Joined:25/10/2008
Post Count=2 |
Posted by DavidJ on 17/12/2008 at 16:15:08 | |
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Subject: Ian,
Last edited by DavidJ on: 17/12/2008, at 20:21 |
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I confess to complete bias as I am very proud of both my sons. As you will read, Ian has done much to make me proud. I hope you will all feel free to add any anecdotes about him which might reveal the real Ian Joyner. 
School Days
Ian attended our local comprehensive and seemed to thoroughly enjoy his school days. He took part enthusiastically in a number of school productions including South Pacific, from which he came home one day in costume and make-up to the extent I didn’t at first recognise him!
He took part in an inter-schools Young Entrepreneur competition. On the afternoon of their presentation he said that as the company accountant he thought he ought to wear a suit, which he didn’t possess. His mother was out and I didn’t know what to do, but I delved into the back of my wardrobe and produced a 20 year old dark grey suit of my own; obviously it had shrunk as it no longer fastened round my waist. Amazingly it seemed to fit him very well, but having zero knowledge of fashion between us, I was worried he might be making a fool of himself. Well they didn’t win but it made my night as he was presenting his financial report, when I overheard a lady sitting behind us say “He looks like a real accountant!”. Well I took it to be a complement anyway. 
While at school in his early teens he started his obsession with cars in the form of radio controlled car racing, a hobby which he still regularly takes part in even now. Every so often he demands we watch on youTube, his latest antics with a model monster truck on the local BMX track! By the time he left school he had shelves and boxes full of trophies. His strong competitive instinct which developed then, still endures today. He travels to both Morecambe and Kendal once a week to indulge his hobby and only recently after a poor (for him) spell of results said he wasn’t going all the way to Morecambe to come second!
He left school with 11 GCSEs, including 8 As, a total of one more than his colleagues, in Electronics, which was largely self taught.
B.Ae. Apprentice Engineer
Despite his excellent results he decided to leave school and take an Engineering Apprenticeship with B.Ae.Systems. A brave decision, but taken in the knowledge that the top 3 or 4 apprentices of the cohort of 60-odd got sponsorship to Loughborough University. He was Apprentice of the year in his first year and was presented with an award by an RAF Air Vice-Marshall at a ceremony at the Warton site which Joan (his mother) and I attended. While he was there a large part of his spare time was taken up building a kit car although based on a lowly Metro, the car would accelerate to 60mph in less than 5 seconds. Not content with this he came home one day and announced he had arranged a block booking for himself and a number of friends to do their motorcycle CBT(Compulsory Basic Training). I was appalled!  However I ended up going with them when one of them dropped out and came back just as enthusiastic as they were. We both passed our motorcycle tests on the same day, and a few years later rode to Switzerland together, calling at the notorious Nurburg Ring, but that’s another story!
Loughborough University
Having obtained the sponsorship he had set his sights on, he went to Loughborough to do Systems Engineering and graduated with a 2:1 M.A.(Eng). While there he took an active interest in the Karting Club where of course he met Jo, and also joined the Karate Club. While on his year out he took part in a Three Peaks walk, climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowden all in under 24 hours.
B.Ae. Graduate
After graduating he returned to Warton where he spent 6 months in various departments under their graduate scheme. His permanent position is something to do with UAVs (unmanned autonomous vehicles), which he is not allowed to talk about.  But we do know they keep sending him out into the Australian desert (among others), where he also gets to play with his radio controlled helicopter!
At less than half my age he has had almost as many cars as I have, one of many interests he shares with Jo. They also enjoy regular visits to two local badminton clubs and both play in a local league for one of the club teams.
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