Who Am I?

I am Mike Singleton, father of two girls and grandfather of one.

I have a few musical instruments but still cant play anything

I have worked most of my working life in what is known as IT because it promised the most money for the least effort, but never actually made any money from it.

I have a few blogs but they have become a little neglected thanks to COVID and joining Vocal.

I come from Preston in Lancashire but moved up to Newcastle via Sunderland and South Shields around thirty years ago.

I still support Preston North End football club and know they will be still going long after me.

I have written over seventy Vocal pieces though most have not really been read

I seem to be very successful at being unsuccessful at everything I do.

I have extreme confidence in my own abilities but as a bullying manager once said to me “You might be right, but I’m in charge”

This sounds like I am extremely down on myself but it’s anything but.

I always try and believe I will succeed

I often cause reaction mostly positive with my writing

In my work I am often quietly , but not publicly congratulated

These are just bullet points of my life, it's almost in the form of a blank verse poem , but it isn’t

So going back further

My parents taught me to read before primary school. I remember a book which was French with a dog called Socks in it.

As a kid I read voraciously but was ridiculously fat, which I have never really lost.

My dad’s philosophy was If you’re not working, you’re doing nothing and if you’re doing nothing you should be working”

So reading was pushed but often not appreciated by him.

I am on Facebook and have Seven Days In my blog and used to have a web site called Song of the Salesman which was fine but superseded by Shazam so it sort of sits as a Facebook page now.

As a teenager I worked on a farm which I posted about here , and did a bit of labouring for my dad before becoming an office worker for a heating engineers (for whom I wrote a history of the firm).

I then got a job as a computer operator , and then for a bet applied to be a programmer which I passed. Out of thirty people on the intake 27 had degrees (some multiple) , two had four top grade “A” levels (they were only 18) and me with two “A” levels.

But I learned a lot , and gained confidence to go into companies with zero knowledge of computer systems but be up to speed in a day or two.

That has been my work life doing anything from Programmer through to Project Leader .

Then outside of that I have played in bands , playing bass , guitar , keyboards and singing (well shouting out words - some people will question whether I can sing)

And now I am writing on Vocal , making friends.

I had absolutely no intention of writing this as prior to this I have a piece on Neon Park and a Villanelle to write but they will come after this.

So the reality is that I am in a good place , proud of my girls , and always trying to do do new things. I will share a video of me attempting my favourite Rolling Stones song so you know what I look like and sound like, It’s on my Youtube Channel which has quite a lote of videos and about 138 subscribers (my blog has 6)

So that is me