If you’ve never worked on a construction site I can definitely recommend it. The camardarie and the tough physical challenge is amazing. We had moved house to a sleepy village called Over Wallop, Hampshire. I had to travel quite a lot. Two of the best sites I worked on Kiddington Hall where we were sub-contracted to do a refurb. Jemima Khan nee Goldsmith had just bought it for £15 million. It was to be a weekend retreat for her and her new beau Russell Brand. Although it was 136 mile round trip, it was worth it.
The site I really enjoyed was Lygon Place in Belgravia. It had been used by the Spanish Embassy for years. The eight houses had been sold for renovation and we secured the contract. This entailed catching the 5:20am train into Clapham Junction and the tube to Victoria with a short walk to the site, usually arriving back home around 7pm for 18 months, but once again it was worth the travel. In 2010/11 the cheapest house was £17 million and the most expensive £21 million. All our cutting was done in the underground carpark. I recall one day Roger Moore was due to view a property and we were told we all had to stay underground while he was there. Obviously James Bond would be nervous around a bunch of construction workers. 😂
These were good contracts, because with Tony Blair leaving office in 2007, suddenly there were no hospitals or schools to build. We were so successful we had a 5% pay increase every year. We had escaped the great recession of 2008/9 because of those contracts. But as Bizzare Inc, sang in 1992 Why waste your time? You know you’re gonna be mine…”(I’m gonna get you, baby) I’m gonna get you” In late 2011 after struggling to find more work for some time we had gone from 35 carpenters and 3 foremen… to 3 foremen. My boss had us cutting his hedge, mowing his lawn, painting his fence… anything as long as he didn’t have to lay us off. But I had an idea! 😂
Even though I had enjoyed my time on site it looked like it might be coming to an end. There was still a niggle to do something… “good” I dunno what else you would call it. I had seen an advert in a local paper for teaching courses in colleges. So, in January 2012 I did a short evening course. My neighbour expressed his concern that at 55 years-old maybe it was too late to start another career.😂 By June I had a part time job covering someone’s sick leave, teaching Carpentry at Brockenhurst College. I also started volunteering at a place called Enham Trust that supported disabled people, mainly with Cerebal Palsy. That was such great fun and I met a lot of lovely people. We did three pantomimes while I was there and as you already know I do like a dressing up box. 😂
During the summer recess a job was advertised at Fareham College for a full time Carpentry Lecturer. I read everything I could about teaching in a college, made a model door and frame for my practical lesson test in front of the panel. I winged the interview relying on improvisation rather than experience. They decided I was the best candidate, mainly because of my model and explanation of how to fit a door. So began five years of achieving more qualifications, teaching kids how to saw a straight line and assessing apprentices in the workplace.
I got awards for using IT Innovation in Teaching and was now a fully qualified Lecturer, Assessor, and Internal Verifier. Life was great, but I swear Gillian and I must have Gypsy blood 😂
Happy trails, Folks x
