184: The Good Listening To Show with Chris Grimes - Episode 184

0:00Welcome to another episode of The Good Listening To Show, your life and times with me Chris Grimes. The storytelling show that features the clearing where all good questions come to get asked and all good stories come to be told. And where all my guests have two things in common. They're all creative individuals and all with an interesting story to tell. There are some lovely storytelling metaphors, a clearing, a tree, a juicy storytelling exercise called 5-4-3-2-1, some alchemy, some gold, a cheeky bit of Shakespeare and a cake. So it's all to play for. So yes, welcome to The Good Listening To Show, your life and times with me Chris Grimes. I was sitting comfortably here. Then we shall begin. Ladies and gentlemen, but most specifically your family, John Morrison, are gathered

1:00here today to share your legacy life lessons learned along your way. And welcome to a special special episode of Legacy Life Reflections. You played golf yesterday. How did that go for you? The golf played with very bad, very bad indeed. You know, you look forward to the club championship once a year. Yes. And I will hopefully do much better next year. Do better next year. But this is, I think, with the legacy we're talking about, you've been a Henry Golf Club of old or of your. So you can explain the timelines, but how long have you been associated with Henry Golf Club? It was 38 years this year. Fantastic. Oh. And does that make you a chairman or captain? I was captain in 2015. Yeah. And I've played team matches pretty much from a couple of years after I joined, ran the first team for six or seven years. Yeah. And we won the Bristol district at one, one year, which I was very proud of. And yeah, played a reasonable handicap for a good, long time, but it is going

2:07north now. As we, yes. And you're a category one golfer, which is quite an interesting accolade. So for those of us that, I mean, I do play a bit of golf, so I understand. So how would you let the world know, particularly your family, what a category one golfer is? I've actually slipped just out of category one now. But basically, category one under the old system was a handicap for five and below. Yes. And the lowest I got was actually four. Yes. But I actually stayed a category one golfer for about 25 years sometimes. Yes. But since then, I've started to go, my handicap is currently 7.3. So I'm still single figure. So I'm quite happy that and I'm not sure how they do the maths to get the point three. But yeah, yeah, I won't boy with those details. That's fine. So just as a bit of a backstory, we've got your lovely family squad, a grandchildren notwithstanding off to the right there. So would you like to explain who's listening, who's watching to the episode as we record? Right. Well, first of all, we've got my lovely wife, Carol and my eldest son, David or Dave and my younger son, Andrew.

3:10Well, I caught their kids. They're probably mid-late men now, but they've got a lot of experience now. So it's, yeah, it's lovely to have them here. And then other family members, none of this is a test. Yeah. Very well. I got all the names right. And I like what you did, abbreviating David to Dave. That's very trailblazing. But you said Andrew, but not Andy. So he's not been abbreviated. Yeah, we've almost called him Andrew. So a lot of his friends called him Andy, but me and his mother just started calling him Andrew. And I can't resist saying not about Andrew, but Andy cat, which is your Andy cat, but golf, which is seven point three. Please see what we're doing there. You know, we're entertaining because what's lovely about today is we've got an unusual free song where you've decided to bring your family in. So this is really exciting for me and for future leap as well. So you're very welcome to your legacy life reflections recording. And with your permission, I'll get on the open road of curating you through the storytelling gate posts of a clearing, which I'll explain in a minute, there's going to be a tree, a lovely juicy storytelling exercise called five, four, three, two, one. There's going to be some alchemy, some gold, a couple of random

4:14squirrels, a cheeky bit of Shakespeare, a golden batten and a cake. Hurrah. Carol's game. What is going on? No idea. But all will become clear. It's a bit like desert island discs, but in a clearing and with stories rather than music. I know you know that, because you've been getting in touch quite a lot, which has been really exciting for me, because I think you, if I may assume you've really enjoyed the research. I have very much, yeah, very much. So it's been, you know, quite thought provoking. And it gets to the stage where you, it's a bit like, if you like the Rolling Stones, when they make up their set list, it's not a question of what they sing. It's a question also of what they don't sing. It's a bit like, well, you're what do you leave out? So hopefully I've made the right decisions. And it'll, you know, I'm very relaxed about the format. So it could end up being nothing like I was actually preparing for. I mean, there is a supposition and a premise that should you record this three months next Thursday, the whole idea is it's quite dynamic

