About Me

Buckley and I at Govett’s Leap December 2013

Hi, and welcome to Jamie’s Pages.

As you may have already guessed, my name is Jamie, and I live in the Wollongong area of NSW Australia; about an hour’s drive south of Sydney.

I have just completed my penultimate semester at the University of Wollongong, where I am studying for a degree in Journalism (June 2014).

I am a ‘mature age’ student in my 40’s, and combine studying with my own handyman business which I own and operate. Mind you I am the only employee, so it isn’t much of a business, but it allows me to work my own hours, and I enjoy doing it.

Outside of uni and work I enjoy watching movies and sport, particularly AFL  and cricket. I also enjoy reading, and listening to music.

I am pretty opinionated on many issues, and cannot abide injustice. I am neither left nor right wing, but may lean towards either on any given subject. For example I am very left on climate change, yet very right on capitol punishment. I am not a religious person, yet I do not completely close myself off to the existence of God, and while I believe in free speech, I also believe that with that freedom comes the responsibility to use  it properly. Not as an excuse to incite or promote hatred, racism, ignorance or intolerance.

Prior to starting university I studied at Wollongong TAFE, where I completed a diploma of communication and media in 2011. That was the first studying I had done since I left high school after completing year 11 in the mid-eighties.

Why did I start studying so late?

For many reasons, some beyond my control, most just poor life choices on my behalf.

I was born in Melbourne, and attended 12 different schools in three separate states during my early education. This was not due to anything I did wrong, we just moved a lot. This had its advantages and disadvantages; I learned to make friends easily, I had to, but it didn’t lend itself to having friends for long.

It also engendered in me something of a gypsy mentality, where even to this day I feel the urge to uproot and move for no reason every now and again.

Anyway I won’t bore you with the details of my life, suffice it to say that about eight years ago I moved to Wollongong (one of those gypsy moments), and met my partner Megan, who started to instil in me a sense of responsibility and permanence.

Megan and Buckley at Govett’s leap December 2013

I have three wonderful children, Nicholas, Jordan and Buckley. Although Nick and Jordan are from previous relationships, and have not seen them for some time, my thoughts are always with them. It is them and Buckley that were my inspiration to resume studying at such a late age.

I am so thankful I did. For most of my life I worked in menial jobs that accomplished nothing other than a pretty small pay packet and very little job satisfaction.

Now when I’m either writing or working, I am creating something that others may get some enjoyment out of, whether it be an article on this blog, or a pergola I’ve built with my own hands.

So if you’ve read this I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you for visiting my blog; you are always welcome.

Jamie Radford