As we start 1980 I am still in Swansea but by the end of the year I was to be many miles away. Christmas had not been the best one as Dad was still out of work and Mum was quite ill, probably as much with worry as anything else. The family was still recovering from the loss of my Nanna the year before and nothing was really going well. Dad had commenced a skills course but in October, on a spur of an idea Dad applied for a job working in an iron and steel plant in Zimbabwe!!!

So moving along to the 6 November 1980 we were at Gatwick Airport in London boarding an aeroplane to Zimbabwe. During the next two years we were immersed in whole new culture. A higher standard of living and a society so very different to what had been in the UK. However this was not to last beyond 1982 as the political climate in Zimbabwe deteriorated and in the November of 1982 we moved to Botswana, south west of Zimbabwe. A very stable country and economically secure, but again things were not going to plan here. I left there to return to Swansea in January 1984 as I needed to attend senior schooling that was not available in Botswana and I refused to go to boarding school in South Africa. However, my Dad was tied into a contract of employment and so I returned to stay with my Aunt and Uncle for that year while attending Pentrehafod Comprehensive school – and oh what a culture shock that was.

It was in December 1984 that my parents returned to the UK following the excursion to Africa. My dad went back to lorry driving as a profession and I was able to continue in school. I can’t say that 1984 was a pleasant year but I survived it and I guess I had settled into school by this time where I was starting to do reasonably well.

In 1986 I entered the sixth form but two weeks into the autumn term my father had a heart attack and the result was the end of employment for him for the rest of his life. It obviously had a dramatic effect on the family as we went through a reduction in finances and again we hit bottom rung of the happy families. 1988 Dad did manage to have a triple bypass operation- on my 18th birthday of all days! I also managed to pass my A-levels and although a bit of a mess to organise due to the placement system that operated at that time – I ended up going to University in October 1988. I went to the University of East Anglia in Norwich to study mathematics with statistics and operational research. It was my first time away from not only my family, but also my home and a time when I was responsible for gaining my independence. Looking back on this time it was frightening and exciting and I was nervous but it had such a positive effect on me it was probably the best opportunity I have taken ever. I met some wonderful people in this time and developed some long-standing friendships. My relationship with my parents changed as I finally had the respect as an adult from them. 1989 was the start of my second year of university and although this was perhaps a bit more stressful as one had to really begin to work then… it was pleasurable. Back in Swansea Cath had grown into a almost a teenager but a definitely strong character, Dad had got involved in volunteer work and Mum had started doing a few free hours in a charity shop. The decade was definitely ending more up beat than it had begun.