Dennis Blurton

Life Stories

DENNIS BLURTON

SARAH MERCER 1 Life Stories

From DENNIS BLURTON

Dennis Blurton

As told to and written by SARAH MERCER Contents

Life Stories from Dennis Blurton As told to and written by Sarah Mercer

Page 13 Page 45 About: Chapter 4

Bridging Ages, CIC develops Life Stories Looking For A programs to encourage social Career contact between the elderly and youth. Page 17 Page 53 We are based in Sussex, UK. Chapter 1 www.bridgingages.co.uk Childhood Days Chapter 5

Reprints can be ordered at Seafaring Years www.lulu.com Page 25 Chapter 2 Evacuation

4 5 Page 65 Chapter 6 Married Life

Page 79 Sarah Mercer Bio

6 7 Bridging Ages

Bridging Ages CIC is a small not-for profit community company established in Sussex UK, formed in 2014 by three friends who were concerned about loneliness and the lack of social contact between generations. The Life Stories Project was created to address these issues. In 2017, Bridging Ages was awarded a National Lottery Fund grant to develop a Toolkit for the programme, making it possible for any school or group to bring the Life Stories Project to their communities.

8 9 Life Stories

Life Stories aims to increase social contact between generations. Teens visit older people in their homes, ask them about their lives and then write a professionally published book about them! In the process, young and old come together and each becomes a part of the other’s Life Story. A Life Stories book is an important family document for future generations. Families can order more copies and usually do! However, the success of the project lies in the process of making the

10 11 books. The student visits give support to older people who may be lonely. Conversations with a young person can stimulate reflections on a life lived and honour that life. The older participants tell about how things used to be and what they’ve learned in their lives. It is enjoyable to share these stories with a receptive ear and important to hand down this legacy to the next generation. Spending time with an older person and hearing a first-hand account of history can counteract negative ageist attitudes in the young. This is important in our rapidly ageing population. For many teens, this project is an introduction to volunteering, which can lead to future civic engagement. In addition, they meet the tremendous scholastic challenge of actually writing a book! The Life Stories Project builds respect, trust and empathy between generations, and that makes our communities stronger.

12 13 Life Stories From Dennis Blurton

14 15 1 Childhood Days

16 17 Childhood Days

“I would enjoy going to the cinema for special showings for nine pence.”

I was born on 24th August 1926 in Beckenham, a town situated in the county of Kent, Southern England and was an only child. My mother, Sybil Tamar (Medwell), was born in 1889 and my father, George (Blurton), in 1894. My parent’s family home was in Kingswood in the neighbouring county of Surrey and, wishing to return to my father’s roots, they only lived in Beckenham for a short time after they were married. I therefore only lived in Beckenham for a year or so and have no

18 19 Dennis Childhood memories of living there. Blurton Days We moved to a bungalow in the village of Lower Kingswood, which is where I grew up. It was a happy place to live, with a church, school, shops, petrol station and two pubs. My parents enjoyed a happy marriage, with my father commuting to work in London by train to Waterloo Station where he worked for Southern Railway in their solicitors' office. Both my father's parents died when he was young, so I never knew my paternal grandparents. However, my maternal grandparents lived in Lower Kingswood and I knew them well. My grandfather, a carpenter, kept ferrets and he had an organ keyboard in his front room that he would play. Additionally, my aunts and uncle, on my mother’s side of the family, also lived in the village and would come over for tea with their children some afternoons, and we would visit them. My father’s three brothers and his sister had by that time moved away. We would invariably spend Christmas

Dennis at Mick's, 1940 Day at home but over the Christmas period would visit friends and relatives.

20 21 We did not tend to have big parties at Dennis Childhood we were able to make the most of this on home. Blurton Days holiday visits. Growing up in the village during As a boy I would pump the village peace time I would play games of Cowboys organ and a little later progressed to join and Indians with a gang of local boys in the Church Choir and sang with them the nearby woods and these were an until being evacuated to Canada at the age exciting adventure. Riding down the hill of fourteen. In 1938 I joined a scout group outside our home on a makeshift that had formed in the village. These were pram-wheeled go-kart was not always the days of trek carts and I remember accident free! A more efficient go-kart was setting out for a first camp on a Reigate built by the scouts and it competed in a Hill estate. This was all right on the way pre-war scout competition at Broadlands. down the hill but involved lots of pulling Crossing the main road on the way to and pushing on the way up for our return. school often involved help from the AA This did not put me off scouting however, (Automobile Association) man on duty at and since those early days I remained the crossroads. He was always smartly involved, both in and out of uniform, in turned out in breeches and black gaiters Canada and Mayfield. and he saluted all passing motorists who I attended the local village school, the displayed the AA badge. head master of which was our next door On some Saturday mornings I would neighbour, and then went on to Reigate go to the cinema for special showings for Grammar School, travelling there by bus nine pence which was always enjoyable. I and remained there until I was evacuated. would also act as a ball boy at the local tennis club where my parents were members. We had a small terrier called Binjer. We were fortunate that my father received certain railway travel benefits through his work for Southern Railway, so

