Jesus. Yes. Born on Christmas Day 1981, the same day as Jesus albeit many, many, years later. The first presents I ever received was a multi pack of nappies from the beautiful nurses of Irvine Royal Infirmary in Southwest Scotland.
We grew up in the small village of Sanquhar, Dumfrieshire. It's famous for the oldest Post Office in the world. We lived above a takeaway which to this very day is still family owned and now run by my brother. It goes without saying if you ever fancy a Chinese, look no further than Sanquhar Chinese. It's the best in British soil (unbiased). After a couple of years, the family moved to the seaside coastal town of Ayr (home of poet Rabbie Burns). I was at the same school and had the same teacher as mum. Ayr was bittersweet. From great childhood memories to the innocence and adolescence of teenage life, we also experienced hardship through the separation of my parents and the death of our baby brother, James. In 1996, we moved to East Kilbride. By then I had already cemented close relationship with friends from Ayr. It was difficult to adjust. Only through time I had learned to adapt my life to new challenges. First job at the Stuart Hotel, lots of great stories had been told. In 2003, I took up a Marketing course at a University in Edinburgh. It was the first time I had moved away from home. I lived with a group of students at the Riego Street Student Halls. This was the first tastes of independent life. Everything was great, the only downfall was sharing the communal bathroom. After many years of study, I decided to get a round-the-world ticket with Suz. We travelled across Asia and Australia for a good half of the year (2004). Many of my travels are captured here online and this is what inspired me to set up this website. It was an adventure of a lifetime and opened my eyes to many new experiences and culture. I've made a lot of new friends and it's changed me to a more confident person I am today. I am ever so grateful to have been given the opportunity to travel around the world. Throughout 2005 and 2008, I spent a lot of my time in Glasgow. I have grown to adopt this as my home city. I love the people, the architecture and the good vibes. Student life, first loves. Glasgow holds a lot of nice memories for me. I spent some time working with dad at his restaurant in the centre. This in turn further developed our relationship. My family and friends still live in Glasgow and I make every effort to return to this city as much as possible. It's been 12 years now since I've lived in London (since 2008). I am settled. I am happy. Life goes on. This website first launched in 2004 and a lot has changed since then. |
A young Pip (sporting a Madonna t-shirt)
Pip & Ray
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