Dave J Draper

Dave was born prematurely in Liverpool in the bitter December of 1951, the son of a Protestant dock worker and a Catholic mother. His mother came from a large family of ten, and Dave\\'s uncles, all boxers and ardent trade-unionists, provided an exciting socialist environment for the young lad where he learnt that all bosses were greedy bullies, and workers\\' solidarity was the only way to improve conditions for the labouring class. Destined from birth to be a docker, a boozer and an ardent Liverpool FC fan, Dave confounded expectations by gaining a place at Grammar School and going on to Oxford University, where he was able to drink beer and watch TV football in the student common room surrounded by the ivory towers and gleaming spires of that beautiful city. A career in teaching allowed this frustrated actor to spend his days performing in front of a captive young audience who were forced to grin at his jokes. As an ardent reader, a lifetime amongst novels, poems and play-scripts offered Dave the nearest thing to heaven. And even though he has not managed as yet to write a huge money-making best-seller, he has enjoyed some modest success writing stories, musicals, sketches and text-books. He now looks back on his thirty-six years in education with contentment and satisfaction. To be surrounded by young people, to share their enthusiasms and foster their talents, and to feel that you\\'ve been able to make a positive difference to so many peoples\\' lives is wonderfully rewarding - so much so that he intends to put off retiring for as long as he possibly can!