He and Mum spent some time on the Isle of Skye with wonderful friends of theirs, the Evasons. Mum and Dad set up a static caravan at the end of the Evason’s Croft, and Mum was the salesperson for the fleeces produced there – and that with a growing family. They still had their home in West Yorkshire but would make the 10 hour trip over to Skye every opportunity they could. The Evason’s went on to set up Jenny Ruth Workshops in Ripon. They achieved honours for their fantastic work: “where adults who have learning disabilities gain confidence, independence, work, and life skills.”
Another longer-term venture was Yoredale Weatherwear, based in Batley, West Yorkshire. My parents loved hiking, camping, and pot-holing, and Dad had been part of the Dales Cave Rescue Team at one point. The need for better, hardy weatherwear had led to his former business ventures, and now he wanted to move into it on his terms. For years my childhood after school and during many holidays was spent on the factory floor. Under the tables, to be precise. My sister and I would take our toys and set up dens underneath the checking and packing tables or the pattern cutting table, or we’d play on the empty floors before they too were taken over by the ever-expanding business. I loved listening to the whirr of the sewing machines and overlockers, the rhythm of the Taping Machine, the buzz of the cutting machine, the rrrrrip of the brown tape dispenser.
The workings of the business fascinated me. From how the coal-fired boiler kept the entire building warm to how each garment was created and became the finished product, then was sent on to its final destination. I learned how to seal seams on the Taping Machine, do the checking and packing, the office admin, and make a cuppa for those who needed it. There were also wonderful days out when we would all model the waterproof clothing, along with employees, friends, and family, for promotional brochures and adverts!
I witnessed Mum and Dad losing their business too. As I was about to go through my GCSE exams, a much bigger company used their power in a way that meant Yoredale had to go into liquidation. Suddenly the future of everyone at the business was thrown into jeopardy. The trauma of watching my parents go through this has remained with me and always will. They tried desperately hard to do the right thing for their employees and their family, even in the utter anguish of watching all they had built come crashing down. Eventually, a buyer was found for the business, and Mum and Dad were made redundant. I recently discovered that the bigger company became “defunct” just a few years later. I didn’t feel vindicated because it meant many more people would have suffered. But despite that, many would have grown as well.
In Part 2, I’ll relate my own working life and some pretty horrendous life experiences that very nearly brought me down. But I’ll also share how I managed to pick myself up again, several times, and keep going. It’s a story of hope and the reason why I “give back” by working with those who wish to grow despite apparent defeat because, even though it doesn’t feel like it, it absolutely can be done.
PS: This is only one part of my story. There are many as there are many parts to your story. I’ll recount the other parts at another time and link to them here because all of us have many stories, some we hold onto and many we forget.
Sharing our stories is incredibly important. I hope mine will help you consider and identify the stories you may have overlooked in your own life. So you can learn from them to help you grow and create new, courageous and inspiring stories for “Future You” to tell. And all our stories will, inevitably, help others to grow and create their own too.