Chris Philpott, Retired Teacher, Leamington Circle

I’m a retired person and I was in education for over forty years working with young people, particularly in secondary schools as a teacher and as a teaching assistant. I came to Leamington to teach in 1985, so I’ve been here a long time and feel very much a part of the community.

What is your motivation for being a part of A Band of Brothers in Leamington?

Being busy and working I realised there were parts of myself that I had never explored. I came to men’s work through the Man Kind Project first and realised there were whole dimensions of my life that I had never experienced with men: closeness; support; feeling; love.

All these things I hadn’t seen because I had been brought up with men thinking they were competitive; out to get you; not to be trusted and never in any form of community always on their own with their own agenda. I realised that wasn’t the case and went on the ‘Beyond The Hero’ weekend with A Band of Brothers.

It felt like an even better fit for me than the Mankind Project because I was actually working on myself for the benefit of young people. I recognised it has come full circle for me because I worked with many troubled adolescents in my career. I thought I now have the opportunity of working with slightly older men and young men that people have abandoned.