I was born in Gateshead in Co. Durham, England. I attended a Boys' Grammar School and Leeds University. I presently live in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. I am married and my wife is an Anglo-Pole (i.e.born in England to Polish parents) who speaks fluent Polish.
My brother-in-law lives in Kobierzyce with his family and has been encouraging my wife and I to spend some time in Wroclaw. We find it to be a vibrant, sophisticated and very cultural city. At the moment, it may well be Poland's most dynamic city. We would like to spend some time here getting to know the people more and the place better. My main career was as a college lecturer and as well as working and earning, I would like to contribute something to the city's cultural life. Working with "NativeSpeaker" will hopefully be a way of doing this.
I am very fond of Poland and its people.I have travelled around the country extensively, making many visits. I first visited the country during the communist times and things were bleak. The progress the country has made since the end of communism has been truly amazing. In my opinion, Poland now sits comfortably with the rest of Europe and has a great future. Now, it is a very exciting place to be and my wife and I would like to be a part of it.
Initially, I shall be in Wroclaw from 18/9/17 to 13/10/17 sorting out accommodation. I plan to take out a six month let and if all goes well, extend it, possibly up to two years. In that time, I would like to help people improve their English.
I am a graduate of the University of Leeds, B.Ed. Hons. I taught for 20 years in the English Further Education College system. I mainly taught History to adults on "Return to Learn" programmes which were at university entrance level (British A-levels) I also taught other subjects e.g. Study Skills'
I left F.E. to work in the commercial sector as a freelance, training consultant. I specialised in "soft skills" which is anything to do with inter-personal relations. I delivered the full portfolio including e.g. communication skills, presentation skills, negotiation skills, selling skills, management skills, problem solving skills, interviewing skills, professional customer care and many other courses. I worked all over the United Kingdom delivering courses to both commercial companies and government departments.
I also became involved with CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy ). I obtained a coaching diploma in CBT from Middlesex University in 2006. This allowed me to deliver coaching and mentoring courses up and down the country. In 2002, I became ILM (Institue of Leadership and Management) accredited. This meant I could deliver leadership and motivation courses. I have had a very wide exposure to people from all walks of life. I have delivered courses to every employee of a company from Managing Director to cleaner and everyone else in between.
My passion over the years has been history and travelling. They remain at the top of my list. I have travelled the world and remain as enthusiastic as ever about seeing new places and enjoying different cultures.
In my home town of Rugby, I belonged to the Historical Association. I was branch secretary and my main job was to book the speakers and organise the evening. However, from time to time I spoke myself. The topics I spoke on included; The History of Poland, The History of Warsaw, The History of Berlin, The Jews of Europe, German Generals of WW2 and History as a Tool in Determining Identity. In April 2017, I gave a talk to a cultural society in Wroclaw on the History of Warsaw.
I enjoy being physically active. My wife and I walk, swim and cycle recreationally. My wife is a very keen gardener and I act as her assistant.
I read, follow current affairs and consider myself politically aware.
I also enjoy the cinema, good food and fine wine.