Hi, I'm Ray.

I was born an "Essex Boy" towards the end of the Second World War. I left school at 16 with 4 feeble 'O' Levels but, even though I failed my favourite subject, Chemistry, I managed to get a job as a laboratory assistant. I worked in the photographic emulsion research labs at Ilford Limited in Brentwood, Essex for 8 years where I developed (no pun intended) an interest in photography. I started further education in ONC Chemistry, continued with HNC and finally with a Diploma in Analytical Chemistry, picking up 3 'A' Levels on the way. I moved on to Roussel-Uclaf in Stratford E15, now Hoechst, and then to Ozalid in Loughton, Essex, which is now part of the Océ Corporation. Then eventually I moved to Boehringer Ingelheim in Germany where I stayed for over 20 years. It was here that my main focus turned from Chemistry to EDP. By 1981 I had left the lab and the test tubes behind and spent my time installing and managing various scientific information systems before joining the Corporate Information Systems department as a consultant for Quality Control Systems.

While living in Germany I met and married Alison. We returned to the UK at the end of 1993 to run the Maypool Park Hotel at Galmpton in Devon.

After selling the Hotel in 1997 I returned for a brief spell with my former employers Boehringer Ingelheim at their UK Offices in Bracknell. There I worked as a Business Applications Analyst (BAA) for the production department. This meant living away from home during the week. This not being an ideal way to run a marriage I was very pleased to be able to move to Plymouth as a BAA for JBA Software Products, now Geac Software Solutions. Well after 2 years at Geac they decided to close the Plymouth office. I was made redundant. After 6 months of looking for a job (3 of which I was working at Safeway plc as a beers/wines/spirits advisor) I found a position as business analyst with IMS Maxims. Well I was made redundant again in March 2003 and, apart from the year I took off to renovate our new house, I have been working as a barman and delivering fresh free range farm eggs door-to-door. After 3 1/2 years I got a job as a chemistry technician at City College Plymouth from which I have now retired.