After Caldecott
After completing my A levels, I returned to school to study for a further year and take S [scholarship] levels, as it was assumed that my A levels would not entitle me to a university grant, but S levels would do so. In the event, it was discovered that A levels would do. Caldecott always kitted its children out in suitable clothing for the beginning of their adult life, so Miss E took me into Ashford to buy my first suit, and I left Caldecott at Easter 1960.
All good things come to an end, and when the time came to leave Caldecott my earlier homesickness had given way to enjoyment of my life there, to the extent that Caldecott was definitely a good thing, and I did not look forward to going out into the wider world.
After leaving Caldecott, I worked as a waiter in a rather run down hotel until the time came to go to university [Southampton], where I studied Law. I went on to train as a solicitor and qualified in 1967, practising in Maidenhead, Exeter and, since 1969, in Totnes. In 1993 I left the firm in which I had been a partner and went freelance [and part-time]. I have enjoyed the work so much that I have not yet been able to bring myself to retire, but I expect to do so when I reach the age of seventy later this year.
From 1984 I also sat as a Deputy Registrar [later Deputy District Judge] in the County Court. This was also very fulfilling, but I decided that twenty-five years was enough, and retired from this in 2009.
I have also married [twice] and have two children and four grandchildren.