Chairman's Chat
An introduction from John Kidley
I grew up in Monmouth and upon leaving school I did a traditional motor me-chanical apprenticeship in a local garage in Monmouth. (This was when a me-chanic actually repaired cars instead of plugging in their diagnostic computer and who then blurted out “you need a new one of these mate”). My apprenticeship included working in the machine shop as back in the dim and distant past motor cars needed a lot of mechanical repairs so it was usual to remove an engine or transmission, dismantle it and overhaul it. So, I learnt at an early age how to use a lathe and mill and have dabbled all my life in the machine shop. I worked in sev-eral garages as a mechanic but by the time I was twenty four I was offered the po-sition of workshop foreman so came off the tools then and at the age of twenty seven I changed career and joined the insurance industry as a vehicle motor engi-neer assessor, this is a role I did more of less for the rest of my working life.
I have been married to Liz for forty-three years now having three children and five grandchildren. She has been my rock through all this time, working tirelessly bringing up the children, keeping house and home together and now being very involved with the grandchildren. I do not know what I would do without her
I have always been interested in steam and steam models but due to family com-mitments I have not been able to have my own steam model until in my fifties I decided to build the one I currently run. I have had an enormous amount of en-joyment building it although it was frustrating at times. I also get a lot of enjoy-ment running it at rallies etc an activity that my wife and family are also involved in.
I have only been a member of M. S. R. V. S. for a couple of years now but have enjoyed being a member and feel it has a lot to offer the steam model world with helpful advice to all who come looking for it. I hope we can continue to uphold what is dear to the club and move it forward. We all know nothing stays the same for very long and we must embrace the challenges which the club will face over the next few years, and I am sure that we will emerge as strong a club as we are today.
Please get in touch if you have any ideas, suggestions, or comments on where the club should be going and if you feel we can do different things.
Hope to see you at the club nights and the rally.
I grew up in Monmouth and upon leaving school I did a traditional motor me-chanical apprenticeship in a local garage in Monmouth. (This was when a me-chanic actually repaired cars instead of plugging in their diagnostic computer and who then blurted out “you need a new one of these mate”). My apprenticeship included working in the machine shop as back in the dim and distant past motor cars needed a lot of mechanical repairs so it was usual to remove an engine or transmission, dismantle it and overhaul it. So, I learnt at an early age how to use a lathe and mill and have dabbled all my life in the machine shop. I worked in sev-eral garages as a mechanic but by the time I was twenty four I was offered the po-sition of workshop foreman so came off the tools then and at the age of twenty seven I changed career and joined the insurance industry as a vehicle motor engi-neer assessor, this is a role I did more of less for the rest of my working life.
I have been married to Liz for forty-three years now having three children and five grandchildren. She has been my rock through all this time, working tirelessly bringing up the children, keeping house and home together and now being very involved with the grandchildren. I do not know what I would do without her
I have always been interested in steam and steam models but due to family com-mitments I have not been able to have my own steam model until in my fifties I decided to build the one I currently run. I have had an enormous amount of en-joyment building it although it was frustrating at times. I also get a lot of enjoy-ment running it at rallies etc an activity that my wife and family are also involved in.
I have only been a member of M. S. R. V. S. for a couple of years now but have enjoyed being a member and feel it has a lot to offer the steam model world with helpful advice to all who come looking for it. I hope we can continue to uphold what is dear to the club and move it forward. We all know nothing stays the same for very long and we must embrace the challenges which the club will face over the next few years, and I am sure that we will emerge as strong a club as we are today.
Please get in touch if you have any ideas, suggestions, or comments on where the club should be going and if you feel we can do different things.
Hope to see you at the club nights and the rally.
