Where were you born?

I was born in London. We lived there until I was 4 years old.

Which part of London?

Primrose Hill. Near Regents Park, in the center.

Where did you live after that?

We moved to Godstone, which is near Gatwick, to the south of London.

How long did you live there?

A few years, I can't remember exactly how long but, some time. We moved to the south west when I was 7 and I went to boarding school near Bath.

What was boarding school like?

I have mixed feelings about it. You study a lot and pass your exams but, it's like living in a bubble. I enjoyed it. We played a lot of sport and I ended up playing Rugby for my county, Somerset. I had the usual friends as well as enemies. The military experience was great. All in all I think boarding school teaches you discipline and how to live with and respect others.

What did you study?

Well, My dream was to be a national park ranger so I studied Land Resource Management but, there weren't many jobs in that field so I went into the Hotel industry and did an MA in Management.

Why did you start teaching English?

Well, it's a long story but, after finishing my studies I went to the Middle East with a friend. After a while doing different jobs in different areas, I found I most enoyed teaching English.

What did you do next?

I went back to the UK to become a qualified English teacher. This is when I discovered the TEFL world was quite large. Next, I went to various counties including Turkey and Portugal. While teaching I did an ESP diploma course to enable me to design courses and be a course development manager.

Why did you come to Spain?

That's obvious. Isn't it? I had always wanted to live in Seville. The British think seville is this quaint town in Andalucia. However, I ended up catching a train from Lisbon to Madrid. It seemed like a good start.

Did you go to Seville?

No. Not immediately. I discovered a fascinating world in Madrid and decided I could use it as my base and visit the rest of Spain from there. Plus there seemed to be a better market for English in Madrid.

What other countries have you been to?

Well, one of my passions is travel. I guess it's in my blood. I mean, my family have lived in countries like India and East Africa. My uncle lives in Australia. I've been to most of Europe. I often give seminars in Belgium and while I'm there I visit that area of Europe. I went to East Africa to help some tribes and study their behaviour. I've been to Asia. Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, China... The Americas... Africa..

Do you plan to move to another country or stay in Spain?

I'm not sure. At the moment I'm happy in Spain. It's easy to jump on a plane and go home regularly. Who knows what the future holds.

Would you move back to the UK?

Maybe. Anything's possible. Sometimes I miss it. Family, friends. The landscapes. But here in Spain there is most of that and more.

To be continued.....

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