My personal interest in the Lord’s Taverners began 20 years ago after attending one of their charity golf days. Learning about the charity really struck a chord with my own childhood. From birth, I spent my pre-school years in a children’s home in Worcestershire, but when it became time to sign the adoption papers, my grandparents decided not to allow the adoption to proceed and raised me themselves.
As you can imagine, being of mixed race living in a village in rural Worcestershire in the 1960s produced many challenges for me whilst growing up. I was soon labelled as a “troublemaker” at school. I was continually told I was a failure, that I’d make nothing of my life but, thankfully, attitudes began to change and have certainly greatly improved nowadays.
Most successful people have something, usually from their childhood, which drives them to do something positive in their lives. I left school determined to prove people wrong. I trained to become a carpenter and joiner, eventually joining the coldstore industry when I was aged 24.
I joined my current employer, The P&M Group Limited, in 1990 and was taken under the wing of our late Chairman Peter Moon, who thankfully did believe in me and didn’t write me off!
When I was younger, I probably had a chip on my shoulder because of what I’d been through. Thankfully, I grew up, learned gratitude and used my past not as a negative influence, but to motivate me to make a living. Eventually, by joining ISD Solutions and The P&M Group I found a job that allowed me to travel around the world, so I built the journey I wanted to go on.
I think over the years I’ve learned to treat people fairly, to not cheat on people, and to try and build something for the future for my family. The main motivation for me is to leave my son and grandchildren a legacy.
That’s an approach which I’ve played a part in infusing into ISD Solutions and The P&M Group too – those values permeate our business, how we deal with customers and our employees.
I was probably embarrassed about my situation when I was younger. Now, I don’t blame anyone. There’s no point carrying around bitterness and resentment all your life – it’s better to use any energy to do something positive.
During my 35 years at ISD, as I’ve already mentioned, I have been privileged to travel the world and meet some truly inspirational people. Two such individuals were Sir Norman Wisdom – a street urchin, by his own admission – and Sir Alex Ferguson, who grew up in Govan, Glasgow. Both men achieved great success against adversity.
Since becoming involved in the Lord’s Taverners I’ve also had the opportunity to meet a great many sports and television personalities. Mostly they’ve not achieved success due to their prestigious upbringings, or through nepotism but through hard work, the right attitudes and dedication to their talents.
These people’s successes are a truly valuable lesson to teach the less fortunate children –that there’s a route to success through hard graft and a can-do attitude.
My passion for the Lord’s Taverners has increased year on year. Last year, I was invited to Worcester University during the school summer holiday to observe a residential they were running for participants on their Wicketz programme, which provides free community cricket sessions for young people from disadvantaged communities in the UK.
The joy portrayed by these young people was clear for all to see and I felt very humbled when one young boy said he had never been so happy to go to bed – whilst staying in Worcester he not only had his own room but his own bed, for the first time in his life.
Talking to the participants made me reflect once again on the similarities between their current childhood and my own past, and it inspired me to dedicate even more time and energy into raising funds for this extremely worthwhile and necessary charity.
We must realise as a society that even in the 21st Century there are many children who still get forgotten, particularly those living in less advantaged areas of the country. Many are often young carers as well, trying to juggle home life and school.
In different circumstances they would have their talents recognised, so the importance of charities such as the Lord’s Taverners has never been more prominent in ensuring they do get recognised and rewarded. Organisations like this can nurture talent that is equally distributed all over the UK but often doesn’t have the avenues to manifest itself.
I’m keen to make sure this good work continues, and my enthusiasm has thankfully rubbed off on my son Ollie who, along with his best friend Tom Hopkins, now sit on the Lord’s Taverners West Midland’s Committee. They’ve already organised a few successful fundraising events themselves with many more ideas and events in the pipeline.
The Lord’s Taverners positively impacts the lives of young people facing the challenges of inequality. They work across the UK and beyond to provide inclusive and impactful cricket programmes, empowering young people with disabilities and from disadvantaged communities to develop the knowledge, skills, capabilities and confidence required to overcome the challenges of inequality, raise their aspirations and reach their potential. To find out more, please visit www.lordstaverners.org