5:15and you might answer it differently. And that's okay. Also, I know we need to talk about music. I know you've got a great adoration back in day and still to this day. Elton John George Michael to name, but two. Yes, the name, but two, yeah. And I hope you talk about that as we go through. So I don't want to preempt. Yes, energetically, then, the most important thing about the whole premise, it all takes place in a clearing or serious, happy place of uniquely your choice, John Morrison. So where would you say what is a clearing for you? Where do you go to get clutter free, inspirational and able to think? Well, there's really not nowhere else I could go other than the lovely terrace at Henry Golf Club. And as we said, I've been there for 38 years and it was perfect. Really to have this weekend. It was the club championships where I played so dreadfully, but the actual occasion of it is wonderful. We carols remember there as well. The boys used to be we've, no, we've got so many friends up there now. Every time you go in, you'll meet someone that you

6:20know, you can speak and you go straight into the relaxed atmosphere. And it's always strange to me that Henry Golf Club is effectively in the, I don't know where you know where it is. Chris, I think it's in Henry. It is. It is. But it's kind of, it's in the middle of, it's kind of in the middle of Bristol, but you sit down at the terrace and all you can see is trees and green and flowers and beer. And let's say that again, beer is this a beer I see before we're floating towards the horrendre of Henry Golf Club. Oh, it wouldn't be the same without the beer, Chris. It just wouldn't be. But it's a place where we're so very relaxed. And we moved house about 13 years ago from, we were in Hawthorne and now we're now at, we moved to Westbury on trim. And the Golf Club is now approximately a 12 minute walk from our front door to the gates of the Golf Club. So as I said, 12 minute walk there and typically

7:23about 35 to get home. And come the day of the pearly gates. There's no more bid intention here, but I imagine you'd quite like to walk into Henry Golf Club. Absolutely. Absolutely. Is it gated as well? So you do walk through the gates? Well, it is gated, but the truth is they don't shut them very often. So again, without wanting to be morbid, they have, canford Crematorium is just down the road down. There's a lot of the members. I've been to a lot of funerals there and we always call them, you know, they're playing off the backties. Oh, how lovely. That's lovely golfing parlance. I love that a bit like as we know, the 19th hole tears where your beer is as well. And as you can imagine, once the funeral is up, we come up to the Golf Club, which is a short five minute drive, huge car park. And if you get a nice day, there's no nicer place to be. Yes. It's absolutely lovely. Wonderful. So that's such a wonderful, appropriate clearing for you to be at Henry Golf Club. Lovely. I tried to think of others, but I just came back to it every time and thought, well, that's it's got to be it. So here we are then. Your wonderful clearing, which

8:26sounds totally appropriate. I see what you've done here because Carol could have been a golf widow, but I think it was six or seven years ago that you actually, well, hooked her into the Golf Club as well. Is that correct? Well, yeah. And it was pretty much, I wouldn't say it was her own volition, but it was more her than me because there was a group of the girls that they all kind of got together at the time and Carol joined. And now they're all firm friends. And we've been on holidays and golf trips together. So yeah, it's lovely, but it is about six or seven years. And you have a place in Spain as well. And is that close to golf courses as well? Funnily enough, it is Chris. I think I knew that. I didn't know that, but I knew that. That's good. Yeah, we have, it's an embarrassment of Rich's really. It's it's on the Costa Blanca. It's about an hour south of Alicante. And I think if we took a 20 mile radius, there would probably be in excess of 30 golf courses that you could, you could go to. You've found your happy place. That's clear. It's not bad. And sport has been a big part of your life. I know you started off as a PE teacher back in

9:28day. So just talk us through a little bit of that narrative as well. Yeah. Well, I'll probably talk more about it later, but I started my professional life as a physical education teacher. And then I didn't stay in teaching all that time, but I thoroughly enjoyed my teaching career without without doubt. But the, this was in the late 70s, early 80s. And the money was actually not very good. And we actually, Carol was working as a supervisor and boots the chemist in the middle of sunny Watford. And yeah, we, we earned pretty much the same money, you know, yes. And then when the family came along, it was kind of jumped into. So it was quite, it was much harder to survive. And so you made new choices. I made new choices. And I'm like the cut of your jib because you said I'll come on to that. So I'm going to just let the structure do it for us. Yeah, yeah. Okay. So in your clearing, which is the not the pearly gates, but the gates are

