A long time ago...

I was born and brought up in Plymouth, Devon, a lovely place to grow up, being near the sea and plenty of coutryside close by. Through ups and downs I still support Plymouth Argyle FC and try to get to games when possible. I am a Catholic Christian, and always attended church with my parents and sisters. I have happy memories of being up in the choir loft as my mum was always there, and often sang beautiful solos at Sunday mass.

A turning point...

However, it wasn’t until February 1983 that I realised for myself the reality of God’s deep love for me personally. I went on a ‘retreat’ (a spiritual weekend away) organised by school. It was a true turning point in my life, after which I joined a local prayer group, started playing guitar and writing songs, and, most of all, began knowing that God was my loving Father and that Jesus was my best friend. This may seem cheesy when just reading the words, but as I look back, there has been so much more in my life that makes what I realised then seem even more true.

Sion Community...

Wanting to know more about the Bible and faith-related issues, I went to Liverpool to do a degree in Theology, followed by a PGCE (Post graduate Certificate in Education) to train for teaching. Before my first teaching post, I met a priest called Fr Pat Lynch, the leader of a fairly new, but now over 25 years old, organisation called Sion Community. They work in churches, schools and elsewhere enabling people to come to a new faith in Jesus, or to grow in the faith they have. I joined the Community for three years, and in 1989 I began leading the Community’s first school mission team, called ‘Cross Purposes’, who continue to do very good work with young people today.

Bernadette, marriage, family and work...

It was during this time that I met Bernadette, who joined Sion for two years. We realised how we felt for eachother and that we might have a future together while on the beautiful Isle of Arran in Scotland, on a day off in April 1991. Two years later we were married in St Peter’s Church in Lytham, near where we now live, although at the time we were living in Manchester. She returned to her work as a Clinical Psychologist, and I began primary school teaching. We moved to Malvern in Worcestershire for five years (the Malvern Hills are beautiful), when I taught RE and was Chaplaincy Co-ordinator in a High School, before returning up north in 2001. We have been blessed with four wonderful boys, each with their own special gifts and personalities.

And so to now...

Since 2001, I have taught in Blackpool, but I am now the Music Co-ordinator at Leyland Methodist Junior School, where I enjoy helping the children to enjoy music in many different forms and genres, as well as leading the school choir. For two years now we have gone to ‘Young Voices’, a fantastic annual singing event with 8000 children!

Me in a nutshell - well OK then, a text-box!

At Home Park, Plymouth Argyle’s ground.

‘Come on you greens!’

With the family at Cadbury’s World. “Mmmm!”

Over the years, I have suffered from epilepsy. Read about it here.