Cracks knuckles and pulls up a comfortable chair to begin the latest in a long string of interrogations.
This week we have before us one of the members of the h2g2 team.
Please turn your attention to Crusader and delve into the mind behind the name.

1) Never judge

2) Never stop learning

3) Always walk across burning bridges

His mother used to be a mountaineer and rode the Triumph motorcycle in the 60's. Her father was one of the many heroes of the Desert Rats and died shortly before he was born. Her mother was one of 14 surviving children. As for who he would like to be like, his father fits that bill quite nicely. Erudite, relaxed and completely at ease with himself as well as those around him. He trained as a chef and went on to work in the post office before retiring a few years ago.

Crusader is also a brother to two lovely girls. These sisters are Tara and Syri. Tara is quite special to him - they have a bond which he imagines many brothers and sisters share. His other sister Syri has always prided herself on being his protector. He finds them to be beautiful both in looks and personalities (Syri is single wink wink). Along with his sisters, he was from time to time a model for various magazines and publications but is quick to say that the photos were quite terrible and stay locked away, never to see the sunlight again.

The last member of his family that we will discuss (for now) is his ginger Tom named Billy who is both the bane and blessing of his life. Billy hates women, only approaches men and has the habit of flying out of first floor windows onto unsuspecting passers-by. He claims that this is a great treat to watch (I am sure it is but what about experiencing??).

Now that we have given you a bit of information about his family let us continue on with how he stumbled upon h2g2. The road to h2g2 was a long one for him. He used to teach English and French but found himself bored very quickly. He moved to Paris for a year where he worked on the Eurostar (Trolly Dolly extrordinaire) and then went on to work as a tour guide around Europe. He then returned to the UK and found himself unsure of what to do next when he applied for his first job in journalism. Crusader found himself quite the lucky one by landing one of the plum jobs in TV - making travel programmes. It may sound fantastic but for him life on the road seeing all these wonderful places through a camera lens became tiresome very quickly.

Throughout the years he has had the pleasure of working on several film/tv/play scripts and has trodden the boards several times, though not successfully. Once completing this period in his life he went on to the BBC to make Webwise - an interactive travel programme using the Internet, e-mail and the knowledge of the general public. This followed by a brief stint at the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association and then here to h2g2. (Yip, that was a long and winding road to travel)

Now here and settled in he finds the site to be an amazing place to meet, be creative and develop. He can see just how huge the potential of this site is and loves the way the community pulls together for big occasions. It truly is a wonderful place to be a part of. As part of the h2g2 team he works along side Sam processing and approving our entries as well as compiling the Calls for Entries and writing their own stuff.

Becoming a bit thoughtful Crusader remembers the Baseball game, when people came from literally all over to take part in a game. Even though it rained heavily and everyone found themselves soaked to the bone the community still came together to have a great time. He also recalls his first week as part of the team; everyone was so kind and helpful, making him feel welcome as well as part of a team. A bit like an extended family.

When asked if he could go back and do it all over again what he would do differently and why he proved to be more than just another pretty face, he proved he was wise beyond his years as well. Without a moments hesitation he calmly replied that he wouldn't change a thing. He would make all the same mistakes, date all the wrong people and be foolhardy at times as well. It is only through our mistakes that we are able to learn. He does state that if he could go back and relive a part of his life that the time he spent in the south of France would be one he would like to revisit. He would also not be opposed to experience being a child again because as all of us know that was a time when for the most part life was never complicated.

And there you have it, Crusader in a nutshell. His family, his journey to h2g2 and his lastly his wisdom.

Monsy

05.06.00. Front Page

Back Issue Page