10:50of Henry Golf Club. Yes. Fantastic. On the Miranda Miranda of, of there, there is a beer hovering off in the mid distance, a bit like Beth and the dagger. Can become the forrander of doom, sometimes. Yes. Yesterday, for example, well, you know, I don't forget towards the end, I have a hilarious golf check. I'll, I shall remind you if you forget. Okay, so now I'm going to arrive with a tree in your clearing. And I'm going to shake your tree. This is a bit deliberately waiting. For God, I asked a bit existential. I'm going to shake your tree to see which storytelling apples fall out, a couple of props for you, how do you like these apples? And you can hold on if you like. Thank you very much. Please don't chomp it because it's actually plastic. Oh yes, absolutely. It's a prop apple. Yeah. So this is where you've been kind enough and I'm really grateful because I know you've done the research and also thank you so much to Andrew for furnishing me with some other information as well. So this is where you've had five minutes or probably a couple of months now to have thought about four things that have shaped you.

11:53Three things that inspire you. Two things that never felt a grab your attention and that's where the squirrels are going to come in and I will be throwing a squirrel at you at that point. This is Borough from the film Up with the doggo squirrels. And then the one is a quirky, unusual trick to about you. Yeah. John Morrison, we couldn't possibly know about you until you tell us. Yeah. None of this is a memory test. So back to you now to shake the canopy of the tree as you see fit. So shall we start with following the structure? Four things that have shaped you, John Morrison. Okay. Well, again, I thought long and hard about this and there's a lot of sort of family stuff involved but the first apple is my mother. She shaped me unfailingly all the way through my life basically but she was very loving. She was strict. She was absolutely the matriarch of our family without a doubt. My dad was lovely and gentle and quiet and he had nothing to do with discipline. So she was actually very good at that. There was many times when she was ready with advice and on more than one occasion if I

12:58transgressed I did feel the thickened of her hand. Ah, so this is bucket, this. I can the day. Back at the hand or palm of the hand. Yeah, yeah, palm of the hand. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That would be what it was. Yeah, absolutely. So tall propunishment was a factory. I don't want to give the impression that she used to hit me all the time. She absolutely did not but I had to do something pretty bad but yeah, there were one or two times that I did do that. And she always referred to us, right, which is a bit strange thing to say really. You're not strange. It's lovely, really. She referred to my brother, myself and my sister as the jewels in her crown of life. What do you think of that? I love that. And have you followed that through to the... Well, I hope so. Yes, absolutely. We have very strong family union. Yes. Great fun. And you know, it's funny that we've grown up, had a great relationship as a family. I do congratulate you for her expression. I have never heard it couched in such a way the jewels in the crown of my life. Yeah, she said it more than once.

14:00And yeah, the boys grew up in a happy household. I hope to think they would agree with that. By the time we got to the stage where they were in their sort of middle eight teens, they were, well, they weren't still our mates as well as my children. Yeah. And we all go out... I mean, my dad, I think I went to the pub with my dad once. And in Bristol, it used to be the cock of the north. I don't know whether you know there's now the west we tavern. And we went out just before I went to college and that we had a beer. And my dad was to Ida Pines and he had a half. So we finished with a chagnav love you, so I said, Dad, you all know another pretty went, you haven't had another one. So drink shaving right there. Yes. Well, of course, I used to drink proper beer. I'm a lager man now, but it was direct as bitter and it was 50 p.a. pint back in those days. So that was a good thing. But I have been to the pub with my children on many, many occasions. They're all

15:02notic. We have, we have, we have. We have been to the pub. It's great. It's absolutely great. And the older they got the wiser they've got, I give them very little advice these days. It's the other way around now. It's a look for them to advice. Which is great. Absolutely great. I love that. And in terms of your mum and dad's names, when... Oh, yeah. They were Robert and Elizabeth, but everybody called them Bob and Bet. That's what they were. And when did Bob and Bet no longer... Well, when they die? Dad died in January 2006. A mum died in May 2019. June 2019. And I'm here as sort of generational stereotype, and then being quite sort of locked off to sort of emotional connection, if I'm right, in your dad. But that was... Yes. Yeah, I mean, he was not a very demonstrative person. Yes. There was no question as to how he felt about us, but Mum was totally the opposite. She was a herger and a kisser and a hitter on occasions. I love it. I'm out of room.

