I was born in the small slate quarry village of Cwm Penmachno in North Wales where my father worked until the quarry closed: we then moved to Maenan in the Conwy Valley. I started work in the hotel industry before joining the RAF for 12 years; serving in Lyneham Wiltshire and Cottesmore in Rutland. After leaving the RAF I worked for British Aerospace (later BAE systems) in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia for ten years. I returned to Wales and worked at RAF Valley for a brief period before moving on to Airbus in Broughton. I now work as a Energy Surveyor inspecting domestic and commercial properties to assess how energy efficient they are. It was during this work that I had my heart attack which resulted in my book being written about the whole life changing experience.