In 2012, knowing my career was now limited, I volunteered for redundancy in order to settle my children for their final primary year then high school education. In December 2012 I left the army after twenty years of service and settled the family into the fabulous village of Doune, Stirlingshire. During my discharge medical, the senior medical officer, on noting my poor hearing, patted me on the shoulders and chortled that senior army officers all leave the army with a chest full of medals and a hearing aid. Content that I was otherwise well, he signed me off as fit for discharge.

I had married in 1999 after which time my wife had sacrificed her career to follow the colours in support to my career. Bearing me two wonderful children along the way she was desperate to get her career back on my discharge. With two children to support through primary and into high school, with my wife not wanting a nanny and me not wanting to bring up the children on a diet of ice cream and television in after school care, I became ‘Daddy Day care’ and dived headfirst into the community. I became a coach at the McLaren Rugby Club and a Scout leader in the Doune Scouts and was loving coaching and teaching the children new skills. I was learning how to cook, and my children were being brilliant at enjoying Daddy’s experimental cooking. After spending so much of their lives away in service, I was loving getting to know them better and learning how to be a full-time father.

But I wanted a little more purpose in my life so I used the time while the children were at school, to work through some options for a start-up charity focused on the problem of reoffending. Six months after starting my deep dive into the problem of reoffending, my wife lost patience and insisted I started to earn some money. So I set up an e-commerce business that was bent on bringing Scotland’s amazing products to a worldwide market all on one website. Called ‘Doune Hall’ it was just starting to make some sales when my son asked me to go and get a hearing aid. Please read on to learn more.