16:05Let's say that again. That's a lovely refrain to re-imple break. I love her and a herger. And occasionally a hitter. Love that. A hitter coming back to golf. Here we go. I read right. It was not very often. Of course. Really clear about parental boundaries when you knew sort of gone off peace. And indeed. Yes. And in terms of shaping me, I can't remember where we were. So we were in a car somewhere. And she said to me, so what do you want to do for a job when you get older? And I would have been, I don't know, 11, 12, something like that. And I was so interested in sport, all kinds of sport. My father had no interest in sport whatsoever. And she said, what is it you want to do when you get older? And I said, well, I really don't know. As she said, well, have you ever thought being a PE teacher? And I thought, oh, that's that's quite a good idea. And well, the rest is history really because I decided that that's what I want to do. And I pursued it relentlessly. And achieved it. And how many years were you a PE teacher for?

17:09Seven and a half years. Seven and a half years. So I gave it a good old goal. And interestingly, I learned recently that every seven years we need to be very attuned because apparently that's a life cycle because we're cellularly regenerated. You're teeth are the same, but you're a new person. So that's very profound. Well, you gave it a life cycle to be a PE teacher. And then how long were you a financial advisor post that? I went from teaching into financial advice and I stayed there till I retired in 2021. So about 35 years. So I worked for 42 years in total. Oh, notice how that's divisible by seven. Seven fives are 35. And it's the best great. So you've done you've done you're very good at your life cycles. That's great. And I think Carol's joined you on the golf course for one lifetime. Probably feels like a lifetime as well. He's working with his ideas. Say what he's doing there. Very good. Okay. So back to the treat, talk about other shapeages. So what else would you like to say about things that are shaped you? So I've tried not to be too chronological, but it's kind of, it's difficult about too. So the

18:10next thing that shaped me was my dear old college, simple college in Cheltenham. And that had a big effect on my life and a lot of people that I met there. And it was actually quite curious how I got in because I was not a big academic. Chris, I wasn't stupid, but I was not a, didn't like studying really. I wasn't much preferred kicking a football around or passing a rugby ball. And also basketball, I know. Yeah, big into basketball. But that was that was later. That was before you joined the Harlem Globes. Yes, yes indeed. But to give you an idea, we had, we did old levels in those days. And I was not really studying very well. And my father very cleverly said, I'll tell you what son, I will give you five pounds for every old level that you get. Well, I thought, do I mean that's all right. So I actually did a little work, would you believe? And in those days, it was all percentages. And the mark that passed mark was 45%.

19:10And when I got my results, they came in and I could not believe it. I got seven old levels. Seven again. Is there? Yeah. So seven again, that's 35 quid, you know, which in 1974 was a lot of money. And I thought, blind me that I'll do, but because it was, so it was 45, it was the past mark. I had a 45, 47, 248s, a 49, a 50 and a 70, which was my German. But wow, which I can't hardly speak a word of it now, but yeah, I want to got a CSE grade one, but he wouldn't count that. That's very familiar, because I did my own laws in 1979. And that was that to what I was doing. I was doing the GCCC, CSEC for the maths, particularly. So then I went into six form, but again, I didn't really like studying too much. And we used to go through UCAS, which is the University of Clearing. Yes, them to get. And eventually I got two interviews, one at Jordan Hill in the Bush Specialist's

20:15P. Wing Colleges in Jordan Hill and Glasgow, which we went to the interview. And then I had the second one I had with St. Paul's College in Charlton. Did not take me. And St. Paul's College offered me a place. And in those days, they did two qualifications, the certificate of education or the Bachelor of Education degree. And I'm paraphrasing now, but they sort of said, right, well, if you come here, if you get your A levels, you can do the degree course. But if you don't get your A levels, you can still come and you do the certificate of education. So they liked you and wanted you to come in whatever. Yeah. And I said, well, what's the difference between the course? They said, nothing really. And I thought, boom. So I did not study very hard. I did not study very hard at all. Felt my A levels, but still have three wonderful years at St. Paul's College, which was great. Absolutely. And your episode thumbnail is going to have you in a shirt that you're very proud of. Correct. And I'm sorry, it's disappeared. That was not meant to be. But interestingly, just last

