Mr. Charles Stuart Erb

I was expecting a steady ordinary sort of life, as a low-achieving slow starter with little ambition – however that was not to be. I had the great good fortune to join what proved to be a dynamic industry. Although not claiming much intelligence, I did have a certain intuition which I have been able to exploit, importantly in looking ahead and deciding what the printing industry might throw at me.

The best decision I ever made was to marry the girl I met at quite a young age. We rode the helter-skelter of life together, just taking things as they come, it was not until many decades later that it became clear to me just how much our society had changed during our experience. It was when my son asked me, when did I find the motivation which had been absent in my school years, that I was prompted to consider how much change I had seen. So, I began to relate in some sort of order, experiences that illustrated those changes, then adding a modest amount of interpretation. Those who saw the earliest of drafts encouraged me to continue until it grew into a trilogy.

Retired now after spending my entire working life in the printing industry, our marriage has carried us through more than fifty years and our children have long since flown the nest. Nowadays we live on the edge of an historic town in East Sussex in a mature house with plenty of garden in which I keep bees, grow vegetables, watch birds and generally revel in the remnants of the rural greenness that used to be so widespread but has these days declined markedly.

I enjoy sharing leisure pursuits with my grandchildren when they can fit me in.

Another primary interest is our comfortable cruising yacht. We cruise or sail competitively in Channel waters. Apart from that I maintain a private pilot's licence and have a share in an aircraft kept at a beautiful grass airfield a few minutes away from home. When I can be dragged away from the idyll, we spend a few weeks a year in our Spanish home where I take an interest in Spanish history and culture.

I try to keep up with events and understand where our society is headed but admit to finding it harder to understand with each passing year.