suburb on the outskirts of East London, within the county of Essex. I lived in several different towns and villages in Essex, right up until May 2022 when I retired from The London Fire Brigade, where I had worked for thirty years as a whole-time firefighter. I then moved into a rural village, in the county of Suffolk.
As a child I had never dreamt of becoming fireman (as they were called back than), instead I wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps and become a carpenter and joiner. Leaving school at the age of sixteen, with below average exam results, I was lucky to get a placement on a Youth Training Scheme for twelve months, which at the time was the only way to obtain an apprenticeship.
I was finally doing something that I enjoyed, obtaining excellent exam results in communication skills, carpentry, and joinery. To my surprise, I was even awarded the Best Student Award whilst I was studying at college.
I was born in a suburb on the outskirts of East London, within the county of Essex. I lived in several different towns and villages in Essex, right up until May 2022 when I retired from The London Fire Brigade, where I had worked for thirty years as a whole-time firefighter. I then moved into a rural village, in the county of Suffolk.
As a child I had never dreamt of becoming fireman (as they were called back than), instead I wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps and become a carpenter and joiner. Leaving school at the age of sixteen, with below average exam results, I was lucky to get a placement on a Youth Training Scheme for twelve months, which at the time was the only way to obtain an apprenticeship.
I was finally doing something that I enjoyed, obtaining excellent exam results in communication skills, carpentry, and joinery. To my surprise, I was even awarded the Best Student Award whilst I was studying at college.