Academy chaplain Sally Milner knows all about taking the right road in life - she used to be a lorry driver. Sally, the first chaplain at the Eastbourne Church of England Academy in The Fairway, Darlington, has a licence to drive lorries as well as coaches, allowing her to drive the school bus. Sally, took up her post at the Academy earlier this year and tells Biglorryblog: "I was brought up on a farm and always took an interest in haulage and coaches. I was the child that talked to the driver on the school bus about engines: Bedfords and Volvos mostly! I would watch all the wagons on the road and the ones that delivered to the farm and used to sit on the grass verge in the summer holidays with my I Spy Lorries and Buses booklets." Sally become chaplain at the Academy earlier this year, being officially licensed at a ceremony at the institution attended by guest including the Bishop of Jarrow, the Right Reverend Mark Bryant. Now click through here for more...
Recalling her passion for heavy vehicles, Sally said: "I used to go with my Dad and brothers to the Lorry Driver of the Year competition that was held at Bramcote Army Barracks in Warwickshire near our family farm. Life moved on and I left school, got a job etc and it wasn't until years and years later that I did anything about my fondness for the diesel engine. In 1997, I resolved to do what I really wanted to do. So the next year, I set off for a week in Galashiels in the Borders to take my Large Goods Vehicle (Rigid) test and then went back in December for the artic test. "Later that year I took my PSV and have driven coaches full time and part-time. I went to university as a mature student in 2000 and used coach driving as a way to pay my way through."
By then, her other passion, for a career in the Church, was also taking shape. Sally, who has worked with young people in many settings, read Theology at Durham University as a mature student. Now, she is fully committed to her new challenge. She said: "'I am delighted to be working with the students and staff of Eastbourne Academy at such an exciting time." The Academy replaced Eastbourne Comprehensive School last summer and work has now started on the construction of the new Academy next to the existing building. It is due to open in September next year. And BLB wishes Sally, and her ministery, all the very best---we need more truck-driving Vicars!
Comments (2)
All the best in your new career Sally.
Posted by Peter Lynch | July 16, 2008 1:02 PM
Posted on July 16, 2008 13:02
Re;_ Sir Winston Wotsit and his depression. He used to call it " The Black Dog".
Posted by Robbo | July 20, 2008 4:36 PM
Posted on July 20, 2008 16:36