Having this opportunity to reflect on my life I now better realise that I was so fortunate to have been gifted with so many experiences, each shaping my own development and resulting in the person I would become. Being born in post war Britain when poverty was still common place, into a Christian Family, and one of four boys helped me to appreciate the value of sharing and the importance of friendships, this helped to provide me with a moral code that has stayed with me throughout my life. This doesn’t mean that I was a saint that would be far from the truth, I have made so many mistakes and have many regrets but the appreciation of right and wrong I hope has always ensured that I was aware of my shortcomings and I am thankful that I was always given the opportunity to change.
Little did I know the impact that losing the sight in my eye as a child would have on my early development, a lack of depth perception would mean that everyday tasks such as classroom learning would be much more difficult and with reduced peripheral vision meant that simple tasks such a crossing the street or even looking over your shoulder would become challenging. It seems strange then that no one ever questioned the impact injuries such as these have had on our lives or the restrictions it places upon you, opticians have said on many occasions that only having the sight in one eye is not classed as partially sighted, which still leaves me confused? If only one eye of two is working it would appear logical that the result is partial.
I am conscious that the content on this site may be seen as a record of achievement this is not the case, hopefully it’s a record of celebration, an offering of hope to anyone feeling disadvantaged as they travel on their own personal journey and a realisation that anything is possible, if you believe.
I have been so fortunate to meet so many influential people in my life some that had a profound effect on my own development unknowingly shaping and forming the character I have become. If there was one great lesson I learnt from my own journey it’s that regardless of status, wealth, religion, colour or belief we are all just people.