22 23 2 Evacuation

24 25 Evacuation

“My evacuation experience was life-changing.”

In 1941, at the age of fourteen, I was evacuated to Canada. I don’t recall much about the process of the evacuation, but the scheme itself was obviously publicised. In those war days we had no idea of what the future held and were living under the constant threat of invasion by Germany. This threat is really what led to the evacuation taking place. My parents must have thought very seriously about it and I think their decision was aided by the fact that my father’s

26 27 Dennis Evacuation brother had already established himself in Blurton Canada and had, with his wife, come over to visit us on holiday before the outbreak of the war. In that way it wasn’t as though I was being sent to live with strangers, as happened with so many other children, but would be going to stay with family. This probably helped settle my parents' minds that they were doing the right thing; however, being their only child, it must have been very hard for them to let me go. I was evacuated in convoy from Liverpool to Canada, landing at Halifax, where the evacuees boarded the trans-continental train for destinations en route to Vancouver. We stopped frequently on the journey across Canada to allow children to disembark to go to their new homes. Whenever one of these stops occurred there was always a welcoming group of Canadian ladies who came on board the train to greet us and bring us fruit and sweets. These were, to us, a real treat as there were great shortages in England at that time with rationing

Summer Holidays 1943 making fruit and sweets hard to come by. They were indeed very welcoming and

28 29 outgoing people. Dennis Evacuation separate the milk from the cream and was My uncle and his family lived in Blurton quite a valuable job as my uncle would Penticton, in the Okanagan Valley, British only separate what he considered to be Colombia, where he had a fruit and dairy surplus. farm. He had two children, both older than I would also pick the fruit. When I was me, a son who joined the Airforce whilst I about 16, I got a job in the summer was there and a daughter who was slightly holidays working in the packing house, younger and in the top grade at school humping boxes of apples, putting them when I arrived. She was into horses, so onto trolleys and wheeling them around. was very busy with them. The money I earned doing this was very The farm had a dairy herd of useful. Guernsey cattle for milking and, as was In addition to farm machinery my common in the valley at that time, uncle had a team of two horses which he orchards growing cherries, apples and used to work around the farm. I became enormous peaches. Peaches of course were quite knowledgeable about harnessing up a real luxury in England. the horses and was then allowed to use My uncle not only produced the milk, them for working. One piece of equipment but he would bottle it and take it to the that was used by the horses was a wooden town to sell to his customers, not unlike a platform with no wheels. This would be milk round in England. In addition, the dragged along the ground behind them fruit would be harvested, graded and and onto which things were loaded and packed in the Penticton packing house. carried to wherever they were needed. During my time with my uncle I was I went to the local mixed school, very involved in the farm, both with the which had quite a relaxed atmosphere dairy and the fruit. In the dairy I would compared with what I had been used to at join my uncle in milking, going on the milk the boys-only Reigate Grammar. As I grew round, cleaning out the cow shed and older it was very nice to have all the working the separator. This would beautiful girls in the class to join in with

