A Brief History

(Everytime I tell this story - the story of me it is a different version depending on what I am telling it for, who I am telling it to, all the versions are true - just different.

For a serious version that concentrates on my work with people - click here)

Born 17/2/1953 Twickenham, Surrey, England

Very Negative/Appalling/Undermining/Traumatic School Experience 1957 - 1968 in Hampshire, UK

Not a very successful outcome to school, left with two cse's!

Traveled aboard and UK /'Hippy Lifestyle' - Today probably would be known as a traveler 1969 -1976
(Briefly was a member of the Wally's Stonehenge 1970)
(Lived in a tent in Cornwall 1970 to 1972)

London College of Fashion 1972 - 1973

Squatted in London in the days of protests and squatters rights, sit-ins the 3 day week and the power strike. It all seems so daft now I own a 4 bedroom farmhouse, but the basic beliefs were sound. Large numbers of useful housing stock, both private and public was at that time empty in cities, while young and the not so young were homeless. For work I designed and made usual clothes and sold them in Portobello Market and to friends and did whatever else I could for instance:

Road Sweeper/Dustbin person/Vegetarian restaurant cook/artist nude model, life and in a club/Cinema Usherette/Freelance Fashion Designer -attended the London College of Fashion to do pattern cutting and design/ Part Time Sessional Youth & Community Work 1973 - 1979

Member of the 'Road Rats' Hells Angels in Wimbledon. The only women who rode her own bike even though they laughed because my BSA Bantam broke down and I got a Honda 250cc instead!

Qualified as a Secondary School Teacher - Distinction and Main Subject Youth and Community Studies
"If you cant beat them, join them motivation" 1981

Bought a Smallholding in Cornwall 1986
Until my accidetn in 2003 I kept horses, chickens, Ducks Goats etc.

Married Barry 1987
One of my better life decisions.

Caja - my daughter - born 31/5/89. 'The apple of my eye' but I suffered horribly from Post Natal Depression.

If you are interested please visit my web site on this subject www.pni.org.uk

Full Time/half time Youth Community Worker From 1981 to 1999 some freelance computer teaching and web design from 1997
Youth work initially in London: Wandsworth Youth Service. Part of ILEA and the great Ken Livingstone's GLC (yes I have met him but I doubt he would remember) , Senior worker in an innovative project called West 14 Youth/Girls House, Talgarth Rd W14, then in Cornwall from 1986 to 1999 for Cornwall County Council, Redruth Project, Steps Project - Group Work/Therapy with disaffected young people, The work at The Steps Project was worthwhile, innovative and did a lot of good for individual young people - but it was spoiled for me by a bully of a manager who thought everything was down to him and certainly took credit for anything worthwhile and disowned any work or worker which was not 100% approved of by those who paid his wages.

It is true he started the project but the good work that went on happened despite, and not because of him and due to the amazing staff the project attracted.

His idea of a worthwhile piece of work was to throw a terrified young person into a bog to be left nearly to drown and tell them after they had got out in the nick of time that it was a 'team building' exercise and they had learnt lots by the experience ( I guess including being anywhere near him in the future)

Apparently he is still employed by the youth service and still dragging young people through bogs and hedges to this day!

. Helston Youth Center - bog standard, very, very boring and probably ineffective youth work. .

2001 - HND Multimedia Design Cornwall College

Now I do Freelance Multimedia Design, HTML editing, Private Teaching and Lecture at Cornwall College in Creative Digital Imaging and Web Design and Construction, Part Time

Had a bad accident when I fell off my horse in 2003 and am now disabled

I just can not help writing a potted history in any kind of personal profile. I am sure you now know more than you ever wanted to know about me. However if after reading this you would like a web site designed by me please e mail me at veritee@i.am