21:17year, it came to light that a good friend of mine and somebody that I knew from college, was a couple of years above me had gone through a long process because it transpired that the certificate course and the period course were exactly the same. But people were in a beard and asserted they earned different money. So we actually got less money, which I thought about it was probably quite fair. But anyway, the long and the short of it was, St. Paul's College is no longer what it is. It's the University of Gloucestershire. And to cut a long story short, I had conferred upon me last year an honorary Bachelor of Education degree. So I am now. I think I can legitimately say that I am a university graduate. Very good. What goes around comes around if you congratulate. It's probably stretching things a bit. And what was the reason of them getting back in touch with you to sort of bestow that upon you? Is it just the pillar of the community? It was the recognition of the fact that we'd

22:19all done the same course. And so therefore we were conferred with an honorary degree. So it was so it's now proudly on my wall. Unfortunately, I had a bit of a health scale last year, so unfortunately I couldn't go to the actual ceremony. But they sent all the videos and what have you. And it was very, very nostalgic because the people that you met, I met my best friend who is still there, his four daughters and I two grew up together. And it was wonderful three years. It really was a wonderful three years. Is that lovely? I did what's meant for you won't pass you by. So that was obviously where you were meant to be. Yeah, it was great. And they were healthier days. I mean, since then I've only last couple of years become part of they call them the LF Old Chelts. LF stands for Lunatic Fringe. Old Chelts, golf societies, so I've played there.

23:20And some of them is that we first picked up a golf club? Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, I was I think I'm more of a Trinity. Again, my mother's influence. We used to go on holiday regularly to a little island in the middle of the Firth of Claid. Hey, called, well, it's the Isle of Cumbrae, but the town on there is Millport. And you get the ferry from Lugs, where Sam Tarnas used to be a member. If you know who Sam Tarnas is, that's where I learned to play golf because she organized me some lessons. And as soon as I hit a ball, I was hooked. I was 12. 12 days old. And I know the Scottish holiday through line has continued. Gus Andrew did mention that too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. As a soundtrack to the holidays, pertaining to your love of music as well. Indeed. Well, Dave still goes down and he went there a couple of three weeks ago with his daughter, a million son, Rory and a wife Claire, and all being well, we'll have the flight next to the next year. We'll have a weekend in Millport as well. There we go.

24:34Okay, how's radio station that makes you feel good? So we're still doing the shapeages. So it does any overlap when we get onto influencing, that's completely fine too, but anything else you'd like to say about something that shaped you? Yes, number three. It's catching number three. What then shaped me after finishing college, we then had to get a job. And that heaven for friends. That was I'd say Chris, that was not an easy exercise. It was basically the last term in 1979. My years were 76, 79. And the only way you could get a job was to buy the times educational supplement every time it came out, go through the jobs and apply for them. And of course, this was in the days when there were no word processors or anything like that. So how to

25:36hand write all my applications. And I think I applied for about 50 jobs before I even got an interview. And mainly the reason for that, all the PETs, it's up and down though, because it wasn't just simple, we were a specialist in college. But you had a loved one, Alseidja, Plymouth, or competing for the same. Of course, a lot of the guys had people who had represented their country under 19s or if that one of the guys at college was a guy called God, God, I can't remember. He was a little come back to me. He was on the lion's tour. And I think he went on the lion's tour whilst he was still at college. So those guys all got snapped up as you can probably imagine. So I was a little bit down the picking order if you like. And the country representation was in the sport of rugby. He was. But there were international footballers, cricketers. I was at college with Chris Broad,

26:37who was a, he turned into a first class cricketer, a summer renowned, father of Stuart Broad, who is, well, he's only just retired now, but he had a fantastically successful career. So all these guys were always going to get jumps first before before of us. Well, unless you do on Christian and when you went on to become a professional cricketer for 20. So I eventually, as soon as I got one interview, they sort of came a bit thick and fast after that. So a bit of a snowball effect. Yeah, it was. Yeah. So, she's often a mindset shift, isn't it? Oh, I can do this. And then you get through doors. So I must have had again, I know five or 10 interviews, I suppose, something like that. And somewhere sort of, you couldn't really be choosing Chris. You know, you had to go for where you, where you could get an interview. So I go to Essex. I went to Somerset. I went to Birmingham. I went to North Hertfordshire, all over the place to try and get a job. And were you growing up in Bristol all this time? So where was, where was home for you? Yes, I was still in Bristol. Yeah, yeah. But all my applications were at college. Yeah.