30 31 theatricals and enjoy the school dances. Dennis Evacuation than I was, would invite his friends to the They thought me a little strange to begin Blurton slough and between them they built a hut with, the way I dressed and spoke, but all on the island in the middle. I remember it treated me tremendously well. had a wood-burning stove and in the Softball was the only game played at winter it became quite a social meeting school and we were also all enrolled into place, as long as there was ice on the the school Cadet Force. This mainly slough. Although I had been ice-skating on involved a lot of drill sessions over the four a rink in Purley, back in England, it was on years I was there, but also included a the slough in Canada that I really began to summer training session on Vancouver skate and to play some ice-hockey. My Island. cousin was a very keen and good In Canada, just as in England, I joined ice-hockey player, so I left the serious the scouts which I thoroughly enjoyed. playing to him and his contemporaries. The camping trips that we went on lasted During my final year of evacuation, for about ten days and were always a great when I was 17, my uncle left to farm in adventure, much more so than in England. Enderby but I stayed in Penticton with These were held over the summer in the another lady and her husband and surrounding mountains of British somehow found myself driving her car. Colombia and involved a lot of hiking, Although she must have taught me what cooking and general exploring. On one to do I had no lessons and certainly didn’t occasion all our gear was taken up to the have a licence. I just got in and drove it! campsite on pack horses. I made and kept up with numerous There was a ‘slough’ at the farm. This friends from Canada, all of whom have was originally part of the river that ran now sadly died, as have my aunt and uncle alongside the farm boundary, but to and their son and daughter. The only one simplify the flow of water a bend had been remaining (at time of writing) is the removed, leaving what was known as a widow of my uncle’s son, who is about 98 ‘slough’. My cousin, who was a little older and living in a home in British Colombia

32 33 Dennis Evacuation and I still keep in touch with her. These Blurton close personal friendships made over time were not lessened by the distance between us, being continued for many years by written correspondence, telephone or visiting. Looking back, I can confidently say that my evacuation experience was life-changing and such a complete, personal and enjoyable experience because I was with family. I consider myself to have been fortunate in this way as it did very much depend on which family you were with whilst evacuated. That said, I was very excited when I learnt I was going home, not having seen my parents since I had left England four years previously.

Dennis on the farm with the Guernsey cattle 1942

34 35 3 Days In The Army

36 37 Days In The Army

“Serving in the Indian Army was a complete contrast to anything I had previously experienced”

On my return to England as an 18-year-old, I went to the recruiting office to join up but was told to “go home and wait for your call-up”, which I duly did. As a younger boy my dream job had been to join the Royal Navy. Service life was deemed to be more acceptable and was in fact sought after following the terrible recession of the 1920s. There was no shortage of recruits and in those days being in any one of the services invariably meant that you would be posted abroad. I

38 39 Dennis Days was called up into the Army shortly after Blurton In my return from Canada and went straight The away to start training in the Infantry. Army After initial training I was given the opportunity to undertake further training to gain a Commission and was posted to Bangalore, India. As it happened the war ended whilst I was approaching Bombay. I spent a further three months training in Bangalore, before being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and joined the 4th Battalion of the 16th Punjab Regiment on a brigade station in the North West Province of India. This area is now in Pakistan and not far from the Afghan border in the tribal area quite often in the news nowadays. The Brigade was expected to keep the tribal peace and an eye on the nearby border. Serving in the Indian Army was a complete contrast to anything I had previously experienced, both from being in such a different country and serving with the Indian soldiers of three different religions. There were four Companies, each made up of platoons. One Company

Christmas 1941 was made up of Sikhs, one of Hindus and two of Punjabi Muslims. I served with the

40 41 Dennis Days latter. Blurton In When we were training in Bangalore The we did have a language teacher who did Army his best to help us, not too successfully, to learn Urdu. It seemed to me that our teachers were more keen to find out what life in England was like so used to encourage us to join in conversation, in English, about our life in England. I served in India for one year and as India was shortly to gain independence the British Officers were returned to British Service. I found myself transferred to Greece, where I served in Athens. It was from there that I was eventually sent home to be demobilised after three years of service.

India 1947

42 43 4 Looking For A Career

44 45 Looking For A Career

“I feel it was sad that my parents didn’t see more of me from 1941 onwards.”

I was demobilised in 1948 on my return to England and for a few weeks went up to London with my father to gain some work experience in his solicitor’s office at Southern Railway. Some of this work was interesting but I really couldn’t see myself taking up a desk job as I’d much rather be up and about doing something. Thinking that I would like to be a farmer I decided to go back to Canada as an immigrant. By that time my uncle had moved from Penticton and bought a farm in

