Our speaker in June was author Philip Caine who spoke about his interesting but hectic life. Training to be a chef in Barrow was just the start of a working life in various smart hotels and restaurants around the country and abroad. Once back in Barrow his wife suggested a job on the oil rigs where the work pattern was two weeks on and two weeks off – better than working 6/7 days a week in the hospitality industry. One way and another he spent 17 years in the oil industry having worked his way up.
Looking for something different, Philip moved into project management roles across three continents overseeing the construction and day to day running of large accommodation units such as one near a gas field in Kazakhstan. This was the early 1990’s when the Soviet Union was collapsing.
His most challenging assignment was in Baghdad at the end of the Iraq War when he project managed multiple accommodation units for the American army catering for some 30,000 troops across nine locations in Baghdad and Northern Iraq. This six-month contract eventually lasted for the better part of seven years. A stint in the Emirates followed and Philip retired back to Barrow.
Philip’s wife Sandra got him into a writing group and so a new career began. At 65 Philip published his first novel, Picnic in Baghdad, using his experiences in the country. Further novels followed and a TV series is in the offing. This energetic man is clearly not one to settle down to a quiet retirement.