We have been coming to St Mary’s since 1984; we had recently moved from Reading to Maidenhead and were looking for a new church. We had tried a few and then when leaving the St Mary’s 10.30 morning service I recognised someone from my distant past, Brian Jones, who had been my Crusader leader when I was a kid. So that was it, decision made.
I am married, with a wife and two children and three grandchildren. I was brought up on the south coast in Worthing but decided to venture far afield to do my computer science degree at Sussex University, where I met Maggi. Most of you will know Maggi through her coordination of food for Christianity Explored and her Bible Study leadership.
Over the years at St Mary’s, I have served on the PCC and various finance committees, and Maggi, Brian and I ran the annual church quiz for around 30 years until Covid kicked in. When my kids were old enough, they joined St Mary’s Crusaders where I helped Brian with Crusader evenings, camps and associated events. We are very fortunate to have the St Mary’s garden facilities and so it has been a privilege to coordinate the garden work parties over the past ten years or so. I also coordinate a badminton club every Wednesday evening at Braywick.
Apart from playing badders, I enjoy most sports as a spectator or participant, occasionally playing six-a-side football and snooker. My other hobbies include gardening (mainly fruit and veg), creating quizzes (always have two or three on the go) and film location tracking (i.e. what 1950s black and white film locations look like today). I have also gathered plenty of St Mary’s archive materials over the years. Something I have begun to realise is that I have lived my life ‘back to front’, playing bowls and running an allotment association in my twenties, and now in my sixties attending weekend rock festivals!
I finished my IT project management career in 2023 and had been looking around for some temporary opportunities, so the part time Facilities Manager (Thursday and Friday) role fits the bill and at a location I have spent the last 40 years attending. I’m so looking forward to working closely with Scott Bedford (Facilities Manager Monday – Wednesday), Dick West and everyone on the staff team although it will be a hard task to cover the skills Jan Strydom takes with him.