46 47 Dennis Looking Enderby in the northern end of the Blurton For Okanagan Valley. Here he raised cows for A cream and butter, grew grain and also Career made hay for his cows. The difference here was that all the milk was taken away to the factory to be made into cream and butter. This was much less labour intensive for my uncle than it had been in Penticton where he was producing milk and fruit on site. I spent several months with him but not really being able to see a way forward moved to Vancouver where I stayed in the YMCA. Although not now being able to recall how it happened, I found myself working as a batman in the Officers' Mess of the local army unit. My duties included making beds, cleaning shoes, bar duties and generally being useful in the Mess. I enjoyed the work but I couldn’t see where this might take me so decided to return to England. On my return I stayed with my parents in Lower Kingswood. I feel it was a pity that my parents didn’t see more of me from 1941 onwards and as an only child they missed a lot. I did write them a

Canada tremendous number of letters from the time I was evacuated and still have a

48 49 collection of these. Dennis On my return to England, the first Blurton position I applied for was work as a trading assistant for, I believe, Unilever on the west coast of Africa. Not getting that job I then applied for one as a Junior Assistant Purser for P&O (the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company), a very large shipping company which not only ran a fleet of cargo ships, but also one of passenger ships. I was successful in my application to work for P&O and thus began the next chapter of my life.

50 51 5 Seafaring Years

52 53 Seafaring Years

“In looking after the money there was a considerable turnover to account for.”

I took up my position as Junior Assistant Purser with P&O in 1950 and was to spend 23 happy years with them. When I joined, their passenger fleet vessels ran from England to Australia and the Far East. Initially I sailed to Australia with the ships leaving from Tilbury then on to Port Said, Aden, Bombay, Colombo, Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. You would generally be posted onto a ship for a period of eighteen months to two years, at which time you would then apply

54 55 Dennis Seafaring for leave of about three months. On Blurton Years returning to your new posting you would probably be posted onto a different ship so over the years I sailed in several different passenger liners – Mooltan, Corfu, Aracadia, Strathmore, Oriana and others. The routes we sailed expanded over time to include round-the-world voyages when I would sail to Australia, carry on cruising from there and back home via the west coast of America and the Panama Canal. It included calls at Vancouver, where I managed to get my cousin to come and visit. She thought this was quite an outing for her. From Vancouver we would sail down to San Francisco, Los Angeles and then back to England. Other ports of call on our voyages would include those in the Far East such as Penang, Singapore, Hong Kong and Yokohama. My longest voyage was five months, but this only happened once. Over time I progressed from being a Junior Assistant Purser to Deputy Purser and then as Ship’s Purser. My role was an administrative one responsible for

Dennis with his sons running the passenger side of the ship. This covered the documentation to enable

56 57 the ship to enter foreign ports, plus the Dennis Seafaring completed her teacher training in Wagga accommodation, catering, providing Blurton Years Wagga. She was on the way to London for services to passengers such as arranging supply teaching but her main objective in cash and currency for various ports of call. coming over was to tour round, which she Furthermore, I was responsible for the did, sight-seeing in both the UK and crew – paying out advances on their salary Europe, visiting France and Spain amongst and keeping a cash account for the ship. In others, some of it by hitch-hiking. She has looking after the money there was a seen more parts of the UK than I have. considerable turnover to account for. Being a royalist, she was also keen to be in Having served in the Indian Army it closer touch with the Royal Family and was of great interest to me that many of would be quite happy to go up to London the crew P&O employed were Indians for anything ‘royal’ and stand for hours to whom I was able to relate to. The men watch and wait! employed to work in the engine room Our first date was on that same were all Muslims from the North West voyage, a double date with the First Frontier Province of India, now Pakistan. Officer - a great friend who was later to be The actual deck crew, the sailors, were also our best man. We made up a party of four Muslim but they were from India having and ventured to the Estoril Casino, some never moved to Pakistan. In fact there are distance from Lisbon, our port of call. It more Muslims in India than there are in was a great evening though I do Pakistan. The third group were the remember we cut it a bit fine to get back Christian Goanese. I enjoyed working aboard before sailing. closely with them all. Berenice spent two years in England It was on the deck tennis court aboard before returning to her home in Gosford, the SS Arcadia on a voyage back to New South Wales. Her family home was England from Sydney, that I met my near Terrigal, an Aboriginal word that darling wife, Berenice. Berenice grew up in means ‘place of little birds’. I must have Gosford, New South Wales and had loved the name Terrigal as, to this day, our

