Directors

My role: As the founder and proprietor of the company I am fortunate enough to be involved in almost all aspects of the business. No two days are the same, and working with such a great team of people is such a privilege. It’s now over 40 years since I started the company, but sometimes it feels like yesterday. I have never lost the desire and ambition to make things better, to try harder, to work smarter and rise to the challenges and opportunities that present themselves along the way.

My experience: I did a law degree at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and then took a few months out before joining a firm of solicitors – well, that was the plan! I worked on a farm for a while, and then tried to sign on the dole for a much looked-forward-to period of state-funded leisure, or so I thought! Sadly they insisted on finding me a job, with a local holiday company, SAGA, and I turned up for the interview determined to show them they'd got the wrong man. They gave me the job anyway. What's odd is that having been sure I wanted to be a lawyer, I suddenly didn't want to be any more. The holiday business had lured me in with all its might, and I was hooked! So much so that within a year, and with the princely sum of £500, a new holiday company was born - my own!! A rather mad and scary thought, looking back, but that's the way it happened. So building the business into the great organisation it is today has been my life's work, and I am very proud of it. What makes me most proud is the wonderful people who have made it all possible. The first full time member of staff I took on back in 1984 is still with the company - though neither of us look a day older than we did all those years ago! - and more than twenty five staff have been with me for more than 15 years, and eighteen for over 25 years! Working with a team like that makes you want to get out of bed in the morning, even after all these years. Long may that continue I say!

My favourite holiday destination: This is a really tricky one! Having spent my entire career in the UK travel industry it’s almost impossible to pick out one destination above all the others. I love the seaside, and the UK has some of the very best coastal landscapes in the world; I love wildlife and beautiful scenery, and England, Scotland Wales has it all in abundance; I like history, and the UK is blessed with the finest historic buildings and ancient monuments you’ll find anywhere. So, my favourite holiday destination has to be … the UK!