Niall's memories of CJS in days past


Inspired by Kerryn's recounting of how the CJS Team came together Niall has been digging into the memory banks and has put together some of his recollections of the earliest days of CJS. 

I was delighted to catch up with Kerryn and all the news from the CJS Team last week. Yes, she has been running it longer than I ever did – and been doing it very well, too! Thanks to the CJS Team it is now much bigger, even better and far more complex than ever before.
Her memories of the early CJS days sparked a few of my own, even earlier memories. 

I remember:
>> When a very small job ad for a Ranger in a national newspaper would cost about £1,000 of a charity’s hard earned fund-raising, which I thought was horrific, so we offered free job ads
>> When every weekend Anthea and I took crates full of a 1000 freshly-printed CJS Weeklies, each in an A4 envelope, to fill the big, double-sized Post Office pillar box in Whitby town centre – just as the drunks were leaving the clubs in the early hours of Sunday mornings - exciting, but without incident
>> When a hard copy of vitally urgent artwork could only get to us in time by high speed motorbike from Leeds (the ‘Northern Regional office’ of a large agency) over the 70 miles to our house in a village in the middle of the North York Moors – not the biker’s usual urban delivery, I imagine
>> When the arrival of a fax machine needed another phone line, and then payment by phone using plastic needed yet another phone line, then the advent of email and the interweb – which needed British Telecom to install a ‘bundle’ of 8 more copper phone lines all working together as one
>> I even remember the government-funded Business Advisor who came to see us in full production one day and described the CJS as a ‘kitchen table operation’!

My, how times have changed! But the mixed oakwood which Anthea and I planted in 1982, is still growing strongly and now supports my many wildlife neighbours, and my firewood from coppicing and thinning. ‘Groves Coppice’ has vigorous young growth, new shoots and lots of surprises. It has developed and matured, its biodiversity has increased, it has become established as a major feature in the countryside and its long-term future is secure – just like the Countryside Jobs Service.

I am delighted to congratulate Kerryn, Tracey, Amy, Carla and Katie on the 25th Anniversary of the Countryside Jobs Service and I wish them, you and the countryside every success in the future…
Niall Carson

And if after all that you're feeling inspired don't forget to send your details for this month's birthday gift giveaway which is a year's subscription to CJS, we're giving way one for each year so there are 25 up for grabs.  Simply fill in the form here (https://c-js.co.uk/25gifts) with your name and email address.