25 replies to this topic

[Simon]

I'm posting this message for Yorky who has agreed to be this weeks member of the week.

Hello All,

Still very busy at work at the moment but I should get time once a day to reply to any questions.

Here are some very brief details to get you going:

Name: Paul
Age: 38
Status: Married
Children: 4

Location: The historic East Riding of Yorkshire
Work: Secret!! I may give clues later

[Simon]

Thanks for agreeing to this Yorky.

My word 4 children; I guess we don't need to ask you what your hobbies were; I don't suppose you have time for much nowadays.

How about a quick resume of your work history.

Regards,
Simon

[yorkshire]

Here is my work history:

Left school at 18 after my A'levels and went to college for 4 years to study Food Technology.
This was a sandwich course (image all the jokes I got from my friends back at home) and did a year working in a (the) large crisp manufacturer in Leicester. I was working product development and therefore had to sign up to the official secrets act. Leicester was brilliant and I had some money to spend on beer and buying myself a Mini.

After graduating I found a temporary job at a Nut and Popcorn factory in Leeds working in QC and ended up working there for 7 years! I worked on moving from QC to QA, product development and eventually became Technical Manager. The nut business (own label supply) was very competitive and after a couple of years of making no money the shareholders decided to make everyone redundant and issue new contracts to staff in a scaled down factory just making popcorn. I was offered the position as Technical Manager in the new company on altered (worse) terms and conditions. I told them where to stick it and while working my notice started looking for a job.

I then got a job as QA Manager with a confectionery company in Sheffield. We made all the traditional types of sweets (spice in Yorkshire speak) e.g. Sherbet Lemons, Black & Liq, Sherbet Pips, Winter Mixture……
The company had 3 factories, Sheffield, Carlisle and Newcastle. After a while the shareholders decided to close the Newcastle factory and rationalise the business (do you notice a pattern here?), and I was given the responsibility of running the Quality functions in Carlisle and Sheffield. The Carlisle factory was pretty big, but old, and the shareholders decided they could fit the Sheffield production into the Carlisle site (more rationalisation!!!). I was offered relocation to Carlisle but I couldn't see that the factory had a future so I told them where to stick it and started looking for another job. Six months after leaving the company went bust and today the factory does not exist.

My next job was as UK Quality Manager for an ingredients supplier traveling between sites in Hull, Derby and Canterbury. The job wasn't too bad but the traveling was too much (for the wife). We also had a factory in France and I made several trips over there to help with audits. This was probably the best place I have ever worked; the factory was just outside the beautiful town of Saumur, on the Loire, the people were very friendly (if you spoke a bit of French) and efficient, the food, wine, weather and lunch breaks were great.
I worked for this company for a year but was then 'headhunted' (not as grand as it sounds) by my present company.

The company I work for now is a multinational confectionery business with my factory being in West Yorkshire. I have worked there for 4 years as Technical Manager.

Any questions?

[Simon]

This was a sandwich course (image all the jokes I got from my friends back at home) and did a year working in a (the) large crisp manufacturer in

Leicester.


I imagine you did a lot of 'WALKING' in that job… Cue tumbleweed. Seems to me like you've had a few good jobs sweets, nuts, and crisps - all my favourite foods. Maybe just beer missing.

I'd like to get to know more about the real Yorky - tell us a few things about your personal life such as family, hobbies, the most dangerous thing you ever did. And the most embarrassing moment you ever had.

When you have a minute you could also tell us about your goals for the future both professionally and personally?

Regards,
Simon

This WYSIWYG editor is doing my head in.

[yorkshire]

I imagine you did a lot of 'WALKING' in that job… Cue tumbleweed. Seems to me like you've had a few good jobs sweets, nuts, and crisps - all my favourite foods. Maybe just beer missing.

They don't stay your favourites for long. I absolutely love cashew nuts but after a year or so you get a bit sick of them. The other thing to note about cashews (don't read if you like them) is that I now always split them in half before eating to check there are no roasted/salted maggots in there

I'd like to get to know more about the real Yorky - tell us a few things about your personal life such as family, hobbies, the most dangerous thing you ever did. And the most embarrassing moment you ever had.

