It’s been a long time coming, you’ve seen the top ten from Ms (I want a pony) Jo Hansford but left hanging, waiting for the epic reveals from Mr (show me the tech) Nic Box…. AKA Hansford! Well, wait no more. Here are 7½ things you need/should/might want to know about me!
Music was my first love
It started a few years back, when I had (more) hair, of which went through many styles based on various musical influences of the time – think punk without the Mohican haircut, new romantic with an emphasis on the eyeliner. More of a trend follower than setter, my influences ranged from ska to punk, with some Pink Floyd and even Adam and the Ants.
My dad was a musician, a drummer, and that’s what I wanted to be. With sticks in hand from an early age I set about bashing my rudimentary rhythms out on anything that when hit created noise. My time keeping was… unique.
It’s electrifying!
I tinkered a lot in my youth. Watching my dad waving a soldering iron around and creating devices that did things was like magic, and my urge to understand how things worked meant that many radios were broken, circuit breakers tripped and parents nerves frazzled as I experimented with resistors, capacitors and diodes.
Ok Computer
It was the 80’s, the birth of the home computer with the likes of the Sinclair ZX81 (complete with wobbly memory expansion pack!) to ZX Spectrum, Commodore Vic 20 to Amiga, BBC Acorn to Micro. Yes, I owned them all. I was a geeky teen!
Nice work if you can get it
As a child I wanted to fly jets, but they wouldn’t let a ten-year-old near a plane (badum-tish!) A career in aviation was not in my future as did electrical engineering owing to a red-green colour blindness, however as luck would have it, I stumbled upon a training/apprenticeship in business & computing skills. Whoop, something I enjoyed. Well, computers maybe!
One trick pony
My Mum came to see me the first time I sat on a horse, aged 48. The last time it was either a donkey or a rocking horse. Yes, I can ride a horse, or at least I’m aware of the front end, and pretty much the capabilities of the rear – just not up close and personal.
Coffee & TV
I may have a little obsession with coffee, or at least the gadgets that go along with the methods. I’ve owned various contraptions for making coffee from drip to espresso, filtered, pressed, pressurised. Don’t mention the grind, many a day spent adjusting the burr-grinder to the ultimate setting, and then forgetting everything a day or so later. Think I’m over it now, just make sure the flat white has three shots, at the correct temperature, served with the perfect complement of steamed milk in a cup of the correct size. (Don’t mention the cake.)
Pictures of You
So, eventually I have to say something about photography…….
It wasn’t a natural, born to the role, kind of thing, it was more “Hey if you want to spend some time with your girlfriend photographer, then you better learn how to hold a camera. Oh and be ready to work at weekends”! The other thing I’ve learned, as a second shooter at over 400 weddings, is that when asked to move something by the primary, don’t question – just do it!
Well there it is, guessing I’ve raised more questions than answers but like every good story teller you leave the audience wanting more!