Now to contiue, that day came when I had to go into Newport to start at the Arts collage. Toget there was a bus journey of 16 miles. First I had to walk from my home in Bulwark down into Chepstow, that was a good country mile.  The bus left Chepstow at 6.45am, Buses were always on time back then in the sixties.

Well, I get the bus, an hours journey into newport, so I arrive there at 7.45am , The collage does not open untill 9.00am, so I have a lot of time hanging about waiting, Just time to kill. If I caught a later bus, that would make me late for collage. Thats just how it was, A long day, then in the evenings I did not get back home till close to 7.00pm evry day, Monday till Friday.

Remember I was a 16 year old lad, I did not make any real friends there so the days where spent a lot of times on my own. I started in the September of 1963 and for the whole year I done that journey. Boy was I tired, often falling a sleep just sitting down, Many time on the Bus home in the evenings the conducter would wake me up when we arrived back in Chepstow. Then I  had that mile plus walk home. It was early to bed. Life just seemed like up then bed. I found it hard. My Mother had to make many sacrifies for me to go to collage,  so when after the first year. of doing the Foundation course, I stopped going. I should have gone back and done another three years degree course,.But no, I just could not face it. 

Then it was time to look for work. What was I  to do no Qualifications, so labouring, that was my lot, or so I thought.

Over the next few years I had many jobs, Lydney and Chestow trading company, Down on Chepstow wharfe unloading and loading ships, Fairfields, I can go on and on. A few years went by and I had not really settled doing any thing that really made me think of has a Job for life.

Now fast forwards to when I was twenty one, I got Married. We went off up to London to stay with an uncle of mine. So say just for a weeks honeymoon. But it turned out we stayed for just under nine months. Cathy, that was my wife then, was pregnant with Elizabeth, so we moved back to Chepstow, I soon got work and we found ourselves somewhere to live. First of all we stayed with my Mother, then soon a council house became vaccant and we moved in. It was soon after that my Brother and brother in law got some woodland to clear. This was a coppice of mixed hardwoods, but mostly silver birch. I was asked if I would help them on the week-ends. Yes, I thought the extra money would come in handy. This wood was meant to go down to the Sudbrook pulp mill, But we never ever sent a single load. It was all cut up and bagged for firewood. Delivered door to door. Much more work .

Around this time, I was enjoying the woods, and one day I was in Monmouth so I called into the sawmills there. Made enquiries about work. Was there a Job. I was sent up to the Managers office, There was Jock, an Over sized Scots fellow.  Yes he was hiring, we went out with him to look at a job just along the road from the mill. It was trees on a very steep bank, Running up from the river Wye on into the Forest of Dean.

I did not even own a Chainsaw at this time. Jock asked if we could start fellin g trees the next day.  Of course I replied, Then in a panic we were off to Gloucester, To Fuster and Dennis the chainsaw dealers. My younger brother, Stewart was with me and between us we got together  £76.00(pounds) Once in Gloucester and parked up it was in to get the Chainsaw. Was that fun or what. We had £76 and the  first saw was £80.  It was a clumsey type of saw, an 080 stihl. The saleman did not want to drop the price, I wanted that saw.  So a battle of wills started. I will cut a long story short, because after two hours, He just wanted to gget us out of that shop. We had our Chain saw.