Family

Married for 14 years to the beautiful Alison.
Four lovely children: Kingsley 13, Alex(andra) 12, Celia 6 and Bridget (Bridie) 4.
No more expected

Hobbies

Children (obviously)
Photography - tell me how to upload photos and I may put on the site.
DIY - Not really a hobby but as I live in a house built in 1700 I seem to spend a lot of time doing this.
Music - I love classical music with favourites being Orf(?), Debussy, Britten, Arvo Part…… but I also like Iggy and the Stooges, Captain Beefheart, The Fall (anything a bit weird or punky). As a teenager I played guitar in a band which was quite big in the Harrogate (where I was born) music scene. After A'levels I had a hard decision to make do I go professional or go and study Food Technology? As I was pretty rubbish at playing the guitar I decided to go with food. A few of my school friends are still 'professional' musicians which means that they claim the dole, get grants to buy new equipment (Apple Macs and mountain bikes?), sometimes have to get a temporary job (e.g. Channel 5 television tuner) and they get to travel around the world playing gigs and sleeping in a van.

to be continued ……..

[Franco]

Any picture Yorky ? Come on, looking forward to see the 1700 house.

Where did you meet your wife ?

[yorkshire]

Any picture Yorky ? Come on, looking forward to see the 1700 house.

This is the best I can do while I'm at work. But it also does give you the listing info (Franco, "Listing" is a way of protecting buildings of historic interest).

Images of England

Where did you meet your wife ?

School.
I'll write the story tonight.

[yorkshire]

And the most embarrassing moment you ever had.

I was very shy when I was younger and therefore nearly everything embarrassed me but I think the most embarrassed I've ever been was on my first week working in Leeds; I was out near a packing line when one of the girls called me over for help, I helped out and then she turned to me and said 'I don't mean this personal, like, but have you got a big ****?'. I'm sure they had a great laugh at me as I turned bright red and walked off speechless. Needless to say I avoided her like the plague for ages after that.

When I was a student at the crisp factory we were commissioning a new production line. Crisps would go through the process up to the flavour drum and myself and another employees were bagging them into large sacks at the end of the flavour drum. My colleague said he was dying for the toilet and went off without another word. 15 minutes later I was buried to my waste in crisps and could not move. Of course when he came back rather than dig me out he called the others over to have a good laugh.

Edited by yorkshire, 21 September 2005 - 06:14 PM.

[Simon]

Married for 14 years to the beautiful Alison.
Four lovely children: Kingsley 13, Alex(andra) 12, Celia 6 and Bridget (Bridie) 4.
No more expected

A pair of each...good hand! And other stuff no doubt.

Photography - tell me how to upload photos and I may put on the site.

I don't know if you noticed the gallery and blog links are not available at the moment; these are both ad on's to the forums software and the latest versions will be available in the next week or so. I've seen the picture of your house and it looks fabulous; I would like to see more of it as well as some of your other work.

Iggy and the Stooges, Captain Beefheart, The Fall (anything a bit weird or punky).

Wow 'Lust for Life' - Mr Pop is a star (BTW how is that guy still alive?) and the Fall a local favourite of mine.

As a teenager I played guitar in a band which was quite big in the Harrogate (where I was born) music scene.

What was your band called? Believe it or not I was also in a band; the lead singer, but I got kicked out for being drunk and disorderly. Funny I thought that was what Rock n' Roll was all about.

Simon

[yorkshire]

A pair of each...good hand!

No 1 boy and 3 girls...Alex is a girl!

Wow 'Lust for Life' - Mr Pop is a star (BTW how is that guy still alive?)

He is still alive and he played the Leeds Festival a few weeks ago.

What was your band called?

The main band I was in was called "The Fab Nevilles". I also played (once) in a band called "Freinds of the Family" who went on to have a worldwide following under the name "Pram" (look the up on Google if you don't beleive me) and the singer is now my sister-in-law.

I've seen the picture of your house and it looks fabulous; I would like to see more of it as well as some of your other work.

I'll upload some pictures of our local area when I can. It's amazing how cheap this area was when I moved there from Leeds. I think the reason for this is because we have a lovely view of Drax power station (5 miles away) from the front of our house.

[yorkshire]

Where did you meet your wife ?

I went to school with Alison, she was 2 years below me. I had seen her at school and thought she was very attractive but as I said before I was painfully shy and would go red if I even thought about talking to a girl.
At that time it seemed that 3rd year girls only wanted to go out with someone who had a job and drove a car.

We had some friends in common and we were on 'nodding' (and going red) terms. When I went away to college I would come back home occasionally and we would be hanging out with the same group of people. Alison decided that I was not as daft as the rest of my friends and that she would like to go out with me. She told one of my friends and I had to get up the courage to ask her out. When I phoned her up and asked her round for a meal she said 'Why?' which rather threw me. Anyway we have just had our 18th anniversary of our first date and are still going strong.

[Simon]

No 1 boy and 3 girls...Alex is a girl!

Sorry Alex. Still it's a great hand.

The main band I was in was called "The Fab Nevilles".

