A BRIEF LIFE HISTORY

Robert Kirk Turner, born in Dumfries, in South-West Scotland, on the 18th day of May  1951 to Robert Kirk Turner and, his wife, Elizabeth Anne Johnston. Their first son, a brother to Joyce Anne, followed by younger brothers Thomas William and Michael.  Also a proud Father of two daughters; Suzanne Tracy (b. 9thJuly 1973) and Lyndsey Fiona (b. 19th December 1977)

I lived, worked, fell in love, fell out of love and was educated in Dumfries until 1977 when I  moved to join the Oil Industry in Aberdeen, working, first of all, at my trade  of Centre Lathe Turner for Baker Oil Tools. My first position working offshore was as a Material Controller on the construction of the Shell Expro Dunlin Alpha production platform. From there I moved to the Brent Charlie platform working  for Brown & Root as a Material Controller. On completion of that project I  worked for Grootcon as a Material Co-ordinator and, subsequently, as a buyer at their Aberdeen base and at the construction yard in Methil, Fife.

Working for  Grootcon gave me my first insight into working with computers when I was part of  a team designing a material requisitioning system using Artemis software. This  was primarily a Project Management Tool which linked programmed applications to  aid project managers do their functions.

From then onwards I  have been involved in the design of computer programmes in the field of Project Management. Most of what I learned of Artemis was at a company named AOCI of  Aberdeen (now a part of Halliburton, Brown & Root) and from three guys; John  Sinclair (orig. Orkney) for programming structure, Steve Chadwick (orig. Yorkshire) for the logic and Donald Gillies (orig. Inverness) for the application.

After completing a few projects there, including another offshore assignment on the Total North  Alwyn Bravo platform, I was involved in the successful tender for a major development at Wytch Farm in Dorset. After completion of the project in Dorset I was asked to join the Project Management Team for the construction of the  Sizewell B PWR (Pressurised Water Reactor) Nuclear Power Station. This involved working in Gloucester and at, the most wonderful place I have ever worked, Knutsford in Cheshire. The wonderful thing about Knutsford was that I lodged  with an elderly lady called Jean Gould who lived in a thatched property named 'Humbug Cottage' and she really spoiled me with care and attention, you were a great cook Jean. It was great to wake-up in the mornings to the sound of birds  singing and to walk up to Booth's Hall through wooded lanes, an inspiring start  to any day.

My biggest mistake was leaving there to work for British Gas at Marble Arch in London. Oh, don't  get me wrong, the job was great, it was just that I did not like London with all  its 'Hustle and Bustle' and rude people that populated the centre during working hours.

From London I  returned to work in Scotland at Dundee in the project management team on the conversion of a North Sea Drilling Rig to a floating Production Facility, 'The Emerald Producer'. I have remained in Dundee since 1990 and met a wonderful Lady and we have been together since then.

One of my ambitions  was always to start my own business and I did this after my last contracting  position at Windermere, Cumbria. Although the business was unsuccessful, I  learned a lot about people and life in general from the experience.

Currently working  as a Project Engineer for Merpro in Montrose. The company  specialises in design and manufacture of oil related process equipment and now has a presence word-wide.. In 2003 and I was requested to complete a project in Louisiana USA. This was for a period of 4 weeks but I had to leave after 88 days as my visa was about to expire. After 2-1/2 weeks back in Montrose I returned to New Iberia for the completion of the project, returning to the UK near the end of August.

Having never visited the USA prior to this, it was with trepidation that I arrived in New Iberia. I was delighted to meet a few wonderful people there who will remain in my thoughts forever: They know who they are. They arranged our social life while we were out there. The one thing that I must rectify, is to visit New Orleans an a return visit one day.

My ideal job would be a staff photographer with the National Geographic magazine, visiting, and  photographing, all that this wonderful planet of ours has to offer. (Maybe one  day 8o) )

Comments? - bob@bawbee.co.uk