27:39Because what? It was interesting. Mum and Dad actually, I went there in 1976 and then 1977, they decided to move up to Edinburgh. So I was on me jack for two years. So it was absolutely fine. Oh, that gave you the Scottish connection. That's correct. Which is why you now love it. Yes. And, well, Mum and Dad are both Scottish, but all were both Scottish. So yeah, it was just a lovely time. But I eventually started interviews coming and then I one day went to a place called Rickman's Worth in Hertfordshire, which is literally just outside sunny Wattford. And I got the job and worked there for, I think it was three and a half years, then moved to another secondary school in Wattford called Bushy Hall. And one interesting fact is that just down the road, there's a school called Bushy Meads. And that's where when I started teaching George Michael and Andrew Roochley were in the fourth year at Bushy Meads, just under the hood. Wow. So there's a... You learned that

28:42later, presumably, with hindsight when they got there. No, I knew they were there, but I didn't know who they were particularly, but they're yes. But they're yes. And some of the girls in my form, because then they were tiny when they started and three or four years later, Watt were breaking onto the scene. And a couple of them said, oh look, I used to, no, Andrew Roochley and all this kind of stuff. And we must must must make sure we talk about music, obviously. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So anyway, I then taught at Bushy Hall for four years, which was my seven and a half years in teaching. And had you met Carol by this time? Oh, yeah, we were childhood sweethearts. Yeah, we met at school. So we have actually, we'd been married for 46 years this year, would you believe? And we were together five years before that. So we got time served between us. Yes. And I love the fact that it doesn't divide by seven, because that's coming. That gives a good future to everything as well. Yes, indeed. So, and then, as I

29:43mentioned earlier, we had a situation then when we'd had Dave. So Dave was actually born in Wofford, but you won't remember it because we we moved away too soon. But um, what's the age difference between Andrew and David? 21 months, which is probably another reason why they're such good mates as they are now, which I love as well. But it was, I actually went on a stag day with a friend of mine who I was best-manful. And we got back, I don't know, three o'clock. We were in Brighton, got back at three o'clock in the morning in a terrible state. And Carol worked up in the morning to find my clothes strewn all over the place. I was lying on the sofa. She said, you better go up to bed so I did. And my mother rang and said, I need to speak to John. And Carol said, well, he's actually in bed. She said, well, it's getting up. It's very important. And Carol said, but he's not in too good a state right now. And she said, well, it's very important. She said, well, I'll tell you what, I'll get him to give you a ring when he wakes up.

30:45Back two hours later, I did. And it turned out there was a job opportunity for me back in Bristol. We were desperate to get back to Bristol. We liked Watford. We loved the people there, but it was not home, Chris. And you've been kind to Watford twice. You've called it sunny Watford twice. I still love going back to Watford now. We've got friends there. Some very good friends who still play golf are still in touch with the guy who's best-manful. Or the way there's a big gap in between. And it literally happened very quickly. So I love how your mum perpetually has had your back. She gave you the nudge of every sort of peat teaching and then she gave you the nudge of, I've got a job for you. So she was a career counsellor extraordinaire. Well, you can see how she shaped me. Yes, absolutely. Yeah, I thought it was a great idea. So I literally, I think it was, I was approached something like the June or something. I can't quite remember. Yeah. And then Caroline, I went down to

31:48came across to Bristol to find a house, which we did. We had my half term to do it. So found a house. It all worked out. I resigned. And then our completion was delayed. So I actually ended up having to actually ended up doing another term. So, but on supply. Yes. And then we all completed it all worked and we came down. There's a through line also of what's meant for you won't pass you by. So these are all windows of opportunity, doorways, sliding door moments. Yeah, everything works out. You know, the stars were aligned. So it just, it worked out really well. That could be the four shapeages now, or is there a number four to come? There is one more. Let's have shapeage number four, please. Moving back to Bristol, which was in January 1987. And we know how I got there now. But yes, I changed jobs completely. I went from it, albeit poorly paid profession, but it guaranteed

