I think that I was born with an engineers head on my shoulders. Ever since i can remember I was fixing stuff, making stuff or repairing stuff. I made trolleys from old wood, string and pram wheels, I made my own bicycle from bits of other bikes, I made catapults from tree branches, dens with what ever was available, rafts from rope, wood and old oil cans, swings tied to tree branched and a miriad of other things. By the age of 22 I was married with two children and had the engine of a Wolsey 1885 on the bench in my dads shed rebuilding it including fitting a pep pistol, refitted it and drove it down the road working perfectly. I just seemed to have a natural ability to fix things.
Problem with that is that I could not work for anybody else. Why? Because i always thought that I knew better then they did and do the job better than they were. I had to work for myself which never really worked because once i had achieved doing things I would become bored of doing it and want to move on to something more challenging. There was only one thing that I never got bored of, Kay.
I spent my entire life trying to succeed in business, enjoy what I was doing, and provide for my family. Here is an example of my ventures. Buying, preparing and Selling Mushroom Compost, Pea & Broad Beans Picking, Making Wreaths, Making Soft Toys, Tarmac and gravel Drives, Car dealing, Car maintaining and spraying , Landscape Gardening , Computer Manufacturer, Dog Breeding , Argos Returns, Market Trader, Selling Sky TV, Cleaner, Ebay Seller, Frozen Foods, Fish and Chip Van, Dial a Dish, Cafeteria on the side of road, Roofer, University Student. I succeeded at each and everyone of they vocations but soon after moved on to the next challenge looking for an easy money, get rich quick scheme. It never came, which must have disappointing Kay no end. As a Project Engineer I designed and put into production a mid range flat refrigeration condenser and evaporator. That was quite an achievement.
We always kept our heads above water but never really had it comfortable. How did that affect my children. Well, it did not. For them everything was normal. They were always well kempt. They never went hungry. The always had good quality presents. They were educated to a high standard. The were raised with good morals and attended church every week. They were well mannered and polite. They were good, happy kids, all round. Yes, of course they were sometimes naughty, like all children are, but nothing noticeable. They rarely ever complained.
Some people cannot be pleased and just do not like you. Derek and Naomi were the two that did not like dad. For Derek I did not play football, or and kind of sport. He resented that. For Naomi she had sex education classes at school which made her hate me, plus, I was quite strict in protecting her from the world at large, which she hate and never considered that she was my first daughter and I loved her, contrary to her thinking I hated her. The rest just towed the line and made my experience in parenting very enjoyable and rewarding. Every thing was going great, until each and every one of them got married. That was when my family disintegrated.
We Did Our Best 