A Life, briefly... (31 December 2022)
Born:
Father: Mother: Brother: |
15 April 1958 in Luton, Bedfordshire, UK
Arthur Leonard Ratcliffe (5 Jan 1929 - 1 Jan 1977) Rosemary Alice (nee Wooley) (12 Feb 1933 and still going) Terence John (22 Feb 1954 - living in Hollister, MO USA) About 1960 - family moved to London |
Schooling:
Infants and Primary -
Christ Church Primary, Chelsea, London
Burdett-Coutts and Townsend Junior School, Westminster
Secondary (Grammar) -
Westminster City School, Westminster
(left with 7 or 8 'O' Levels and 1 (that's ONE) 'A' level in Economics)
Lived variously in Chelsea, Victoria, Pimlico and Covent Garden. Then a spell in Pitsea, Essex before my marriage.
Married: 30 May 1981
to Catherine Josephine ("Jo") Cowan (27 May 1960) in Vange, Essex
I had met Jo when we both worked at the Bank of New South Wales in Sackville Street, London. We were both reading the James Herriot vet books during lunchtimes.
One thing led to another.
Moved to Redhill
James Leonard born 6 March 1986
Christopher Charles born 29 June 1988
Infants and Primary -
Christ Church Primary, Chelsea, London
Burdett-Coutts and Townsend Junior School, Westminster
Secondary (Grammar) -
Westminster City School, Westminster
(left with 7 or 8 'O' Levels and 1 (that's ONE) 'A' level in Economics)
Lived variously in Chelsea, Victoria, Pimlico and Covent Garden. Then a spell in Pitsea, Essex before my marriage.
Married: 30 May 1981
to Catherine Josephine ("Jo") Cowan (27 May 1960) in Vange, Essex
I had met Jo when we both worked at the Bank of New South Wales in Sackville Street, London. We were both reading the James Herriot vet books during lunchtimes.
One thing led to another.
Moved to Redhill
James Leonard born 6 March 1986
Christopher Charles born 29 June 1988
Divorced: 1991 but this is not the place to go into that.
Jo lived locally while the boys eventually lived with me until college and moving on into the world.
Jo lived locally while the boys eventually lived with me until college and moving on into the world.
|
Employment
Sadly, a job retrenchment on 31 December 2002 meant "a bit" of a life style change for me. I decided that I would not commute any longer and looked for jobs locally.
All of which meant that I had to sell up the "ex- matrimonial home" in Redhill and move to Merstham in 2007 with James and Chris, where I have lived with various cats since. The boys moved out a few years ago, but the cats haven't. Generally, life was good, but quiet and controlled. More recently ... The seven of years have seen my outlook and lifestyle change with seismic proportions. I got friendly with Jenny, who worked at the Canon UK office, and we went on a few days out together and struck up a pretty strong friendship. She was struggling with the Theory side of her Driving Test, so I helped her out for a few evenings and she passed at the third attempt, and went on to pass the Practical Test first time. Our friendship got stronger and we saw more of each other and we started going out. She is a beautiful woman whose name you may see from time to time in the written parts of the web pages and diary blogs (and the occasional photo creeps in too).. I love her and her daughter to bits and we continue to go from strength to strength. Our time together is a precious thing and we love it. Jenny has now moved to a different company as a Chef/Manager in the kitchen of a Primary School. She is lucky enough to have all the school holidays off, so she can spend much more time with Layla. We married on 1 August 2020 as the COVID Pandemic restrictions were first eased, and moved into our house with Layla and Blakka the cat in November of the same year. The Canon office at Woodhatch closed in 2020, with operations moving to Stockley Park in Uxbridge. The commute was initially ok, as pandemic driven hybrid working meant there was nothing on the roads. When things got back to "normal", it became a bind (50-55 minutes to get to the office, but too regularly 80-100 to get home), which was not ideal for Life/Work balance. It left me tired and irritable, and the work load was full-on with meeting and conference room set ups and regular event kit movements. I found an opportunity at another SPS site at Burgess Hill - American Express - where I moved to on 4 September 2023. The work is generally quieter and less physical, and I also deliver between the Burgess Hill site and Brighton in the van at twice a day. (Updated 5 January 2023) A Bit More About The Boys... James Leonard (DoB 6 March '86) James is now working for a consultancy based in Falmer and lives with his wife Tara in Redhill. James completed a Masters in Engineering after 8 years of Open University study while working for SES Water. Christopher Charles (DoB 29 June '88) Chris is now at Sutton & East Surrey Water and mixes DJing under the name DJ2e and family life. He lives in Horsham with his partner Charlotte and her son Jack. On 11 February 2018, Theo Charles was born - the first child on the Ratcliffe side of the family since Chris in 1988 ! <some Theo pictures here> Chris and Charlotte married on 8 July 2023. |
...and Me
Never having the urge to fully grow up, I still show an unhealthy interest in the Beautiful Game and in particularly the Arsenal, who will no doubt haunt me until my last breath.
Music and the Arts - something I cannot do without. It is that simple.
I am very proud to say that I attended both LiveAid at Wembley in 1985 and Live8 at Hyde Park in 2005. It still makes me well up a little when I think that "I was there", particularly the 1985 event.
I enjoyed gigs and a music festival too. I made a decision in 2017 to cut down my gig going (too much recovery time required) and after the Glastonbury Festival in that year also decided to knock that on the head.
I have noticed of late that I am watching more movies these days and have always enjoyed them.
Eggybread was actively Scouting (with the 5th Reigate Gibson Cub Pack) for 24 years but I officially finished as of February 28 2017.
I have had a downer about Scouts for the best part of a year and it didn't improve (as it always has in the past).
I wasn't missing it during the breaks and wasn't thinking "Great, it's Monday. Let's get me to Cubs", even after the extended Summer break.
The Cub meetings sort of became what I did on a Monday evening, rather than something I looked forward to.
I don't get on with the new ways or for that matter the new leadership particularly, and don't get me started on the internal politics within the sections in the group and crap attitudes.
The time came for me to jump and see where I land as my heart just isn't in it.
Yes, I will miss the camaraderie with a few of the leaders, but that is about all, and I will keep in touch with them via the social networks.
This decision was a long time coming, but I think the time is right for me to step away before the great memories of the good times I have had are tainted by bitterness and resentment because I am just going through the motions for the next meeting / term / year or whatever.
I have had a downer about Scouts for the best part of a year and it didn't improve (as it always has in the past).
I wasn't missing it during the breaks and wasn't thinking "Great, it's Monday. Let's get me to Cubs", even after the extended Summer break.
The Cub meetings sort of became what I did on a Monday evening, rather than something I looked forward to.
I don't get on with the new ways or for that matter the new leadership particularly, and don't get me started on the internal politics within the sections in the group and crap attitudes.
The time came for me to jump and see where I land as my heart just isn't in it.
Yes, I will miss the camaraderie with a few of the leaders, but that is about all, and I will keep in touch with them via the social networks.
This decision was a long time coming, but I think the time is right for me to step away before the great memories of the good times I have had are tainted by bitterness and resentment because I am just going through the motions for the next meeting / term / year or whatever.