Bath at Work Nov.qxp_Layout 1 19/10/2015 16:03 Page 2
BATH @ WORK Our series of photographic portraits by Neill Menneer shows Bath people at work. View a gallery of Bath@Work subjects at: thebathmag.co.uk
Sunny-Jim Warman Tyre fitter
I
was born in ‘92 and went to St Saviour’s and Beechen Cliff schools. I grew up in Larkhall but was actually born while my mum was living in Beaufort Square. All I remember from those days was sawing wood in the basement – I am so surprised I never became a carpenter. Larkhall was fun. It was easier in those days and all the kids used to roam much freer than is possible now. As long as we came back home by the time the street lights came on we were OK. We used to muck around on our bikes and make ramps and stuff in the back fields. We even tried to catch fish in the little brook than runs along the main street towards Swainswick but we never caught anything! I was a very naughty boy at school and didn’t flourish. I’d always had a lot of energy. My mum tells me that I hated even going in the push chair but preferred to cartwheel down the street. Thankfully I got a place at The Cherokee Project in Odd Down which sorted me out as they were able to focus this energy in more positive ways. I got pretty good at gymnastics and even entered a couple of competitions. I was also in a band called the Passengers for a while as I’ve always loved 60s Motown and BritPop bands like Oasis and Blur. I went on to study music at Bath College which was great as it gave me the time to explore other styles and ponder the future. It couldn’t be in music so I just got a job like anyone else – although my first job wasn’t that conventional. I ended up packing ‘certain items’ for Lovehoney. It was a different kind of education I guess! I’ve been working at Bathwick Tyres for nine months now and really enjoy it. It’s all about the people really. We have a lot of banter, so of course they teased me a lot when Neill was taking his pictures. People come and go pretty regularly in this kind of job as it’s not something you want to do for ever. I’m feeling pretty confident right now as I’m saving money and have plans to start a new life in South America. My girlfriend, Kitty who works in Sainsburys is half Bolivian, so I’m going out there to get work in the music/ events business which her dad’s involved in. My future’s not in the UK as the opportunities for guys like me are limited, I think. Either you know someone to get ahead or you have to work hard for years to get on any sort of ladder. You’re not so pigeon-holed when you work abroad and people don’t label you in the same way so you can progress faster. That’s what I hope anyway! Right now though my life is pretty uneventful but I enjoy going round to my friend’s house after work where we just chill and listen to music.
PORTRAIT: Neill Menneer at Spirit Photographic. Visit: capturethespirit.co.uk, tel: 01225 483151.
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NOVEMBER 2015
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