About Me

 A Short Bio

I am not being arrogant in doing an article on myself, I realised this morning, readers of the blog have no idea who I am, or what I like. So, I thought I would give you a short insight into the life of Alan Place.

I was born in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, on the 18th of October, 1956. At this point, I will say that as I was born in Yorkshire, I don't care what local government call the area; it has had two name changes since I was born, to me it is always Yorkshire.

I am proud to call myself a Yorkshireman, and always will be proud of my birth right. 

Being a Yorkshireman has caused some issues over time, mainly as I have the habit of being open, and honest, which some find annoying; that is an issue for those people to remedy; I am who I am, and that won't change.

My parents moved south to the Bristol area in 1963 when my father got a job offer with George Wimpey & co. this did not go well with my mother who had to leave her family, friends, and a job she enjoyed.

I didn't know my maternal grandmother, a fact I deeply feel sorrow for, as she died when I was 3. I couldn't put a face to her for over 50 years; I finally got the opportunity to correct the issue when my mother passed on some family photographs when she died 10 years ago. My maternal grandfather died when I was 16, in 1972. Our family never knew my father's side of the family.

Moving into school was hard for me, in junior school, I was the new kid on the block, and had few friends as most of the children went through infants school together. That could be why I found it hard to make friends. I did make some friends, one of my best friends, Michael Brice, stayed friends, and was my best man when I got married in 1986; after I moved from Clevedon, we lost touch.

After leaving college in 1974, I spent six years in the Royal Air Force, serving in Scotland, Germany, and Ireland during The Troubles. My service in Ireland meant I was awarded the General Service Medal for serving in a war zone; a matter I disputed as I didn't class myself as worthy, not having been near the danger zone. One man I was talking to about the matter pointed out that anywhere in Ireland was a warzone, if you were a British serviceman, or servicewoman; I do agree with that, we could have been bombed at any time.

After leaving the RAF, I worked for Bristol City Council for 15. in various museums, a job I enjoyed for half of my time, until the job became like a police station.

Since 2000, I have been classed as disabled, the cause is the resurgence of an injury I did when I was in the Armed Forces.

Personality

I can be viewed as abrasive at times, and I don't suffer fools, or people who take me for a fool easily. I am honest, and open, and I like people who respect me, and treat me the same. I am known for being sarcastic if angered, and have a wicked sense of humour.

I am an open book, willing to chat about most things, other than money. Some things I would not wish to talk about as my views are controversial, but money is the only no-go topic.

Travel

Other than my serving in Scotland, Ireland, and Germany; I had holidays in Austria, Switzerland, and Canada. For me, I wouldn't return to Switzerland, for all the gold in all the mines in the world, I disliked the country, and the people we met.

There are many places in the UK I would have liked to visit, which is why I was never in a rush to get my passport updated when it ran out in 2020.

If you wish to know more, feel free to contact me via Facebook, Twitter, or the blog.