Was this a tribute to the handsome brothers who play for Man United? (actually Phil has recently moved to Everton). Incidentally their father is called Neville - yes Neville Neville; incidentally two - my Dad is also called Neville. So many Neville's.

I also played (once) in a band called "Freinds of the Family" who went on to have a worldwide following under the name "Pram" (look the up on Google if you don't beleive me) and the singer is now my sister-in-law.

Honestly I've vaguely heard of Pram - did they have any big normal chart or indy chart hits; maybe if I heard some of their songs I might recognise them.

Regards,
Simon

[yorkshire]

Honestly I've vaguely heard of Pram - did they have any big normal chart or indy chart hits; maybe if I heard some of their songs I might recognise them.

I think they're more likely to be Indy.
I have all the CDs (free) but I can't tell you if they've had a hit. The tune you might have heard was the background to a BT advert last year, it reminded me of cowboy movie music!

Edited by yorkshire, 22 September 2005 - 08:49 AM.

[Simon]

I think they're more likely to be Indy.
I have all the CDs (free) but I can't tell you if they've had a hit. The tune you might have heard was the background to a BT advert last year, it reminded me of cowboy movie music!

Can you hum it for us?

Also we may as well do the Desert Island thing. OK Yorky a taxi is coming to pick you up in 30 minutes; you're going straight to the airport and you'll be parachuted to the Island of Djuberatti in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there's plenty of food and drink on the island (if you can run fast) but nothing else. What 10 things are you going to take with you?

Simon

[yorkshire]

Can you hum it for us?

mmm mm mm m m mmm mmmm mm mmm m m

[Simon]

mmm mm mm m m mmm mmmm mm mmm m m

No it doesn't help - sorry.

[yorkshire]

Here are a few pics to look at.
One of the other side of the house, one of the village from the river bank, one of our view of Drax power station and one aerial photo of the village (not mine).

The files are a bit large so I may try and compress them a bit later.

Attached Files

•  map.bmp   203.44KB   34 downloads
•  drax.jpg   94KB   40 downloads
•  airmyn.jpg   348.83KB   35 downloads
•  house.jpg   412.97KB   37 downloads

Edited by yorkshire, 23 September 2005 - 06:53 AM.

[Simon]

Beautiful images, even the power station; you have a talent there mate. Can you tell us a little more about the village. And I have to ask what did you pay for the house 5 years ago and the present market value?

BTW if you wanted to continue with MOTW for a further week that would be great, I think we have more to ask you and the pace is less frenetic than when we first started with this. Maybe it should change to member of the month.

Simon

[yorkshire]

Also we may as well do the Desert Island thing

Photo album of the family.
A machete to help build a shelter/prepare food etc.
Compendium of all Tom Sharpe novels to keep me cheerful.
Factor 50 sun cream (I burn very easily)
My guitar so that maybe I can get better at playing it.
My iPod with solar charger (if one exists).
A flint for starting fires.
A couple of changes of underwear.
Pen and paper - I could write a novel?
A ride on lawn mower ( my neighbour has one and he can ride around on it for 8 hours a day, so I'm sure it must be fun)

[Simon]

A couple of changes of underwear.

Very British.

[yorkshire]

Here is a catch up on some of the questions:

And I have to ask what did you pay for the house 5 years ago and the present market value?

I don't want to get into any figures but we moved out of Leeds just under 12 years ago and I started commuting to work. In Leeds we were living in a 2 bedroom back-to-back in the leafy (not) suburb of Harehills. When we started having children we looked for a bigger house in a slightly leafier area. At that time a semi in one of these areas was about 2x the cost of a back-to-back and they were also 30+ mins drive from the factory at rush hour. We started looking further away and found that within a 45 min drive of the factory I could by part of a Georgian Hall with 4 bedrooms, a ballroom and ½ acre of garden for the same price as the semi. Of course we went for it. You could probably buy 3 semis with what mine is worth now.
The village where I live is only 1 mile from the M62 and within 45 minutes drive of my house I can get to Leeds, Bradford, York, Sheffield and Hull (etc) which gives you a lot greater choice when you're looking for a job.

Incidentally their father is called Neville - yes Neville Neville;

I was looking at a churchyard in the village of Walkington when I came across something similar. The first and surname were both Oliver but this chaps middle name was Cromwell! Oliver Cromwell Oliver! His parents must have had a sense of humour.

When you have a minute you could also tell us about your goals for the future both professionally and personally?

