PRIZES to win! PROMOTIONS
Philip was born on 1st September, a date that should have made him the oldest in his class but instead left him the youngest—and often in trouble. Leaving school at 14 with a handful of CSEs, he was steered firmly away from his dream of art school by his father and into the construction trade. An apprenticeship in painting and decorating proved its own kind of education, from grand stately homes to cramped flats, alongside weekly training at college. He earned his City & Guilds qualification and, with a British passport in hand, set off to explore the wider world. By 19, Philip had travelled through Ireland, across Europe, and as far as Istanbul, an adventure that sparked a lifelong love of travel. He swears he once crossed paths with Billy Hayes of Midnight Express fame—a claim Hayes himself wryly denied years later. Though his journeys have taken him far, Philip has always valued the warmth of home. Today, he continues that connection by renting out his late parents’ house to fellow travellers, keeping alive the spirit of welcome and rest he once found there.
