I have lived most of my life in Danderhall, Midlothian. Educated at Dalkeith High
School I left to study at Edinburgh College of Art graduating in 1980. After a
variety of jobs I began a career with Royal Mail spending most of my time working
in Training & Development.
I have been happily married to my wife Elizabeth for 6 years and will be celebrating
our 17th wedding anniversary this year (an old one I know but I couldn't resist).
In 1999 a sudden illness resulted in my paralysis. When I heard of a meeting to
discuss the idea of an organisation based in Midlothian which would “promote the
voice of disabled people” I was intrigued enough to attend. This meeting, which was
to lead to the formation of Forward Mid.
For my sins I have been chairperson for most of the organisation’s life. Thankfully
this as an easy job as those that attend our meetings are fairly civilised. The only
raised voices being over who gets what piece of cake? I have received a lot of
personal satisfaction as a member of Forward Mid and plan to continue to contribute
to the organisation’s growth and success.
I would urge anyone who wants to help resolve the issues faced by disabled people in
Midlothian to join us at future meetings.
