For the first two years of working life, I lived on my own. I had a flat in a small village in North Bedfordshire, which was above a hair dressers. I hadn't seen the flat before signing the agreement, it was one of the few that was available on a MoD accommodation list, at the short notice I had before starting my job. It was pleasant enough, it was an old stone cottage, I had a big bedroom on the top floor, with enough room to have a desk, with a lounge next to it. The floor below then had a large bathroom and the kitchen, then the ground floor was the hair dressers. The entrance to the flat was within the reception for the hair dressers (I had a key for their front door too) It was a small village, there was a small Co-op food store, a post office, a news agents and two pubs. For those first two years I didn't go out a great deal. My take home pay was around £600 a month. Rent was £325 a month, after electric bills, water rates, council rates (initially, then the 'poll t...

 I suppose the best place to start any story is the beginning, not always of course, sometimes an author might start a story in the middle, or even at the end, but, I think for this 'story' the beginning is, indeed, the best place to start. I  grew up in the 1970s and early 1980s on the Wirral. I had a pretty good childhood. No real issues or problems, lots of fun, lots of happy memories. I didn't particularly like school, but did OK, getting plenty of O levels, then A levels, then heading off to the University of Salford to study Aeronautical Engineering. I had plenty of fun at University, no real problems or issues there either. I achieved a BEng (Hons) and got a job with the MoD at the, then, Royal Aerospace Establishment Bedford, an active Flight Test and research airfield. I would be working with the VAAC Harrier team on developing and testing new flight control schemes for a possible future replacement to the Harrier, what would go on and become the JSF F35B. Pretty m...