Gordon Kinghorn's Bio
by Gordon Kinghorn
(Reading, UK)
I am a former member of British Armed Forces and served thirty-four years as an Electrical Engineer - over the last fifteen years however, I worked as a military analyst in two of the MOD’s largest Headquarters within the UK.
I commenced life in Edinburgh in mid-1950, following some eighteen months in the 1960s workplace, (post-school years) – I opted to leave the land of my birth in a quest to discover Shangri-la – courtesy of the Australian government and the then ubiquitous £10.00 emigration scheme – a life-saving measure for many lads such as myself – the same who had nothing more to offer than boyish good looks and cherubic smiles – and precious little in the 3-R’s department – sadly, during that austere era, I fell appropriately into the ranks of such common-place mediocrity.
My reasons for taking flight at such an early age were largely two-fold - firstly, I had become weary of looking at my hard-working father and seeing myself at fifty-two years of age - secondly, I was constantly haunted by the words of a former maths teacher, one Mr Frew, or ‘SS-Gruppenführer’ Frew as I mischievously referred to him. Frew’s written appreciation of my educational worth on a final school report was dreadful at best, most accurate but dreadful nonetheless.
He commented, with much vigour and glee no doubt, that yours truly possessed little more than a football for a brain, adding further that the substance that inflated the afore-mentioned sporting accessory, was in fact the same invisible mass that occupied the void between my left and right ear!
I determined therefore, if I was doomed to catastrophe in adult life then my failures would be well out of his line-of-sight – he lived only three doors up from our family home – not a pleasant arrangement by any stretch of the imagination
Subsequently, I left town and headed for antipodean shores, settling initially in Sydney and then moving on to both Melbourne and Adelaide. I applied for Australian citizenship in 1968 and this development had near life-changing consequences - in that I was placed in the Draft for Vietnam – I can happily report that I avoided seeing the sunny “sights” of either Hanoi and Saigon by a mere one day - my birthday falls on the 15th of June – the Australian government pleasingly called-up those whose birthdays fell on the 13th, 14th and 16th of June! I took a number of jobs during my first couple first couple of years down-under, but eventually settled and advanced within the advertising industry, wrongfully ascertaining at one point that my destiny lay in the media and all it entailed – superb days indeed - fate on the other hand - had another card to play.
I remained on my travels until I reached 25 years of age, visiting numerous countries including, South Africa, Angola, Rhodesia, (as was) Zambia, Mozambique, Timor Islands, New Guinea and New Zealand.
I returned to the UK in November of 1975, (God alone knows why) and failed miserably in adjusting to the meteorological and financial conditions that prevailed during the period. – (One may rightfully assert that little, if anything has truly changed over the last three and half decades).
Following my enlistment into the British Armed Forces during January 1976, I served in a number of locations worldwide – Northern Ireland at the height of the troubles, being quite easily the most difficult and demanding of all operational arenas I was engaged in.
I married in 1979 and have two grown children, (son & daughter) following School, College and University educational demands, they both embarked on careers within the professional infrastructure, the eldest now in senior management within the leisure industry - our youngest being on the threshold of a career as a commercial pilot. My wife remains as a Senior Nurse and has worked in the specialist areas of paediatric and geriatric care.
I played much sport whilst in the army and to this day, I continue to maintain my fitness levels with 5-time weekly visits to the gymnasium. The old saying that refers to taking a boy out of the army but never taking the army out of the boy, sums up largely my general approach to life modern-day really – I would dearly love to see some of the values and standards that were once so prevalent, being restored into many sections of our failing community present time – losing battle methinks!
My sporting interests are golf, (12-handicap) plus Football, Rugby and Darts – the latter enthusing me as much as anything I may watch on a football/rugby field or Olympic stadium.
I possess a qualification in Journalism, (amongst a number of other educational milestones) and continue to write frequently on both sporting and political developments. My reading is largely autobiographical and biographical; anything relating to sport, politics or the great literary masters has special appeal. My musical taste is eclectic – nevertheless, there remains little, if anything that falls-out of the X-Factor genre that interests me.
The same must be said for tabloid television as a whole, I’m what many may consider as sterile in my personal programming selection – I do like drama, (Commercial-free productions where possible) and anything pertaining to the historical. Each morning sees me making for the radio – passionately genuflecting the moment I hear the dulcet tones of ‘God’ – one John Humphrey’s – I’m a ‘Today’ programme “junkie” and very proud of the fact too – British broadcasting is alive and well on this side of the dial – it is in addition, one of the last electronic destinations in Britain, where one may tune into a service where copious renditions of the Queens English can still be heard – such joy!
I adore food, (especially Thai) and indeed fine wine – particularly when taken with good company and exquisite music in the background. I do like to think of myself as a romantic but when one reaches a certain vintage, one feels out-of-it somewhat – pity really.
My aspirations for the future are quite simple; I adore the Far East and very much wish to settle there – well away from the maddening crowd so to speak.
Furthermore, my aim is to live a very long and full life, to reach 120 years of age would be quite splendid. At that particular juncture, when the Grim Reaper comes a-calling - to pass away quietly in one's sleep remains the kind of peaceful conclusion I desire. If I must suffer a violent termination at that advanced age, then let it please be a speedy transportation into the hereafter - something akin to a shotgun blast at the hands of the jealous husband whose wife I have just been making love to – this too, I would settle on as an acceptable passing from Mother Earth.
My aim in joining this site is to establish communication with people of a similar thought-process. Despite the fact that I continue to produce material for the MOD from my study at home, I nevertheless do not feel inspired with my existence present- time; retirement can bring some awful and unforeseen woes.
I need a spark, something to re-ignite and restore my lines of communication, but with a new and fresh breed of souls – I trust therefore that this communiqué may see my yearning realised.
© GGK – November 2011 gordon at mjk.org.uk
