Maybe a little explanation of “why” I am a tad jaded is called for. But please, don’t go telling me to “Move on”! Put it behind you etc, I really don’t give it much thought but I do think it pertinent as I am not a Salmon! And I also never look back and hanker!
Just before I married, I knew I would have to get sensible and start a career or at least attempt to be a more successful crook. I looked at what was available for the likes of me, no qualifications, no stable work history, a record, etc, and I decided I needed to get some training in an area that interested me.
About that time, computers were a fairly rare beast and very few people had “Pc’s” but, I had a hunch it would be a popular thing and so decided to get some training in it.
I knew there was going to be a course at Colchester Tech College in Computer programming and so bought a couple of books on Programming. One was the series, “Programming for dummies”. At that time, the programming language was generally “Basic” but there was “COBOL and FORTRAN too” and so I learned the three. I then toddled off down to the College for an interview.
I had done this officially and so was a little nervous as there were also going to be three people on a panel.
I should say here that I was able to learn the programming because I had er um acquired a Tandy EX 3000 from a “Trusted source” ;)
I arrived at the college and announced myself (there wasn’t a Barker!) I sat in front of this panel, smartly dressed, and answered all their questions eloquently and with some degree of confidence borne out of my study. They asked me other questions relating to engineering and the like and then……………………………… then they said, “We think you would do very well on the Hardware design course and would I be interested in that instead! Well, I bit their hand off! “Yes, I replied, I think I would like that” it was all too good to be true, “Hardware design”! Fuck me that was the top course! , they said they thought I would pass it with “Flying Colours. They then asked me, “What office experience have you had”!?..........I was on one of those, “tell the truth be honest, and everything will work out right, trips again! So told them I had none, save a little knowledge of goods in goods out from when my Father ran the Co-Op grocery warehouse for East Anglia. They persisted with this line for a little longer seeming to try and get more out of me re Office or white collar work, and then said I should wait outside while they cogitated (obviously they didn’t use THAT word) I went into the corridor and sat nervously waiting and letting my mind run wild with thoughts of “designing shit”! After a few minutes, I was called back in and sat down. The one in the middle said to me, “we are very sorry, but it is our belief that although we think you would pass the course without problems, they felt I would NOT be able to get employment afterwards because in their experience, companies would demand some history of “Office work”! They expressed regret at this situation and I thanked them for their time anyway and left.
Now, I was barely twenty when this happened. I had been rejected by the Army at 16 and there followed a plethora of rejections for the next 4-5 years whenever I attempted to “Fit in”. I was told for one reason or another, “Sorry we don’t think...” no, they didn’t fucking “Think”! if they had “Thunk” I might not be sitting here in Warm southern Spain working one day a week for a paradisiacal casita with uninterrupted views down to the warm Med and views of Africa, thinking “hmmmm, what shall I do now”?
Truth is, I DO get scared every now and then, but believe me; I have tried to fit in where “I” felt I could. It just doesn’t happen.
