I was born a ramblin' man (The Allman Brothers Band)

Rambling Man (You may say I'm a dreamer - Chapter 10 part 1)

Here's to the Purdettes

By now it should have become clear that I'm a rambling man:

Lord, I was born a ramblin' man,
Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can.
And when it's time for leavin',
I hope you'll understand,
That I was born a ramblin' man.

(The Allman Brothers Band)

Up to age 15 I 'd pretty much lived in the one house in Royal Oak. Up to leaving for my first job in New Plymouth I'd only lived in Auckland. My parents' marriage was solid for all of those years. On the surface - it's a very stable background.

But really - all of our lives are divided into chunks. I loved Royal Oak Primary, but I left for two years of Manukau Intermediate. I loved MAGS but after 6 years of that I went to Auckland University. I loved that but after 5 years went to teachers' college. And so on. I loved Macleans College but left to find adventure in Nelson. 

We managed to amass a (nearly) five year stint in Nelson. These were happy times - enjoying time at Waimea College and with our friends in Spring Grove and Jackett's Island (off Motueka).

By 1994, though, a few things conspired to make us think we needed to leave Nelson.

Along the way, we'd decided to move from Lord Auckland Road. Jacky's 'asthma' reactions were attributed to the pine pollens all around us in Wakefield. We looked at places in Brightwater, 88 Valley and Hope, but in the end Jacky found an old villa she loved and she bought it (I trusted her and went for a look after the deal was done - she was right - it was great).

Only trouble - it was in Wakefield, a few streets from where we'd been before. Ha ha...ha.

The rock steady crew in Whitby Road

The 'asthma' didn't stop at this place (on Whitby Road), in fact, it got worse. The use of quote marks on asthma is because we later found that Jacky was experiencing respiratory complaints not linked to asthma - at the time though all the GP's we saw prescribed steroids in the hope it would help.

Meanwhile, we again set about improving the house - painting the outside and fixing up the grounds. Along the way I fell off the roof and injured myself and Samantha with some dodgy scaffolding arrangement. No harm no foul. Oh and Jade got 'sumfing in her boomat!'

With Leda's awesome  birthday cake

The other mitigating factor in our decision to ramble once more was Jacky's decision to retrain as a nurse/midwife. 

After getting some tuition from a local GP and picking up senior school biology and chemistry, she was determined to get a qualification. 

She had been a stay home mum since 1984, ten years ago, and I can really understand why this was so important to her. In terms of new locations, this meant either Dunedin or Auckland.

A job came up for me at Mount Albert Grammar for 1995, leading the English department, and so, back to my old school I went.

In classic moves that have been replicated often since, I flew up to Auckland for a weekend to find us all a suitable house. Which I did. In Glenfield, on the north shore.

The kids headed off to new schools, I battled the bridge traffic each day, and Jacky took a job at a rest home while also going to UNITEC to study for her nursing degree. Phew. Life got hectic fast. Naturally, we were both exhausted. 

School House! 
(BTW - Dining room is named after Kel White)

Luckily some respite came when a job as Senior Housemaster came up at Mt Albert Grammar's boarding hostel for 100 boys, called School House. It would mean working two big jobs - Head of English and Senior Housemaster but what the heck.

Now Jacky had to commute across the bridge - she'd moved her studies to AUT on the shore, but her days were easier, even though she took a job as Matron at School House.

This all worked out well. The kids headed to new schools - Gladstone Primary and Kowhai Intermediate, and Jacky completed her Bachelor of Health Science degree. What a feat. Raising four children, working as Matron, putting up with our 24/7 hostel life, AND getting her degree. Amazing.

Of course, there were some sticky moments along the way - frustrations, tantrums, and lots of ripped up paper that is thrown around the room, is the life of any student, but she battled through and got her degree.

Now it was time to get a nursing job. But wait. After four years of being in charge of School House (and a record FIVE years at one school) I also needed some further stimulation and challenge. 

I wanted to be a Principal. But first I had to get a Deputy Principal position. That wasn't happening at MAGS, so at the end of 1999, I looked elsewhere.

Love and peace - Wozza

Wow, reality, what a concept (Robin Williams)

Tonight and forever (You may say I'm a dreamer - Chapter 6, part 6)

With Annette, Jo and PJ

By 1989, Colin had moved on,  and we were sick of living in Auckland. 

Dad had moved on as well and had remarried by June. Second wife Nita had been mum's bridesmaid all those years before. 

Jacky and I welcomed the marriage, Ross was less magnanimous. The wedding went well, I spoke at the wedding to welcome Nita to the whanau, and clearly Dad was happy and that was enough for me. Both he and Nita had had enough tragedy and bad days.

Inevitably, dad now had less space in his life for the grand kids. That's just a fact - we certainly didn't begrudge him. Ross had also recently married and, naturally, he was now less inclined to spend time with us as well. 

Ross has always needed a best friend. In younger years he'd always latch onto one friend at a time and pretty much ignore everyone else while in that friendship. Lynda was his first female best friend. They are well suited and, to this day, they remain a tight unit with their two sons.

Our sibling relationship hasn't really changed much over the years. Typical of brothers, we have always been on the opposite sides of issues, and we've always found things to fight about. 

Growing up, there were many heated discussions at the dinner table as my ideas and thoughts were often at odds with his and my parents. An example is the racially selected Springbok tour in 1981. I marched against it and in our house, I was definitely alone on the issue.

Ross and dad had many things in common. I stood outside their relationship. I enjoy art and literature, they loved electronics and making things that produce noise (model airplanes, go carts, and so on). 

