Interview
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a keen Army Cadet from the age of 10 , Peter had always wanted to be a soldier but was held back by his dyslexia . However , at the age of 22 he was finally accepted and joined the Royal Logistics Corps in 2004 . Recalling his training at Purbright , Surrey , he says : “ It was a lot harder than I expected . When I went in I was quite gobby - however they drummed that out of me pretty quickly !” Peter served in the Army for six years , before deciding to leave once he felt he had fulfilled everything he wanted to do , and visited everywhere he had dreamed of .
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It wasn ’ t an easy decision – partly because he had made so many good friends in the Army – but he says he had a yearning to branch out and have his own business . “ Im not keen on working for other people ” he admits , “ I like to be my own boss .” The window cleaning round was just the start of his road into business , though . On a night out Peter met a nightclub doorman , a New Yorker called Vincent , and got talking to him about his living situation . Vincent offered him a room above the nightclub for free , so he moved
in and started working evenings in the bar , whilst still cleaning windows during the day as it was such a good money earner . After a year , and still yearning for the ultimate career , Peter sold up the window cleaning business and arrived on the Isle of Wight to try and track down his estranged dad who had left the family home when he was five . He found his father living with his new wife in Cowes and after a reconciliation , Peter went and lived with his dad whilst he tried to find a council house . Being a single man meant he had no priority for housing , and to make matters worse Peter was also having to claim Job Seekers Allowance . “ This was another big low point in my life - every fortnight I ’ d receive £ 80 which had to pay for food , travel , and everything .” From there , Peter ended up in an Island homeless housing hostel – just a tiny room but as he says , at least better than sleeping in a tent ! After about six months he was offered a short-term flat at Hunnyhill , Newport . “ I was there six months and really enjoyed it , as my life was starting to get back together .” While there , he did a Countryside course with Island Life ’ s countryside writer Tony Ridd and at the same time joined the Island ’ s Army reserves , 266 Port Maritime .
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