I was born in Indonesia on February 1960 to an Indonesian Mother, Ellen, and my English Dad, Jeffrey, who met Mum when he worked for the Commercial Union branch in the capital city of Jakarta then. My younger sister, Susan, was a baby when the four of us moved to England in 1964. We moved around in London briefly then onto Dad’s Mother in Bradford, Yorkshire, for a bit. We then moved onto Failsworth in Lancashire, when the youngest sister, Vivian, was born. When I was 10 years old, our family moved to Cheadle Hulme in Greater Manchester. That was where I went to primary school for the last year and then went onto grammar School, where I excelled at general sports (I was a bit of an all round sports Jock). Unfortunately I was not a great enough student and certainly disappointed Mum and Dad by not achieving good enough grades to be able to go to a University when I was 18.
Studies and Work
Dad gently pulled me aside and talked about the realities and responsibilities of being considered an adult. It was like a virtual slap on my face. I felt ashamed and made up my mind that, as I wasn’t going to be a super star at sports, I had to start to grow up and work harder at everything else. I had no guarantee of any ability to support myself in the future, which was startling stuff at that age, but the lecture did the trick.
I knuckled down at Stockport College for my HND at business studies and launched myself onto the work market. To my astonishment (and to Mum & Dad), I actually excelled at marketing. A long story, but I ended up working for Acorn Computers, and loved it. Unfortunately, after a couple of years, the dream job went pear shaped early 1984, when Olivetti bought out the company and things just changed.
Holiday Romance and Moved to Spain 1986: I decided on a well earned holiday to Marbella, Spain, in 1984, to ponder on my future plans. That’s when I met Colin, who had lived there for many years. He was around 14 years older, a bit more mature than anyone I would have considered to go on a date with, but he was fun and had a special twinkle in his eyes. He appeared to be a bit of a Playboy, had a cheeky sense of humour and was a little bit of a naughty boy. Certainly a breath of fresh air, a handsome divertion, away from my personal and work life for the week that I had left behind in England, while on my holiday.
In a nutshell, after 14 months of being back in the UK, we continued our long distance holiday romance (through costly phone calls on both sides). I took the uncertain plunge and handed in my notice at work, long term rented my precious new house, shocked family and friends and moved to Spain! I couldn’t even speak the lingo, had no idea what I was going to do but I didn’t want to be someone that would say or think, “I wonder if”, in later life. So, I grabbed the opportunity. Two years later, I learned enough Spanish, eventually settled in, made great friends and married my lovely Colin. We’ve been married for many years, since 1988! Although we’ve had a few challenges along the way, our life together worked out OK. However, I had my stroke at the tail end of reaching 58 years old, in January 2019 – then everything changed.
PLEASE SKIP TO THE NEXT PART 2 OF BLOG: When I became ill and had my stroke ……… click on the following link: https://www.rebootinglinda.com/category/my-attack-hospital/
PERSONAL DETAIL LINKS BELOW:
Reason for my Blog: My reasons for creating this blog has been to be of help to anyone anxious, frightened and frustrated with their recovery. For more details, please click the following link : HERE
Why Me? Positive Attitude to Recovery: No point in worrying about “Why Me” Syndrome. You need a positive attitude to your road to recovery. For more details, please click the following link: HERE
My New Background – Introducing “Chuck: How I found my blood father. For more details, please click the following link: HERE