Since leaving John Ruskin in
the early Sixties, I tried out a variety of
jobs, starting with the meat market at Smithfield, and then moved on quickly to
a building associates company, Hall & Co. in Croydon and then Battersea.
Neither of these was really suitable; career guidance was not high on the aims
of John Ruskin, unless you wanted to go into insurance, banking or the armed forces!
Through college (Croydon Tech.) I heard of a job with
Croydon Council in the Borough Engineer’s Department. I was lucky enough to be
offered a job as trainee building inspector, where Cliff Cummins (also ex-John
Ruskin) was already working. The council continued to support attendance at
Croydon College for day release to study for the appropriate qualifications.
This took several years of hard study, but I persevered and rose through the
ranks.
I am still working for Croydon Council. The job title has
changed to Building Control Surveyor, and the legislation continues to grow and
became more complex almost weekly. I now cover the south end of the borough –
Purley, Woodcote and Coulsdon – where I have a mix of properties from the very
smart multi-mullion pound mansions to suburban semis and some light-industrial
properties.
I have just completed 37 years; can’t believe I’ve been
there so long! At the moment, I’m trying to retire early. I can go with a
pension, but only with the agreement of the Assistant Director. At the moment
I’m “too valuable” and cannot be released, since there is a shortage of
qualified and experienced people. So it looks as if I may have to stagger on
for another three year to 60!
My wife, Jan, and I live in Limpsfield, a small village near
Oxted, about 12 miles south of Croydon. I married Jan in 1964. She is a Home
Economist and worked for British Gas for nearly 30 years until redundancy and a
pension was offered. She now works as a seasonal employee for the National
Trust at Chartwell, the home of Sir Winston Churchill near Westerham.
We have no children, but enjoy lots of holidays and weekends
away. My brother has a narrow boat and we enjoy canal holidays with a slow pace
of life and frequent pubs, lots of interesting industrial archaeology and
wildlife. I am also very interested in railways, especially steam trains; who
knows – if I could get retirement I could drive for the Bluebell Railway.
Cliff lives about two miles away, and I see him from time to
time. He is now retired, also from Croydon Council. He has always been
interested on old cars and now is the proud owner of an old Rolls Royce.
John Ruskin was closed about nine years
ago [1993], and we all
gathered there for an evening of nostalgia … plus removing small souvenirs to
remind us of the many years spent there. The site was sold for new housing, and
the school demolished. In its place now are some very smart detached homes
clustered around the old Windmill, retained due to a preservation order. The
Windmill is managed by a trust and, once a month in the summer, is open to
visitors. We visited a few years ago and went around all floors; I harked back
to school days! Incidentally, the name John Ruskin has been transferred to a
school in Selsdon, previously John Newnham, and it re-opened as a sixth-form
college.
Croydon continues to change and evolve, with currently four
major redevelopments either planned or underway. It has certainly changed since
our days at John Ruskin in the Sixties!
John Carter; Limpsfield, Surrey, February 2002
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