Pitts, Bob
After the Sixth Form at Riley, Bob went off to study Mathematics at Liverpool University, despite Mr. Hammill’s offer to get him a place at Hull Uni. (which Bob’s parent’s would have preferred). But in those days, how could a boy resist going to the city of pop music. Despite spending about 50% of his time in the University pool, as a member of their swimming and water polo squads he managed to pass his BSc., and still got to sample the many attractions of being a student in that wonderful city. Whilst at University he met the lovely Merg (short for Margaret) which was when he became known as Bob rather than the Robert everyone will have known him as through school. They married just as Bob completed his fourth year at Liverpool (that was to take a Teaching Diploma) and are still happily together after 44 years of marriage.
Their daughter Jen gained a Master’s degree from the RHS and after time working in retail now has a post at the local F.E. college as their leading Horticultural work-based assessor. Son Mike gained a PhD in Chemistry and now works for Innovate UK, a part of the government’s business department. In September 2014, Mike and his wife Jane produced grandson Jamie for Bob and Merg. Bob had reached Senior Teacher at a Cheshire Comprehensive, when in his mid-forties he had a series of problems with his sight and ten eye operations later he was offered early retirement on health grounds. Whilst at University he had learnt to play Bridge (when was there time for that degree?) and he had many friends who also played. One couple had a small travel company arranging holidays for Bridge players and after spending 18 months recuperating from his problems, Bob went to work for them and continued there until retiring again at 60.
During this second ‘career’ he also wrote about bridge, having a weekly column in the Liverpool Daily Post for several years and he is still a member of the International Bridge Press Association. As Merg is a Lancashire lass, living on neutral ground seemed a good plan, so they moved to North Wales not long after marrying and still live there on the edge of a village overlooking open fields. Merg also became a teacher and they both still do some part-time work for the examination boards, but are spending most of their retirement walking the dogs, gardening and swimming.
In early 2016 Bob earned his first
International cap playing bridge for Wales, hopefully not his last.
bob 'dot' pitts1 'at' btinternet 'dot' com