Ross has a science degree, mine's in the arts. I love music with a passion, he doesn't. I love sport, he doesn't. He's good with money. I'm not. He's happy working from home. I'm not.

I could go on but, believe me, the sequence holds up. We're opposites.

I love my brother, but the only thing we really have in common is our parents and now they are not around anymore.

Briefly when dad died we had a moment but that passed and we live our own lives with our own families. So be it.

For all these reasons, there was nothing keeping us in Auckland.

Dornwell Road in Three Kings had been a good central spot to live. While I commuted to Macleans, Keegan went to Three Kings Primary and enjoyed the multi-cultural feel there. Jacky was at home, looking after Adam and our new baby, Samantha. They were yet to start school so that also contributed to our rationalisation that this was a timely move.

With Peter Joyce and magazine crew,
the hirsute, colourful shirts/ skinny tie years had continued

Nelson came from out of the blue, more accurately, from out of the Education Gazette. I'd never been there and when I told Jacky of an assistant Head of English job at a Nelson school she said, perkily, "Yeah - I could live in Nelson!"

Everything fell into place quickly. I got the job after a phone call, we sold our house in Three Kings, flew down during a long weekend for a look around and bought a house in Wakefield before flying back to pack up the kids.

Chilling at Waimea

We moved in the May holidays of 1989. Our place looked over pine tree forests, farmland and a river. Snow peaked mountains were visible from our second floor bedroom. Easy to get blase about all this!

After Macleans, Waimea College was a major shock to the system. No sophisticated  city kids here. Instead, the rural client base provided a more laid back, basic feel. For two terms I struggled with trying to maintain high Macleans' values while accepting my new reality. 

No one had ever sworn at me before. A boy in my class told me to 'Firetruck Off!' It was a shock! And I didn't like it.

Actually, I didn't know what to do. When it happened I went immediately to the Associate Deputy Principal, Geoff Ashton and asked his advice. Geoff was always pretty calm and he handled things but I went back to class feeling discombobulated.

I'd also walked into a situation where two English staff members (Mary Hall and Grant Rawlence) had been passed over for the job given to me. They were frosty and watching me keenly!

PJ wisely takes a step backwards. The big hair years!

But then the nineties started and the Head of English (Aileen Ambler) left on promotion, leaving me in temporary charge. Fellow English staff members, Peter Joyce, Jo Kahl and Annette Sivak were great fun, fabulous teachers and kind hearted souls. The students stopped swearing at me and actually turned out to be good sorts!

I was rewarded with the permanent job and started to build on the confidence that Colin had kick started in me. The Head of English job came largely from being in the right place at the right time. It's ironic - after all those failed attempts as a student, since then I have continued to have huge success.

Some wonderful characters crossed my path at Waimea. Students like James Scott, Sam and Leda Sivak, Rowena McQueen, Chris Seifried, Kimberly Anderson, Susie Dulieu, Natasha Fijn and Jason Richards. They made life very easy for me. 

Jason, of course, is well known to NZ racing enthusiasts. Tragically, he passed away in 2011. The wiki link fails to mention his schooling, where we knew him (and remember him) for his killer smile and personality.

Peter Joyce is a great English teacher, very intelligent, and hugely funny. We became tennis partners and had a lot of fun at pub quizzes. One of his inspired ideas was to host a games and dessert night for the department - top entertainment!! I'm sure he won't mind me thinking that (to myself). 

John Clarke was also on the staff - we'd cross paths many times in the years to come, including in the Middle East! Tragically, he also died far too young. Like Jason, Clarkie was a fine human being.

With the Borlases

More firm close friendships kicked off during the Nelson nineties. 

Annette's family moved into the house next to us in Wakefield. The Sivaks  - Sam, Leda, Luke and Stas became great neighbours and friends. Like the Borlases - another family living close by that Jacky made friends with. Duncan, Steph, Terri, and Steve (close in age to Adam) continue to be our southern Spring Grove buddies.

With Annette and Stas

These Nelson years were also important for Jade Michelle Purdy's emergence (yep - more on this and Stephanie Borlase's antics coming in the Family Man chapter). 

It was during my five years at Waimea that I also started this autobiography. It ended with a comment along the lines of - what next in my brilliant career? 

That thought was left hanging and...it will continue to do so - you'll have to wait for the next bits and the family history - up next is the music chapter, as per the original text.

Love and peace - Wozza

Theme from Mr Lucky (Donald Byrd)

I did a presentation to my classes recently on me (entitled 'Who are you? WHO? WHO?).

The idea was to give them some of my teaching history and some family context. 

I did some research and came up with some old photos, including some of me with former students (a wonderfully talented bunch) which I placed on the Baggy Trousers blog. I had tons, though, so here's a few more for Wozza's Place.

Before taboor at AbAT

Waimea College, early nineties

With my translator, Hisham at Ali bin Abi
Taleb School in Al Foah, UAE.

M.A.G.S. Dining room is named after
 Kel White BTW.

Touring classrooms with the principal at
Ali bin Abi Taleb School

Leading PD at AbAT - great staff!

I love this photo with my
sixth form class at Macleans
circa 1987 in Te Kanawa House

Samantha with Jeanette

The eighties were great for thin ties,
colourful shirts and mullets

Lance, Jeanette and the rest of my
media studies class being wacky

I love this photo too -
me and Mohammed
at Ali bin Abi Taleb

Still from Jeanette Galina and Kylie's
take off of Yello's The Race
for media studies.

  

Love and peace - Wozza