About me:

In 2026 I will have been a joiner for 25 years.

A quarter of a century.

I don’t know how that has happened.

I left school at sixteen and I just wanted to earn some money.

Shortly after leaving school my friend signed up at the local joinery college and I went along with him. I had no interest in joinery but I decided to sign up as well.

I picked it up quite fast and began to enjoy it. I got an apprenticeship with a local builder and was fortunate enough to get one on one experience in my early years.

I learnt a lot of the old ways, working with traditional hand tools as well as power tools, and I learnt to use feet and inches rather than the modern metric system, which I still prefer to use to this day.

I have been fortunate enough to work on all kinds of different projects over the years, and one of the main things that I enjoy about this kind of work is that I am not in the same place everyday doing the same thing.

In 2016 I got the opportunity to own my own home. I spotted an old property on a local auction site. It was one of the most run down pieces of junk that I have ever seen, but for some reason I decided to go and have a look at it.

On the viewing day there were lots of people.

The estate agent rolled up the shutters and shouted

“Enter at your own risk!”

He refused to step over the threshold.

Maybe he was the smart one.

When I was walking around the inside I could visualise the end result. Although I knew it would be a lot of work I decided it was worth it.

A few weeks later I went to the auction, and with luck on my side that day I was the winning bidder.

I remember thinking it would be relatively easy.

“I’ll have it done in a year”

I said to my ex girlfriend, as I sat relaxed with my feet up and a cold beer in hand.

5 years later I finally made it to the finish line.

Many life lessons were learned.

It was pretty rough at times but I don’t regret it.

So I guess that all of those years ago when I signed up at the local college it would all be worth it in the end.

But the moral of the story is this.

Be very careful what you choose to do for work when you are young.

The years move fast, and a temporary job can very quickly become a permanent career. As I have found out.

Choose wisely.