58 59 home today in Mayfield has a pottery Dennis Seafaring name-plate crafted by a local artist and on Blurton Years it are three birds, representing our three boys. When we were courting and my ship had docked in England, I would have about a week’s leave so would either catch the train up to London to see Berenice, or she would come down to Lower Kingswood to visit me there - if she was neither working nor touring, that is! After Berenice returned to Australia and my ship docked in Sydney she would come down to see me and we would have supper on board together. It was on my next visit to Sydney that I proposed to Berenice whilst relaxing on the beach at Wamberal. Within six months we were married in Gosford. Berenice’s mother was a great seamstress and made her wedding dress for her. Our wedding was attended not just by Berenice’s family but also a great collection of my shipmates. Our best man was one of the navigators. By strange coincidence one of the ship’s Dennis and Berenice, stenographers - nowadays called Women Terrigal, 16 January Assistant Pursers – Margo (now 1963 O’Connor), who was at our wedding lives

60 61 in Mayfield and has become, with her Dennis husband close friends of ours. Blurton My parents did not come over to Australia for our wedding, so Berenice brought her dress back to England and when we had a little gathering in Lower Kingswood to celebrate our marriage, she wore it for everyone to see.

62 63 6 Married Life

64 65 Married Life

“My children now enjoy travelling just as much as we do.”

I was 36 years old when I married my darling Berenice in 1963. I had previously said to myself that were I not married by the time I was 30, I would remain a bachelor! We have now been happily married for 55 years. The only sadness after our marriage was that in those days once you were married you couldn’t sail with your wife if you were on duty. So, having spent a couple of nights in a Sydney hotel after our wedding I had to leave Berenice and sail

66 67 Dennis Married away. Not being able to come with me she Blurton Life had to wait for the next ship back to England which, I think departed ten days later. When Berenice arrived back in England after our marriage she lived with my parents for nearly a year whilst we searched for a house. Nowadays, things have changed, and some wives are able to sail with their husbands. Being Australian and living in Australia I did not know my parents-in-law very well, as I could only see them when my ship called into Sydney. However, after we married I did get to know Berenice’s mother quite well as she came over to England and stayed with us for some weeks. At the end of the voyage during which Berenice and I had married, I left my ship and we went on our exciting honeymoon to British Colombia, Canada. We travelled, together, by ship to New York, bussed up to Montreal, and then took a train across to Vancouver via Ottawa, where I remember we stopped and visited another cousin of mine who had married a

Keremeos Canadian soldier and had therefore moved out to Canada after the war.

68 69 Arriving in British Colombia we Dennis Married Christopher Paul - was a full-time visited my uncle. His daughter by that Blurton Life occupation. She was always there for me time had married, and she and her whilst I was away on the passenger ships. husband had taken on a ranch in When I was on leave we often took a Keremeos where they bred beef cattle. We cruising holiday with the family, all of spent an exciting time with them. In total, whom are well-travelled. We spent many we spent about six weeks away on our happy holidays cruising and seeing the honeymoon as we were able to take it as world together, at various times of year part of my three-month long leave. depending on when I was on leave. Our Whilst searching for our first, and children now enjoy travelling just as much only, home in Surrey, Sussex and Kent as we do; my eldest son in particular can’t using my father’s car, we were fortunate seem to stop! to find a house being built in Mayfield. It I very much enjoyed my job with P&O. was an ideal site looking out over open I was fortunate that I was able to meet a fields and we saw it being built. It was great range of people over the years. Many situated in The Warren, ¾ mile from the were coming to England from the centre of Mayfield village. We thought it a Colonies, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Fiji and so on, very exciting house as it had two on leave, or to study, or on holiday. In bathrooms! My parents thought we were reverse there would be people travelling to going over the top. We moved in as soon Australia on holidays, and in fact the first as it was ready, with no carpets. At that ship I was on was taking migrants to stage there were twenty-eight houses in Australia, some known as the ‘ten-pound the Warren; now there are forty-two. Poms’. Should these particular migrants We have three sons. Our first son was not settle well in Australia and want to born a few months after moving to our come home to England we ended up Mayfield home. My wife gave up her bringing them home, but they would have teaching, as raising our three boys - to pay for their own passage back. Steven Richard, Philip John and I held this job for 23 years, but

