Welcome to me & my blog

Hi there. I’m Tim, I’m 39, and I'm a father of two and serial blogger. 

While writing a series of posts for my personal blog recently it occurred to me that, while there are plenty of books, blogs and websites catering to mums, there is precious little for dads.

So here I am, and here is my blog about the manifold joys and occasional frustrations of fatherhood. I'm hoping this will turn out to be in equal parts serious and light-hearted, and serve as a personal journal, a forum to share my experiences and the lessons I have learned (often the hard way), and somewhere I can blow off steam on those occasions when things aren't going so well.

If you're a fellow father reading this: welcome, and I would greatly value your feedback about anything and everything. If you're the wife/partner of a fellow father, you are equally welcome to read, share and comment; hopefully you'll glean some small insights into what it's like to be on the other side of the fence. If you don't have kids: seriously, why are you still here?!?

Anyway, to kick off, here's a little bit about me so you know where I'm coming from.

As I said up top, I'm Tim and I'm 39. I live in Thatcham near Newbury. And I've been married to Heather for 12 years and now have two sons, Isaac (Zac) and Tobias (Toby), who are two-and-a-quarter years and six weeks old respectively.

There’s nothing particularly out of the ordinary or exciting about me, but I like to think I'm a pretty diverse kind of guy.

Why?

Well, for starters, I like to think of myself as multi-cultural. I was born in London and consider myself unwaveringly British (hey, it’s what my passport says I am), but my parents are both Malaysian Chinese, so although I sound like your average middle-class Londoner - whatever that is these days – I don’t look it. Heather’s half-British (mum) and half-Australian (dad), and I think it’s fair to say we’re both keen that our boys grow up with a full appreciation of their diverse origins.

What else? Having (barely) completed a chemistry degree, I haven’t seen the inside of a laboratory since - no great loss on either my part or the scientific world’s - and have worked in marketing ever since. I’m currently employed by a large American multinational manufacturer, having previously worked for, among others, a large British media corporation, a very large retailer and the same public sector business as Postman Pat.

Let’s just say I’ve built a rich portfolio of experiences. It sounds better than “never really had a career plan”, doesn’t it?

The same goes for my interests: I like variety. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to 20-something countries, and I love discovering different cultures. I follow many sports but football is my first passion (specifically Arsenal), and although I like rugby I much prefer American football and Aussie Rules. I like photography; I like to read; I like to write (hence this blog).

Anyway, that’s me in 300 or so words. And this is my blog. Hope to see you around.