I am not a very ambitious person, I just happen to be better at what I do than the people around me. I don't really seek out promotion but usually get some recognition which has brought me up the greasy pole. My professional targets are therefore pretty low….I want to stay in work (unless I win the lottery and even then I would still need to do something), get paid well enough for it and not get into too many arguments with my more ambitious colleagues. The only problem I could find with this attitude may be in a job interview situation; Question: 'Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?', Answer: ' With any luck I be pushing trolleys in Tesco's car park.'
One thing that is very important to me is the work/life balance which is why I'm pretty lucky in my present job…. Mostly I start at 08:00 and finish at 17:00 ( plus 25 min drive each way ) Monday to Thursday and on Friday I finish at about 12:00 which gives me another half day at the weekend!

In my personal life my goals are pretty much the same. I want good health for me and my family, to earn enough money to support them and spend as much time as I can with them.

[yorkshire]

Can you tell us a little more about the village

The vilage of Airmyn has approximately lies between the port of Goole and the market town of Howden (just off Junction 36 of the M62. see map

It has approximately 2000 inhabitants.

Here is some history about the village:

History of Airmyn

I have also attached a document about our clock tower which you will have read about in the above.

Airmyn has been in West Yorkshire and Humberside (spit) and is now part of the East Riding of Yorkshire.
East Yorkshire is a very rural area of the country and the population density is about 1.3 per hectare. The county town is Beverley with its beautiful Minster and famous racecourse.

Attached Files

•  mapRedirector.png   46.05KB   35 downloads
•  clock.pdf   312.2KB   59 downloads

[Simon]

I don't want to get into any figures but we moved out of Leeds just under 12 years ago and I started commuting to work. In Leeds we were living in a 2 bedroom back-to-back in the leafy (not) suburb of Harehills. When we started having children we looked for a bigger house in a slightly leafier area. At that time a semi in one of these areas was about 2x the cost of a back-to-back and they were also 30+ mins drive from the factory at rush hour. We started looking further away and found that within a 45 min drive of the factory I could by part of a Georgian Hall with 4 bedrooms, a ballroom and ½ acre of garden for the same price as the semi. Of course we went for it. You could probably buy 3 semis with what mine is worth now. The village where I live is only 1 mile from the M62 and within 45 minutes drive of my house I can get to Leeds, Bradford, York, Sheffield and Hull (etc) which gives you a lot greater choice when you're looking for a job.

For sure people who bought well around 5+ years ago (before it all went silly) can rest assured they'll never be in negative equity. One of the best decisions you ever made Yorky?

In my personal life my goals are pretty much the same. I want good health for me and my family, to earn enough money to support them and spend as much time as I can with them.

And that's all that really matters. It so obvious that we often forget; so it's worth remembering as we embark on another week of dog eat dog dancing around the greasy pole.

Airmyn has been in West Yorkshire and Humberside (spit) and is now part of the East Riding of Yorkshire.
East Yorkshire is a very rural area of the country and the population density is about 1.3 per hectare. The county town is Beverley with its beautiful Minster and famous racecourse.

Interesting info about Airmyn. Believe it or not Saddleworth was once a part of Yorkshire, when it was shunted into Lancashire the older folks of places like Uppermill and Greenfield went bananas; apparently some of them still put Yorkshire on letters. Can't understand it myself.

My children signed up to a web site called something like "Swapits". You earn swapits by .... well I'm not really sure but you can sell things on the website in exchange for swapits. You can then spend the points on something else... a bit like "SwapShop".

In some cities they have alternatives to money. If you are good at something you can earn these "things" (I haven't a clue what they are called), e.g. I make chutney and sell it to you for one "thing", I need my tree pruning I pay 10 "things",........

Has anyone heard of this or am I just talking rubbish?

Barter - Is barter still relevant in the modern world?

I've just found out they are not called "things" but LETS

LETS

Yorky if you take my car away I'll polish your chandeliers.

Thanks for sharing a small slice of your life with us Yorky, it's been really interesting.

Regards,
Simon

[yorkshire]

For sure people who bought well around 5+ years ago (before it all went silly) can rest assured they'll never be in negative equity. One of the best decisions you ever made Yorky?

When we sold our house in Leeds (1993 ) we had about 10% negative equity.
I think we have been in our current house long enough to have overcome all this.

Believe it or not Saddleworth was once a part of Yorkshire,

True.....Last time I drove through this area the signs had been defaced and changed to Yorkshire.

Thanks for sharing a small slice of your life with us Yorky

It's been a pleasure. Next time I may get chance to tell you about our ducks, home educating our children and why we don't have a television.

Cheers

[Simon]

It's been a pleasure. Next time I may get chance to tell you about our ducks, home educating our children and why we don't have a television.

Cheers

Waddya mean next time - let's be havin yer.