Gary Bland
Working in Bermondsey & Old Southwark to Make a Difference
Caring doesn't cost yet the rewards can be invaluable. Be selfish, say yes to helping others.
My Family
I met my wife, Debbie, 1983. Debbie has lived in Bermondsey for most of her life, and most of this time living in St. James's Road.
Debbie went to Southwark Park Primary school and then went to secondary school at Aylwin (now Harris Academy).
Debbie and I got married in St. James's Church on St. James's Road on July 11 1987; we have been together for over 27 years and married for over 22.
We have two children. James (it just had to be James), is 18. James went to the London Nautical School. Our daughter, Gabriella (Gabby), is 17 and attends the City of London Academy on Lynton Road/St. James's Road. Gabriella is taking her A-levels in the Academy's 6th form and wants to join the Royal Navy.
Both James and Gabriella went to Alfred Salter primary school in Surrey Quays, where I was elected as a school governor by the parents in 2001. James and Gabby were born in Guy's.
Debbie's nan, Mrs Jackett (Dot) who used to lived in Slippers Place, worked at St. Francis Drake School, off Trundleys Road, for many years. Her husband, Ted Jackett, used to work at St. Olaves Hospital as the Hospital Administrator.
MY PARENTS
My mum, who was one of 12 children, is Irish. She left school with something called a leaving cert, which basically means she passed her exams. Before she met my dad she worked as a nurse in a mental institution (as it was called at that time), which no doubt set her up well for parenthood.
My dad, also one of 12 children, lived in Shoreditch in his early years and then his mum and siblings moved to Highbury; his dad died in the war. He left school at 16 and got called up for national service in the Green Jackets. After 6 months he signed up as a regular and did a further three years, most of which he says he played football for the regiment. He was based in West Germany.
On leaving the army he worked as a gas fitter and then installed traffic lights for a living. Most of his working life was spent driving lorries where he would deliver goods to, and collect goods from, the docks - both south and north of the Thames.
Dad also worked at Covent Garden, Spitalfields and Smithfield market. I have never met anyone who has worked as he did to put a meal on the table for his kids. I often went to work with dad and I have very happy memories of the camaraderie of the people working in all of the above places, especially the docks, which holds happy memories for me.
“One of the hardest things to teach a child is that the truth is more important than the consequences.”
O. A. Battista
“Romance is thinking about your significant other, when you are supposed to be thinking about something else.”
Nicholas Sparks
“Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children.”
Rosaleen Dickson
“Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes, they forgive them”
Oscar Wilde
“It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them.”
Leo F. Buscaglia
“If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors.
All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
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