You have reached the homepage of Neil John Gunn.
Congratulations on taking the first step toward coming to know this rewarding individual. On this page you will find everything I can think of that I would wish to tell you about myself.
Humble Beginnings
I was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on the 24th of March 1973. My mother was originally from the Nottingham area, my dad from Newport in South Wales but they had moved to Edinburgh several years previously. I have an elder sister called Helen Rice Gunn (she hates the ‘Rice’ part so make sure you use it on all official communications) who lives and works in Australia (hard to work there if she didn’t live there but you know what I mean). We lived on the south of the city in Fairmilehead, with a view of the Hillend artificial ski slope and Pentland Hills from our front window. I attended Comiston Primary school from the age of 5 onwards, which was ok I suppose. I still owe them for a window I broke with a football on the last day of term.
For the nitty-gritty on my meteoric educational career since primary school, check out my CV further down the page.
Running to Stand Still
After Uni, I moved to Nottingham, England to work in the mail order section of Games Workshop. (The Evil Empire) They make toy soldiers and tabletop wargames (more of which later). After a year, I had 6 months responsible for Mail Order promotions for the UK - if anyone remembers the first 5 editions of 'Troll' magazine, they were all my own work (well, Gav helped a bit). And yes, thank you, it did turn crap after I left it. After, that I moved to UPS which was a crap job; despite the occasional joy of telling obnoxious people that their precious package was lost beyond recall and now I work for a cable communications company in Nottingham and I take the 5th Amendment on that job…….
Other brief highlights of my life to date include an appearance on the quiz show ’15 – 1’
Give Me a Job
If you want to give your business the edge, follow this link to my CV and offer me a job. You won’t be disappointed.
My Favouritest Things In The Whole World
Here are some of the things I like to get up to when I’m not slaving my guts out at work, recovering from work or sleeping. If you have any idea how I could get a real life, please drop me an e-mail at smokingunn@ntlworld.com.
Toy Soldiers
I‘m into Wargaming & Roleplaying and pretending to be someone you’re not. I usually pretend to be a psychotic barbarian called ‘Bob’ because I’m not very good at making up names and I like waving my chopper about. As I mentioned above, having worked for the evil empire I couldn’t help but enjoy painting and playing wargames. I particularly enjoy painting – make sure you visit the gallery (www.nathanspage.co.uk/smokingunn/thegallery.htm) to check out some examples of my work plus some army lists and rules suggestions/articles. At present, I’m painting a High Elf army for this page’s webmaster, lovely Nathan – coming soon, White Lions of Chrace!
I will take commissions for painting units or armies – any scale, any race. I also offer a ‘design and paint’ service for those starting a new army from scratch – If you don’t know what units you want, I’ll design you a good army and paint it for you – you just pay for the figures and the painting. Drop me an e-mail at mailto:smokingunn4@hotmail.com if you’re interested.
Sports and Healthy stuff
Cycling, golf and cricket are my main sports – I’ll play anything from Badminton to Bowls but the bikes and bats are what I enjoy most.
I play cricket for South Nottinghamshire village league side West Bridgfordians. Last season I mostly played in the 1st team but I was making up the numbers – my average was about 2. In the couple of games I played for the 2nds I averaged 8.5 and in a glorious friendly match I got 26. I like to keep wicket but didn’t get much of a chance last season and my bowling is a thing of ridicule. Winter nets start indoors at Trent Bridge in January – if you’d like to come along to nets or to watch us play during the season, check out the club site for all the information and contact addresses. Guaranteed fun, especially when I’m at the crease (don’t blink, you’ll miss it).
When not playing cricket and otherwise feeling healthy you’ll often find me out on the roads of Nottinghamshire on my bike. I own a Holdsworth Criterium (no link, as the company has ceased to exist), lovely hand-built racing bike; 501 frame and Shimano Bio-pace (remember that?) 12 speed derailleur with a freewheel that just goes forever. Someone once came up to me in the street and offered to buy it from me so at least one other person out there likes them. This was until I managed to bend the frame by riding into the back of a car. However, before I destroyed it, last summer I completed the Lands end – John O’groats trip, which was something I had always wanted to do. You can read all about my trip and see the route and pictures, here
I’m currently a member of the Springwater Golf Club at Calverton. This is a nice fair 18 – hole parkland course with a good mix of gradient and length. The clubhouse also does an excellent burger and chips with creamy Mansfield ale. I try to get out at least once a week – currently playing off 24 but coming down. The course welcomes visitors so check out www.springwatergolf.co.uk for green fees and information. I also make sure I take my clubs home to Edinburgh whenever I can – I learnt to play on Swanston Golf Course - a course apparently designed for people with 1 leg shorter than the other and totally resistant to a howling gale - nice views though. I can also personally recommend Braid Hills (tricky, with lots of gorse) and Carrickknowe (nice wide open fairways without too much to trouble you). In the 4 years I spent at St. Andrews I only managed to get on the Old Course once – it was, however, an unforgettable experience on a sunny, totally still morning. I did par the 10th as well as avoiding the Road Hole bunker and putting my drive on the 18th onto the road across the fairway. Only time I’ve putted out on the last hole with a gallery watching!
I am NOT a Trekkie!
Or trekker, to be exact. See, I even know the lingo. I do like Sci-fi and fantasy stuff though. In particular, Babylon 5 and Terry Pratchett books. For the uninitiated, read on…..
Babylon 5 – our last best hope for peace
Also the finest television sci-fi series ever made. Created by Joe Michael Straczynski, the program charts the story of Space Station Babylon 5, a quarter of a million humans and aliens, wrapped in 2,500,000 tons of spinning metal, all alone in the night. With a feature length pilot, 5 series and 4 feature length movies plus a short lived spin off series, B5 has plenty to get your teeth into – the first sci-fi series really to construct, develop and maintain a full 5 year/series story arc which, unlike Star trek, didn’t involve everybody instantly forgetting everything they learnt the previous week. There’s plenty of stuff out there that will tell you all about how great a show this was. Best sites include;
The Lurker's Guide
Terry Pratchett – a literary genius
I first got into Pratchett when I bought ‘Feet of Clay’ to keep me amused whilst my then girlfriend moved flat. I got so hooked I bought the rest of the Discworld series at 1 a month. 25 later (paperbacks) and I just bought the latest – ‘The Truth’. Pratchett’s characterisation, descriptive prose and literate humour create a comic structure behind which hide real issues and conflicts whilst his ability to create fully drawn pictures of characters in your head with only a few sentences surpasses even Dickens. Multi-layered, moral without being moralistic and rewarding rereading by hiding great jokes and puns so well that they poke out later on, like an unwelcome erection at the swimming baths, Discworld novels are refreshingly accessible – you don’t need to have read any of them to understand the latest. Without hesitation I would advise you to read one NOW – stop looking for internet porn and go read a book. My favourites are the city Guard series – Guards!Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, & The Fifth Elephant. All true fans should join the Guild of Fans and Disciples
Dear Anne Robinson
- Definetly not the weakest links. In addition to the links above, check out these sites
The League of Gentlemen - Only for local people who wish to view the precious things.
Dilbert.com - a voice of sarcasm in a world of work-related insanity.
Bored.com - Looking for things to keep you amused? Check it out.
Anthony Nolan - Please consider joining the donor register and supporting this worthwhile cause.
Please give blood regularly - You can spare it, someone else will desperatly need it.
Major League Baseball.com - Check out America's pastime - lousy Dodgers!