About Jacqueline
My Story
It is much easier to write about a fictional character in a novel than write about oneself, but knowing a little bit about me might be of interest to some of you. So here goes.
I was born, raised and still live in my home town of Rotherham. Mum and dad had a very typical working class life, dad working at ‘Steelos’ following in the footsteps of my grandad, a lifetime working in the Steel factories, that until the 1980’s, were the primary source of employment, along with the coal mines for most men in the area. Mum combined working with being a mother of 3 children, me being the eldest with a younger sister and brother. Like many families, in the early days, money was short, and that causes pressures, but our family life was full of love and security. I always felt safe and a sense of belonging. Mum and dad are no longer with us. I miss them both dearly. I finished the draft of my book last year. Mum was so proud, and she was so looking forward to holding a copy of Mangata Moon, but sadly she died before it was published.
My life followed what was really expected of me and that was do as well as I could at school, get a job, get married, have children, have grand-children and live the best life I could have. I feel lucky to have lived my life which has given me some really rewarding jobs, allowed me to meet amazing people and have love in my life.
I always loved writing, but particularly poetry. I can still remember the first verse of a poem I wrote in primary school;
“Spring is here at last
Dreary Winter is past
All the birds come out to sing
To see the beauty of the Spring”
Personal Life
Apparently, I wrote a book full of poems when I was nine or ten and mum saved them, gave them to me, but I am not very good at order, and I have no idea where that book is now. I have continued to write poems for family and friends when asked, to mark special occasions.
I loved English, Biology and Sociology at school. I guess that says a lot about me. I love words, people and relationships. My English teacher at Brinsworth Comprehensive School, Mr Roe, gave me 49/50 for a mock exam when I wrote a story about a driving instructor. I remember that moment more than any other in my education, as he gave me the paper back and said it was exceptional. I didn’t know how to deal with the emotion. I was surprised and felt pride for the first time in my life. Maybe I should have explored careers that involved using creative writing, but it never entered my head that someone, especially like me from a very working class upbringing, could write for a living. I didn’t know those jobs existed. The careers advice way back, consisted of …be a primary teacher, a nurse or go into the Civil Service, which is what I did, my first ever job working for The Department of Health and Social Services, on Supplementary Benefits, determining the level of money people were entitled to. Even though as a family we had never had an abundance of money, it shocked me to see such poverty and its impact on families, particularly children. At 19 years old it was the first time my eyes had been really opened to broken families, very different family values and the harshness of life.
I married my first love, Pete, who I first met when I was sixteen. I was considered an old mother when I gave birth to my wonderful son Ben when I was 24 years old, how times have changed! Becca (Rebecca) my beautiful daughter was born two and a half years later. I had always wanted to have four children, be a stay-at-home mum, make cake, jam and curtains, but that wasn’t to be. I had to go back to work because we needed the money. I worked part-time jobs, working in the not-for-profit sector, until my daughter was three, then full time and this marked the change in my career path.
I have had far too many jobs to detail here, it would bore the pants off you, but working in the not-for-profit sector has given me the opportunity to meet amazing value driven people, witness what communities of people can achieve, and embedded in me, a deep appreciation for my life. So here are just a few of the jobs I have been privileged to have had, that I feel have shaped me.
Co-founding a charity to help people with disabilities get into work. I was the only non-disabled person in the charity. I learned so much and had so many laughs. I researched, developed and had training resources published by The Manpower Services Commission to help businesses open up employment opportunities for people with disabilities. I worked with some incredible people, some who are no longer with us.
When I was twenty-nine I saw an advertisement in a local newspaper asking for people to join Relate – Marriage Guidance. Again this was another moment in my life I remember so well, as I dithered so much before picking the phone up to enquire as I thought someone like me couldn’t possibly become a counsellor as I didn’t have a degree, nor a professional job. I still remember almost apologising to the person on the end of the phone for my call. At the time, I was one of the youngest counsellor recruited. I absolutely immersed myself in the incredible training they offered and soaked up all the learning and experience other counsellors offered.
I think this was a pivotal moment for me as I started to ‘grow’ as a person. I understood myself more, and every person and couple I counselled helped me understand the complexities of human relationships, and how fundamental they are to human happiness. Although it is many years since I was a volunteer counsellor for Relate, the skills and attributes I acquired continue to guide me through life. I was told I have a natural empathy with people, and I feel that unconsciously the desire to help people live a happy and fulfilled as been a huge influence in the decisions I have taken.
Getting a job working for a national charity, Business in the Community was also a big milestone in my career. I was introduced to a concept called Responsible Business Practice and worked with many local, national and international business leaders to build partnerships between industry, local communities and people. My first project with BITC was developed with a small team, working from a portacabin on Meadowhall Shopping Centre Car Park. The evaluation report finished up on the then deputy prime minsters office and was rolled our nationally. The power of relationships and connections to bring about change is immense.
I also accompanied a group of business leaders to Brussels to present to members of the EU the learning from another business-community project. I helped arrange the 50th birthday visit for Prince Charles, now our King, to Sheffield and had the privilege to take my family to Buckingham Palace where we met him again. I thank Pam Lee, who was Regional Director of BITC, for Yorkshire & Humber, and David Grey MBE, the Chair of The Business Community Partnership, for seeing qualities in me I was unaware of and giving me opportunities to develop them.
I became Chief Executive of the Business Education Partnership for South Yorkshire, where we organised around 17,000 work-related learning opportunities each year for students to explore, understand and prepare for the world of work. We won a number of awards for our work, including being one of the top fifty fastest growing companies in Yorkshire. It was fantastic to see a not-for-profit gaining recognition, not just for the work we did but also doubling in size and providing employment for over 60 people locally. My thanks go to Alan Sherriff, who was our Chair for his support and his commitment to supporting local communities.
It was at this time that I met a number of incredible local women in business and developed a huge circle of female friends, the girlies, who continue to inspire and support me and give me huge belly laughs. I became voluntary Chair of Women in Business for Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce and along with the women of the WiB group, including Lisa Pogson, President of the Chamber at the time, we developed events to encourage women to achieve their potential as well as a gender balance on the Board of Directors. I was humbled to receive the Athena International Leadership Award for the work we did. Seven wonderful years and I made some lifelong friends. Lisa Pogson and Jill White have encouraged and supported me become a novelist. The power of relationships and connections once again.
More recently co-founding The Work-Wise Foundation with my dear friends John Barber and Janice Richardson, working collaboratively with the local business community to open up opportunities for young people to work in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) careers. Still going strong after 12 years. Still love working in this charity as well as now working with Charlie Elloitt who is an amazing woman who founded Affinity2020, a local not-for-profit supporting care experienced young people in the transition into adult and working life.
Being Custodian of The Rotherham Story and alongside great business and community leaders and brilliant local employers, championing my home town, and all the fantastic, places and people we have when the narrative about Rotherham was not so good. I also trained and qualified as a clinical hypnotherapist and love how story-telling and helping people change the narrative of their own life story, can be transformative.
Personally, my life has had its fair share of ups and downs. Pete and I divorced but worked hard to shield our children from the impacts of a family living apart. He sadly passed away a few years ago and the experience of a blended family working through life’s challenges inspired me to write Mangata Moon. I have been happily married to Terry for twenty years, and have 6 grand-children who I love so much and spend as much time as I can with. I have dear friends I have known since childhood, Gill Hill, in particular who has been with me on all my life journey and an extended family who continue to be the foundations of my life.
That is about it for now…I dearly hope that Mangata Moon, opens up a new chapter in my life, as an author.
