I was a boarder in College House, initially in the large dorm above the Library – with no heating! I clearly remember icicles on the inner window ledges, and running the ‘gauntlet’ whilst being hit with anything from pillows to coat hangers ( it really depended on whether you were liked or not). I was then moved to a smaller room above the Headmaster’s house near the sick bay; I shared this with 3 or 4 others. One memory of this small dorm was having a pillow fight and my pillow went out of the window into the Head’s garden. Retrieving it at night was quite dramatic exercise for a 15 year old, particularly as the Head was having a dinner party and the pillow was beneath a bay window.
We were encouraged to take part in Orienteering which I thoroughly enjoyed and this lead to taking part in the Lyke Wake Walk which on one occasion resulted in falling asleep in a stream after 17 hours of walking through the night to Ravenscar! It was at Scarborough College that I developed a fondness for running (something which I have only given up in the last 10 years ) this liking was accelerated by the fact that rugby was the alternative! My times there didn’t result in great exam results but definitely helped me mature as a person and budget especially after having spent all my ‘pocket money‘ by half term.
Having failed all my O Levels at Scarborough (but having had a great time!) my father moved me back nearer home as a day boy where I got 6 O Levels the following year and decide that catering was to be my career path (after failing Maths 4 times )
Went to Huddersfield Polytechnic where I passed an Ordinary National Diploma in Hotel Management. Joined THF as a management trainee moving around the country in various Post Houses , followed by a return to Scarborough at the memorable Grand Hotel for a year – a great Summer in 1976 .
Various roles within the hotel industry with Grand Metropolitan , Queens Moat Houses , Marston Hotels and Menzies Hotels including a short spell in the Caribbean have resulted in me now working in Devon as Resort Director at the 5 Star Bovey Castle whilst living in the Cotswolds where I hope to retire one day.