70 71 although I was, thankfully, able to Dennis Married would be brought into the offices by maintain total involvement with my Blurton Life dispatch riders either from journalists on family, I really missed home. In 1973, I left the ground somewhere in England, or my seafaring job and returned to Mayfield from airports before being put together full time. At this stage our sons were aged and produced ready for you and I to see on 13, 11 and 6. I was fortunate that I came television. ashore when they were still growing up Of course, it was also nice to be and it was great to be with them. All three working just to the north of Oxford Street, went to comprehensive school in almost adjacent to Portland Square, where Heathfield, which they much enjoyed. the BBC is situated. ITN itself has moved They were all active in musicals and the now to Grays Inn Road but this happened theatrical side of school life. Berenice and I after I retired. enjoyed watching them. My role within ITN was that of House Having left P&O, I found employment Services Manager. In other words, I was with ITN which was a complete change to responsible for all the services of the office. anything I had experienced before. They They had three buildings to the north of were producing the news for publication Oxford Street and I had the responsibility and broadcast on television and of course of maintaining the services, to keep their outlook on life is a bit different to everybody else happy. Whether it was the everybody else. Everything had to happen maintenance, catering, cleaning or ‘yesterday’ and, always being in a hurry, communications like the telephones - the they worked to tight schedules. telephone exchange where we had three There was, however a tremendous telephonists on duty at any one time atmosphere, with very talented people and falling under my responsibility. My time we never got bored as every day there was with ITN lasted 15 years at which point I something happening. It took a lot of was happy to take retirement three years organisation as, of course, in those days all early. of the film came in as physical film. It Marriage for me has always been a

72 73 marvellous experience and the fact that Dennis Married how wonderful she is. Now I enjoy taking Berenice and I were blessed with three Blurton Life breakfast to her each morning. great children was an added blessing. The We have remained happy in Mayfield fact that my wife has been such a splendid for over 50 years now, amongst friends mother in all respects is another very from our early days, together with those fortunate thing. When I think that I spent who have come since. Such an active so long away on the way to and from village, meeting so many different needs, it Australia and there she would be, raising has provided various interests for us and our three young children, the washing, the continues to do so in retirement. It has ironing, the cooking, cleaning, getting provided excellent opportunities to them to school etc. In those early days we become and remain involved. didn’t have a car, so she would be Berenice has been involved in village pram-pushing up the hills when she came life, particularly with the WI (Womens into the village to do the shopping. Institute), having been with them for over Fortunately, everyone was very 40 years. She has been their President for helpful. One of our neighbours kindly four separate spells, as well as Secretary drove her to hospital when she went into and Treasurer. labour with our second baby and she As a member of the Church of would loan us her car which was also of England I have served on our Parochial great help. Church Council (PCC), and separately as a The main thing I think of is the sidesman at St. Dunstan's, a position I still constant loyalty and hard graft to run a enjoy to this day. My faith has been house. We had our high moments when important to me throughout my life. we would go on a cruise and take the boys Two of our sons were baptised, three with us, but the fact that meantime she confirmed and one married at St. was there on her own with demanding Dunstan’s. Having attended primary children - although they were, and are, school in Mayfield and then secondary very good boys - just makes me realise school in Heathfield they also enjoy

74 75 long-standing village and school Dennis Married cottage. He sees his brothers whenever friendships and continue to relate with us Blurton Life possible and we are looking forward to to St. Dunstan’s and the village scene. visiting him in October and for Christmas Our eldest son, Stephen, who is this year. unmarried, went to Reading University I consider myself to have been very and then joined the National Westminster fortunate in my life, not only in Bank, where he is still employed. Our employment but by having my loving, middle son, Phillip, went to Nottingham patient Berenice and family by my side. I University and on leaving spent seven have in fact been spoilt. years in the Royal Navy. After he left the Navy he took a further course at Southampton University, then taking up a position in the Social Services with the Local Authority. He is married with three children. His daughter is studying in Tokyo for a year; his son is spending a gap year in the Army, after which he is hoping to undertake a 2,000 mile walk in America; and his younger daughter is currently in sixth form in Tonbridge. Our youngest son, Christopher, who has a male partner, went through a London college and then took a job in London working for MAC, the make-up company. After a while he decided to leave both his job and London and now runs a bed and breakfast in Cornwall where he lives in a listed cottage whilst owning another self-catering

76 77 Student Bio

My name is Sarah, I am 17 and have an older brother who is at university. I live in a small village just outside Tunbridge Wells with my family and two dogs. I am currently studying Biology, Geography Sarah Mercer and Psychology. I take part in the school sports teams.

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