About Mr Jones
Welcome to my Blog!
My name is Mr Jones and my life since age nineteen has been far from angelic, indeed debauched would seem like a more accurate description. Firstly I joined the merchant navy, travelling the world, then building ships, repairing ships, working on oil rigs, living in strange countries, visiting places where tourists do not venture. I have many stories to tell, some will make you cringe, and some may disgust you because Young Mr Jones was not a good person. Old Mr Jones has changed but the demons from his past still haunt him. Can a leopard really change its spots or do they just fade with time.
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I will share my stories, an uncensored book detailing my sixty seven years of life and a Blog that will chart my very different present life and aspirations.
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Young Mr Jones - Old Mr Jones
On the left, nineteen year old Mr Jones shortly before joining his first ship in September 1976, and on the right forty-eight years later sixty seven year old Mr Jones after a life lived to the full, a huge amount of alcohol, poor diet, lack of exercise and insufficient sleep. Heavy drinking, even whilst at sea was almost compulsory and part of the work hard play hard, men behaving badly culture. I embraced that aspect of the life with considerable enthusiasm so it surprises me that I am still in good health and able to play football with my six year old son. Yes I did say six but more on that subject later in my Blog.
What To Expect
An innocent nineteen year old from Wales discovered the unparalleled delights of travel, the allure of excessive drinking as well as other far less innocent night time entertainment in ports around the world. I spent my last glorious long summer of 1976 as a boy during one of the longest and hottest summers ever recorded. When this period of innocent pleasure which involved swimming in the river Usk, barbecues, trying and failing to find a girlfriend, beer when money allowed, came to an end. I caught a train to Portsmouth to join my first ship. That is the last that was seen of the painfully shy boy from Abergavenny and I returned home five months later a totally different person.
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A significantly less innocent sixty seven year old Mr Jones has recently resigned from a lucrative position with a shipping company in order to restore a dilapidated Victorian house whilst attempting to make it independent of external energy supplies. I have little in the way of savings so I am literally doing all the work myself but I do have an amazing wife and a six year old son to support so I need to keep healthy finish writing my book and provide for their future.
This Blog will provide details of my transition from a heavy drinking badly behaved Oil and Gas Offshore Engineer to a family man intent on providing security for his wife and child, whilst converting a draughty old house into a warm, energy efficient home to be proud of. It will also be filled with stories from my past as well as chapters from my book as it evolves. The book will detail my life and belief that my fate and destiny have been predetermined and I have been protected from the expected outcomes of a hedonistic lifestyle so that I reach whatever my destiny is meant to be. At my age, maybe I have already reached it and if so then I am indeed a very lucky man.
Lady of the Night in Lisbon
In 1977 a young Portuguese lady of the night saved me from missing my ship in Lisbon through a selfless act of kindness. I would have been stranded without money or passport and would certainly have been dismissed from my position as Radio Officer.
MY BOOK
My Life My Fate My Destiny
I can't help feeling that throughout my life, fate has taken a strong hand in guiding me towards my destiny. Whether with regards to a previous extremely unhealthy lifestyle or the countless times I have deviated from common sense and put myself, my career and my relationships at risk, I seem to have been guided back to the straight and narrow. This book is the story of an unusual life and my belief that, for whatever reason, our lives follow a predetermined path. I am ashamed of many of the things I have done in the past, and the way I have treated and hurt genuinely good people. My book will evolve on this website and will include even the darkest moments. I hope you are not too disgusted!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTACT ME
Stay up-to-date with my latest stories and musings.