I was born in 1966 and grew up in Portslade, East Sussex. I am now married to Paula, with two children, James age 8 and Bethany age 5. We still live in Portslade.
I work as an Electronics Engineer for Servomex, a company that makes industrial gas analysis equipment. You can see the results of some of my efforts on their web site, as I was responsible for most of the electronics in the xendos 2700 analyser. Most recently I have been designing some of the Xendos 2200 analyser.
Although I am an Electronics Engineer by profession, my experience of radio is strictly "amateur". Like many engineers, I managed to get paid for doing what started out as a hobby, and I still enjoy doing it. I enjoy amateur radio because it is so different to what I do at work, but the feeling after solving a particularly difficult problem is the same with both.
If you are wondering whether you used to know me at some point in the distant past, here are some more clues:
I attended Mile Oak Primary School from 1971 to 1977, Portslade Community College from 1977 to 1984, Brighton Polytechnic (now Brighton University) from 1984 to 1988, studying Electronic Engineering on the "thin sandwich" Honours Degree course. I was sponsored by Rediffusion Simulation.
I was a member of the 6th Hove Scouts from 1973 to 1984/5, and was a member of their Marching Band.
My first job was with Rediffusion Simulation in Crawley, from 1988 to 1992, working in the New Product Development department in "Plant 3". From 1992 to 1996 I worked as an Engineer at Notifier in Portslade.
From 1989 to 1992 I was a member of the IEE Sussex Centre Younger Member's Committee. From 1992 to 1997 I played badminton with the Henfield Group Badminton Club. From 1992 to 1998 I helped out in various capacities with the 6th Shoreham Sea Scouts.
So, if any of that has convinced you that I am that person you once knew, why not drop me a line?
Whether I'm that person you once knew or not, you can catch up with old school-friends at Friends Reunited which covers all UK schools, colleges and Universities.
Paula used to work as a Care Assistant, but now has a full-time occupation looking after James and Bethany. On call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! When she gets the time she is building and furnishing a doll's house.
James is mad about anything to do with trains and is now starting to get interested in steam engines of all sorts and how they work. I have a feeling he will become an engineer at this rate! He is also mad about Robot Wars.
Bethany adores her big brother and tries to do everything that he does, not always with the desired result! She loves Barbie, Tweenies, Bob the Builder and steam trains.
Click here to see some recent photos
Portslade started life as a small fishing village, but now it is part of the conurbation of Brighton & Hove . We live at the foot of the South Downs, and apart from the A27 "Brighton Bypass" we are right on the edge of the built-up area. Hopefully it will stay this way. If you stand on the roof of the house you can just about see the sea. It is only about 3 miles away. At the end of the road is the South Downs "Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty" which will soon become a National Park.
Here's an eclectic mixture of web sites that we have found useful or interesting , and that aren't mentioned elsewhere on this site. All of them will display in another window, so you can always come straight back here!
Robot
WarsWeb Site
The Official Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends
Web Site
UK
Heritage Railways
Bluebell Railway - One of the UK Heritage
Railways
World Map of Live WWW Cameras
Aromatherapy and Healing Page
rec.crafts.dollhouses
Web Site
Tweenies
Web Site
BBC Online -
Children's BBC Home Page
Last updated 2 September 2001
Email me at gary.aylward@tesco.net