Boxes 10 and 11 of the F. Clark-Lowes collection at Mass Observation contain material relating to most of my various employments through my life. Box 12 is concerned with the last period of my working life, when I ran Invitation to Learn.
Time Line (not including holiday and very short-term jobs)
1961-1962: Engineering Apprentice, British Railways, Gorton Locomotive Works, Manchester.
1967 (Oct – Nov): English Language Teacher, Berlitz School, Karlsruhe, Germany.
1967-1968: Clerk & Messenger, Canadian Armed Forced, Lahr im Schwarzwald, Germany.
1968 (Summer term): Teacher, Upbury Manor Secondary Modern School, Gillingham, Kent.
1968 (Sept – Nov): Assistant Male Nurse, Cell Barnes Mental Hospital, St Albans, Herts.
1968-1970: Executive Officer, Civil Service, Crown Estate Office, first two months in Whitehall, London, remainder in Bracknell, Berks.
1970-1975: Immigration Officer, Home Office, London Heathrow Airport, Terminal 3.
1975-1976: Part-time Barman and Night Watchman, Foyer de Chaillot, Avenue George V, Paris (7 Months). Alongside this taught private students English.
1976-1977: Volunteer (fruit picking etc), Givat Brenner Kibbutz, Israel (3 months).
1977-1978: Teacher, El-Nasr School, Heliopolis (Masr Gadida), Egypt.
1978-1979: English Language Teacher, Forum School of Languages, Tokyo, Japan (three months, also worked for other schools in Tokyo and taught privately).
1979-1989: English Language Instructor, Senior Instructor & Training Specialist, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Jeddah (1979-1986) & Dhahran (1986-1989).
1989-2007: Free-Lance Counsellor, mainly for National Health Service in two doctors’ practices in Hove, but also privately. Alongside this English Language teaching at beginning of period for Brighton Polytechnic (now University) & Northbrook College, Shoreham Airport, Worthing & Durrington; later part-time Research Assistant for Centre for German Jewish Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton (two years); Teacher for WEA & Portslade Community College.
2004-2010 (overlapping with above): Part-Time Adult Education Teacher running my own private courses under the names of Invitation to Learn. These aimed to help students link the insights of philosophy, psychology, sociology, politics and economics. I retired at the end of 2010 while undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
Casual Employment
In addition to the above I have at various times worked as an ice-cream salesman (Morecambe), garage mechanic, petrol pump attendant, lab assistant (last three in Watford area) leaflet deliverer, dogs-body with publishing company (last two in Vienna), author and leader of Unitarian Church services. Click here (Work) for a more complete list of employments up to 2001.
