A Bog Roll Engineer

At seventeen, all I knew was this: my dad said I needed a trade, and electrician sounded as good as any.

What followed was an apprenticeship I'll never forget - not because it was easy, but because it was chaotic, brutal, hilarious, and packed full of characters you couldn't make up if you tried.

This book is a true, brutally honest account of life as an apprentice electrician working on building sites across the Midlands. From being sent out into the snow for daring to get a brew wrong, to surviving site banter that crossed every line imaginable, to learning the unspoken rules of respect, graft, and not touching another man's toolbox - this is what the job was really like.

You'll meet the old boys with stories too wild to be believable, site managers who ruled with fear and sarcasm, and apprentices who learned the hard way that confidence without experience is a dangerous thing. There are pranks that went too far, jokes that backfired spectacularly, mistakes that lived on for years, and moments that still get talked about decades later.

Now, over twenty-six years later - having progressed from apprentice to electrician, supervisor, and operations manager - I look back and realise those early years shaped everything. The industry has changed. The rules are tighter. The banter is quieter. But the lessons, the laughs, and the characters remain unforgettable.

This isn't a how-to guide.
It's not a polished success story.
It's the truth - funny, uncomfortable, and real.

If you've ever worked on a building site, served an apprenticeship, or wondered what it was really like before everything went corporate, this book is for you.