A little history....  if you really want to know

Well, where to begin.
My first job was at a place called Plancraft  marine, cleaning and assisting with the construction of speedboats.
At 15, this was a great little job and soon escalated to a full time job when I left school.
Sadly the owner passed away, and I ended up training as an electrician.  Jobs in the boating industry turned out to be pretty hard to find.
My father was an electrician, and I was already into building stuff, so the construction industry seemed a good choice.

This lead to many projects outside the electrical window.
Complex security systems that Bond's Q would be proud of, work in some very expensive locations and properties and also a slightly bizarre sideline in building train sets for rich people!

I was a sparky for many years, until I built a treehouse for my Son William.   So many people wanted one, I started a company called 'The Enchanted Forest'.
I went on and built many projects from treehouses, to pirate ships, ponds and full garden designs.

I then went sailing for a few years. This was a great experience.

It started off with a wander around the south of the Caribbean in a 30' yacht.
Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, plus a pile of small islands.
An amazing and great time.

I returned and did my Yachtmasters training down on the Isle of Wight in Cowes.
It was live-in accommodation, and the food was appalling.
But, after a cold winter on the Solent, I got the paperwork and headed off to Palma to become a chief engineer on a superyacht.

The sailing was a  life changing time. I saw what real wealth was (and not totally at ease with it either to be honest).

I did this for a couple of years.  The yacht was a very high specification and technically ahead of the curve.
This meant it didn't need a big crew. In fact, there were only 4 of us.

The later years...

The chef and stewardess were hardly ever on board, as the owner was a rare sight and they only appeared if he was coming to stay.
Richard the skipper was around a little more, but he really wasn't the nicest of people.  Had a total disregard for other people and their possessions and that did take some getting used to.

However, I did find myself on board this 12 million pound yacht alone...  a lot.  And after cleaning, sorting and improving the boat as much as I could...  I realised it was time for a change.

I returned home, planning to simply sort out a few things and then return to sailing.
However, I met my amazingly gorgeous wife Tara and I stayed in the UK.

I picked up The Enchanted Forest again and this lead to an opportunity on the Isle of Man.
Tara's career had taken her to the North east of the UK, and so we decided to divide and conquer.
After a year, whoever was doing the best, the other would move to them.

Wife won (or I failed).

The Isle of Man was a beautiful place. My apartment on the sea front of Port Erin was probably the nicest place I will ever live.
I loved that apartment.
I was on the island renovating a £700k property for an ex-client of mine (and friend). The plan was to expand the business into a big property company on the island, but that just was never going to happen for various reasons out of my control.

Too many things intervened and it soon became apparent the Isle of Man was a no-go.

So,  I moved to Stockton on Tees. Together again finally with Tara.
I did a few odd jobs around the area for a while, and then obtained a job with a local electrical company.

Tara was then offered a new job in the south of the UK several years later. So now we  live in rural Wiltshire.

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Onwards we go..

So, I got a job with a special effects company who specialised in stage Pyrotechnics.  Had great fun building various mad and death inviting gigs for stage and TV.
This carried on for a good few years as a freelance engineer until Covid killed off the stage work and the company folded.

I carried on working on my own projects and then found a prop and scenic construction company in Bristol that needed help in their technical department.
Fast forward less than 12 months, and now I am head of their Technology and Engineering team.

So I thought a small website would be fun, listing the stuff I like to do and projects I have my fingers in.

Exciting eh?