"Those were the days"

Still carrying a pencil behind my ear

Hi, My name is Bill Bradley.

I live in Darwin, NT Australia and I am the one man band that created and runs this website. I started it when I retired at the age of 65.

I was born and bred in Lancashire UK where I served five years as a bound apprentice before receiving a large piece of paper in fancy calligraphy and signed under a fat red seal by some old codgers! It stated I was qualified by the "City and Guilds of London Institutes" to practice the trade of Carpentry and Joinery.

I was qualified, (and I gained quite a few other paper qualifications during the next few years) but those bits of paper really mean nothing! They were just a starting point for a wealth of experience... and I reckon I'm still learning and enjoying every minute of it.

I quit my comfortable job and went out on my own, "on the lump" as a subbie carpenter. A year later I did the "ten quid tourist" trip to god's own country, Australia. I never looked back. I got married (Hilary's still here, looking over my shoulder, checking my spelling) and built my first house in 1968.

We formed our own construction company here in Darwin in 1974 and were members of our local Master Builder's Association for twenty-odd years.