Meet Herself
Having been advised that she should include a biography as an introduction to her blog, Joy researched some other blogs and got a little bored with flat text. Consequently she decided to try to produce a more interesting, visual biography. Hence this...
Joy was born in Penzance a long time ago. She lived in Newlyn, Camborne and Falmouth. Fiercely proud of being Cornish, she tries to go there every year to visit the numerous galleries, enjoy the stunning views and consume vast quantities of Cornish pasties, saffron buns and clotted cream.
She also loves cakes, and ice cream and occasionally healthy foods, but Cornwall excels in calories.
She has always enjoyed travelling and especially loves cars and driving.
Dogs have always been a big love.
The one on the left was Bodger, the final Bodger of several in the family. (Nobody remembers why this daft name was such a persistent family name!) The other was Yorkie, imaginatively named!! Then no dogs were allowed until Joy became old enough to get her own, George and Ronnie. They were born on a farm and lived in a furniture van until Joy came into their lives. These photos were taken on their first day at home with her, and their first night away from other siblings and their Mum. (Dad had been a holiday romance and was no longer around!) They have their own section 'George and Ronnie'.
And cats have also been a favourite. There were three in Joy’s life...Bybbyn (Cornish for ‘little shrimp’), Uisghe (Gaelic for ‘Water of Life’), and Corrie (...for Corrie!)
Music has been a big part of her life and she has played several instruments. Joy ran singing lessons for her foreign students to learn and sing along with English songs while she accompanied them on the guitar. She DJ’d at the school discos and encouraged the students to choose some of the records to learn. She loved this part of her work more than any other, but then life intervened and she lost interest in music, sold her piano, stopped tuning her guitar and didn’t even listen to music. Until February 2017 that was, when, by getting involved with the Older Women Rock Festival, Joy went to a disco again and also played in an experimental women’s punk band. Her love of music was then reawakened most effectively. (Even her neighbours noticed!)
Now she is DJing again and is fulfilling a lifetime ambition by learning to play the drums.
She loved school. She started at West Cornwall Methodist School in Penzance. Her parents then moved from Newlyn to Camborne where she went to Miss Blight’s Elementary School for Young Ladies. (If you already know Joy, you will have guessed what might be coming!) At Miss Blight’s she became Head Girl and lost her badge three times:- once for eating chocolate in the street and being stupid enough to drop the very distinctive wrapping on the pavement (found by the headmistress); secondly for being caught by the headmistress sliding down the beautiful, sweeping, polished banister in the school; and finally for meting out what she thought was true justice – when supervising a homework class and a big girl hit a little girl over the head with a doll, Joy took the doll and hit the big girl back, at which point the headmistress walked in, saw this and took her Head Girl badge away again. In the assembly of Joy’s last day at the school, Miss Blight made her farewell by saying “And now, goodbye to Joy, my favourite failure as a Young Lady, but one of my favourites as a fund of stories never to be forgotten!” This history of being blamed for ‘innocent’ and justified crimes has followed her through life.
At Camborne Grammar School, Joy continued to get into trouble, entirely innocently, but she never lost any more badges. Here she found her love of sport and played any sport she could find (except hockey!) There and at college in Worcester she gained school, college and county awards, her favourites being badminton, trampolining and lacrosse. She became coach/instructor for many sports and was once invited to be a line judge at Wimbledon but wasn’t given time off work to do it. She even canoed up the river on the Severn Bore – what a thrill that was! She later even could be said to have played badminton by Royal Appointment to Prince Phillip. And Charles was there too!! Although she and her partner appear to be practising ballet positions, they were going to play badminton in front of the Royals.
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There was some discussion over her future career and, although she knew she wanted to be a teacher, it has subsequently been suggested that the bossy little toughie should have been a bouncer!
Joy went to college in Worcester to get her first teaching qualification, then taught English, P.E. and Human Biology at Basingstoke Technical College before deciding that it was time to find out a little about the world. More teaching qualifications for Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) followed and she taught for one year in Sweden and a year in Portugal. Those two years transformed her life and her attitudes. Then she decided that, no matter how much she enjoyed being in the company of non-Brits, she wanted to live in Britain.
So in 1974, she moved to Folkestone to try it out for a year. That was 43 years ago so she must quite like it here. At the school for foreign adults she was a teacher, a teacher trainer and Director of Studies for eighteen years. She also occasionally worked for the school on outreach courses for business people in Germany where she was generally the gofer but also played in the group’s plays where she took the part of the tart, (no, not typecasting), or a waitress.
So in 1974, she moved to Folkestone to try it out for a year. That was 43 years ago so she must quite like it here. At the school for foreign adults she was a teacher, a teacher trainer and Director of Studies for eighteen years. She also occasionally worked for the school on outreach courses for business people in Germany where she was generally the gofer but also played in the group’s plays where she took the part of the tart, (no, not typecasting), or a waitress.
Joy enjoyed travelling around many countries and three continents. Needless to say, there are dozens of photos of those places but they are largely only snaps showing some lovely views and her numerous hairstyles.
She got her MA in TEFL, became a self-employed consultant, worked as Director of Studies at a TEFL Business School in Canterbury and then became an inspector for the British Council. She particularly enjoyed travelling all over Britain and meeting those people involved in TEFL. Joy also worked for the Workers’ Educational Association, teaching Women’s Studies. She retired in 2010.
Throughout these years there have been some consistently wonderful friends.
She got her MA in TEFL, became a self-employed consultant, worked as Director of Studies at a TEFL Business School in Canterbury and then became an inspector for the British Council. She particularly enjoyed travelling all over Britain and meeting those people involved in TEFL. Joy also worked for the Workers’ Educational Association, teaching Women’s Studies. She retired in 2010.
Throughout these years there have been some consistently wonderful friends.
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She may be ageing physically but, in her mind, Joy is getting younger every day. After the last few years of loving her two dogs but doing little else, she decided to change her life. Hence, the DJing, the drums, returning to her work on astrology and genealogy, making numerous friends and being persuaded to do something with all the writing she has completed over the years by starting this blog.
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And then, of course, there are the romances, the affairs and the relationships. Joy first ... Gosh! Is it that time already? Can’t get through all that now. Maybe another time.
Well, we hope you have enjoyed this scamper through some of Herself’s life. One day she may tell you more.
JP Oct 2017