peter
“When I left school in the 1970’s there wasn’t really much on offer. I found myself living in London with no real prospects, and all I had going for me is that I was a pretty decent footballer. One day I played against a team from the London Metropolitan Police and it dawned on me that they were keen on sports and short on staff, as well as offering a 30 year career and a pension. I was 19-years-old when I joined. Eighteen years later I had made detective but the police just didn’t feel right for me anymore. I was wasting away waiting for a pension that I didn’t really care about. I knew that if I didn’t make that change now I probably never would. I had always loved writing reports and jokes and speeches, and began to wonder if there might be a future in it. One afternoon I had a showdown with a senior officer who turned his back on me and in temper I threw my ID and badge against the wall, it hit him on the back of the head completely unintentionally. I resigned and went in search of some work on the comedy circuit. In the following year I found out a lot about myself and conquered many fears. One night I performed to an audience in a mining town, where the mines has closed and most of the men would never find work again. Life was hard, and they paid a few pounds for a night in the local club expecting to be entertained. I made them laugh and it was the proudest I had ever felt. There was no turning back after that. Since then I’ve been lucky. I’ve had a good career as a TV Scriptwriter and just had my first musical ‘Elvis Is My Daddy’ performed at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin. People often comment about the moustache, but I made a vow not to cut it until the musical went into production, fortunately it did. I kept it because after all those years in uniform and suits it’s nice to finally be who you want to be. I don’t miss the police but I don’t regret it anymore. I feel I’m at peace. I like my work, I like my friends, and I like my life.”
– Captured with the Vodafone Smart Platinum 7 #TakeACloserLook –