32:53into the world of, it was an employed contract, but it was commissioned, don't you? Yeah. And so, you know, you had to, this is financial advice. Sorry, it's stuff now. Yes. It was a pre-financial services act. Yeah. But it changed very quickly, again, within about six months of my joining. And this is your mother finding this job? She was approached by somebody else who used to work. Yes. There was an old neighbour who worked in a, he actually worked in a random estate agency. Right. So he had a lot of clients, because he used to write in down my policies. And I was, I was set loose on his client bank originally. Yeah. But of course, I was able to, you know, I worked away from him as quickly as possible, given away 50%. So, but it worked very well. But the first time when I started, it was very tough. I wasn't used to stop quite yet. Don't earn you, Doni, but it wasn't. But you're taking quite a bold career pivot. I think so. Yeah. It was quite a jump. Yeah. It was a lot of hard work. And, but what really stood me in good stead, which I only realised afterwards was that the communication skills that

33:57you have as a teacher really did transcend to the realms of financial advice. And I love the fact it went from PE to FA using two pairs of acronyms. Yes. Yeah. So at the beginning, it was just, I wouldn't say it was awful, but it was, I used to qualify my success and have any appointments I used to be able to get. Yeah. And there was a lot of cold calling, which was, I didn't like that very much. But by having people to run out, I literally used to knock doors and make appointments for these people. And in terms of your legacy, I know that eventually you formed your own company and that's what you've now wonderfully post retiring have passed on to Andrew as well. Yeah. And days of end as well. I was very glad about that. I suppose the only way to think about it is that in that situation, you have to get used to rejection because you get a lot of it. Yes. And you know, a lot of people did fall by the wayside. And I just thought I've always said from that point of view, as far as I was

34:58concerned, the fire behind was a lot hotter than the fire in front. Nicely put. Whatever. So you got a tenacity in a push forward. Well, yeah, within the space of six months of moving to Bristol, with a new house, a new job, and a new baby. So you have to. And that's going quite fast because the stereotype to do with navigating change is normally about 18 months minimum to bring it about. Yeah. And then the entire field force for Sunliver Canada was dispensed with in the early 2000s. Maybe even in 2001, the entire field force was made redundant overnight because as a distribution of the field, it was too expensive. I got a head-hunted straight away as a lot of people did, became an IFA, worked for a company for a year, and then six of us that were there, broke away and founded our own company, where I worked until I retired. And the rest. And the rest is that, yeah, the guys. The most history is a different podcast.

35:59And I would say that the last 15 years of my professional life were a delight, an absolute delight, because it wasn't, wasn't really working anymore. I'd known that these people now for, in some cases, 25 years, 30 years. So there's a sense of belonging, which is a sort of collegialness, what's the end of pertains to the golf club and the Henry environment as well? And by the time you get to that situation, you don't need to worry about where the business is going to come from, because it's all completely organic. So you get referred to the children, and then sometimes the children of children, if you're there long enough, and then you get referred out of the blue, which happened more and more and more. So momentum built up, the trusted advisor status was prevalent, and then that's. Absolutely. I mean, we had to keep working, because the financial services act did come in, then became the financial conduct authority. So Andrew's got to do it now,

36:59and Dave, but I don't. It's, we have to take something like 10 exams in the year, and there are your qualifications. Eventually, the FCA will say, right, what you've got to do, you've had your FPC want your financial plan, so if you've got one, two, three, now you need to do your diploma, level four, and I'm pretty sure. It'll carry on going. But what else to do that? You can just say good luck with that and take a golf suite. Four. Very good. You've been listening to the good listening to show with me Chris Grimes. If you'd like to be in the show too, or indeed, give to an episode to capture the story of someone else with me as your host, then you can find out how care of the series strands of the good listening to show.com website. And one of these series strands is called Legacy Life Reflections. If you've been thinking about how to go about recording your life story, or the life story of somebody close to you for posterity, but in a really interesting, effortless and creative way, then maybe the good listening to show can help.

38:04Using the unique structure of the show, I'll be your host as together we take a trip down memory lane to record the five, four, three, two, one of either you or their life story. And then you can decide whether you go public or private with your episode. Get in touch if you'd like to find out more. Tune in next week for more stories from the clearing, and don't forget to subscribe and review wherever you get your podcasts.