After leaving school at the earliest possible opportunity with very few qualifications, none at all worthy of note, I secured gainful employment via a friend of friend who ran a motorcycle accessories wholesalers.

At the time of joining Peter Gleave & Co as it was known then, they were based in a small warehouse above a Cooperative shop in Irlam and part of the reason I got the temporary two week job with them, was to assist them with their move to a new bigger warehouse in Stockport.

The new place was in a fantastic old building called Meadow Mill in the Portwood area and though the move was a whole load of long hours and hard graft, it went really well and my endeavours earned me a permanent position in the company.

It was basic warehouse work, picking orders, packing them into boxes and then shifting the gear onto the vans for delivery. Not particularly academically challenging or rewarding, not even very well paid, but nonetheless it was a job and it gave me a little sense of pride and also a few quid in my pocket.

With my few quid, I managed to save up and buy myself my first set of wheels, only two of them mind, in the form of a Suzuki AP50. It was an R reg, TBA 806R and despite it causing my old lady no end of upset and worry, I personally loved it and was very proud of the fact that I bought it myself and taught myself to ride it.

My relationship with Oona had progressed steadily away during my early to mid teenage years and we became more and more serious as time went on. I'm not sure whether it was the lure of the lemon Bon Bons I used to sell in the sweet shop or the pure sexual magnetism inspired by my funky moped that aroused Oona's passion so much, but eventually one thing lead to another and at the rather tender age of 17, we found out that we were not going to have to make too many plans to take our relationship to the next level.

Yep, the baby stork had paid a visit and as was the way in those days, we did the decent thing and decided to get married. A humble wedding at the Registry Office on Jacksons Row in Manchester was soon arranged with a typical reception being held at the Conservative Club in Cheadle.

Such was the level of funds that our wedding transport was the 105 bus, there and back and the drinks after the ceremony were taken at the pub next to the register office. Looking back on the few photo's that are around of this day, we looked, because we were, so very young. 

But for all the disadvantages that this brought, there were in equal measure some advantages. 

For example, we didn't really feel like we were missing out on things, because we hadn't really had the chance to experience much as young adults anyway and the benefit of youth gave us the necessary energy and almost blind faith to deal with all the traumas of raising a family on a limited income with limited life experiences.

As if things weren't going to be difficult enough, around the same time Oona's belly was growing, I was made redundant from my first ever job. This was a major blow to both my confidence and obviously to my finances. But I learnt a very valuable lesson from the fat guy who finished me off that day, because around the same time he was signing my redundancy letter, he had just bought himself a new company Jaguar XJS which would have cost the equivalent of my wages for about three years. I learned there and then that the only way to get on was to take control, to call the shots, it was and still remains the only redundancy I have ever had. Some would say that's good luck, I would say maybe otherwise.

Financially, I would have been better to have taken my redundant and sorry arse over to the social security office, as they would have given me dole money and all kinds of benefits such as rent payments etc. But I was brought up very differently to that and the tougher but more rewarding and satisfying road, was to take the only work available back then, which was on what the government of the day called the Youth Opportunities Programme.

It was as I recall as a warehouse man at Timpson's shoe factory, earning a paltry £19 per week, but still it was honest and paid labour and we muddled on through. The schemes were supposed to be a chance for young people to be trained and to be a gateway into full time work positions, but the reality was that most big businesses just used them as cheap labour schemes that the government paid for and as expected, like many before me and many after, once the scheme had run its six month course, my services were not retained.

I had promised myself not to be used like this again, but when the chance came along for another scheme, only this time with the company British Telecom, I thought that I should give it one more try. The old guy who interviewed me promised faithfully that they did not view or treat these schemes like many others and that if I knuckled down, I would be able to secure myself a permanent position.

Three months later, I learned of his predetermined retirement after 45 years in the job and guess what, my knuckling down counted for jack shit, again.

During both these scheme appointments, I had also taken on a little part time job with a guy called Tony (the spud man) Casey. Basically after my day time job was done, I would go home, get changed and then go out for three hours every evening canvassing for new customers for his spud round, that was character building let me tell you.

This part time role lead me to secure a permanent job, packing spuds on a farm in Carrington.  but I still continued with my canvassing. Also around this time, I added another part time job at a really good take away shop in Northenden, called Cinders. So at this time, I was cycling to Carrington from my home in Wythenshawe, which was around a 20 mile round trip, I would pack tons of spuds all day on my tod, go home, get changed and five nights a week go out canvassing and after that, for two of those nights then go to work in the takeaway.

I have to say, nobody could ever call me work shy, but all these hours basically but food on the table, paid the rent and clothed our little baby girl Danielle, who amongst all this working business, had just popped along at a rather healthy 7lbs 8 oz.

To be cont .....