Latest News
Contact
Gallery
Chat
Home 
The Family Jim & Joyce Joyce Haluch About Joyce
The Family Jim & Joyce Joyce Haluch About Joyce
| About Joyce |
 |
 |
|
I was born in Prestonpans , Scotland on 12 January 1943 to my mother Helen Darroch, a local girl to Prestonpans and her husband George McClelland, a coal miner. The McClellands had come from the west of Scotland. My grandparents were also local to Prestonpans and my Grandfather was quite well known in the area, having served with distinction in WW1 and retiring from the Royal Scots as Regimental Sergeant Major. He later was a councillor in Prestonpans and managed the local Miners Welfare Institute. My mother’s brother Alec was connected with famous Fowler’s Brewery in Prestonpans where he had been Managing director and a major shareholder. Prestonpans was famous for its salt pans run by the local monks (Priest on Pans) and of course for the famous battle when Bonnie Prince Charlie overcame the English General, John Cope. (Hey Johnny Cope are ye waukin yet!) I went to school in Prestonpans leaving to go to college in Edinburgh where I trained in bookkeeping and secretarial studies. I practised my book keeping skills in the Fowler’s pubs and then joined the Civil Service as a secretary in Register House in Edinburgh. In 1965, I transferred to the Inland Revenue where I met Jim Haluch. We started going out together (as they said in 1965) and found we both disliked the work in taxes so we made a pact to get out and I went on to manage an Architect’s practice and Jim joined The Scotsman newspaper. We were married, babies came along and I stopped work – for a short time. First Helena, then James and then I got bored and started up a small business from home, doing secretarial work. The small business grew bigger, Jim left The Scotsman and we founded a small business agency in the early days of employment agencies. We were the first to teach decimalisation, then VAT and were among the early small business consultants. Shelagh then Eoin came along, the business grew, it was bought out by a household name and we ploughed the money into an hotel on the Island of Arran. Thirteen years later after lots of adventures we left Arran and hotels and resettled in West Lothian in Livingston. I became involved in office management, first an accountancy practice, then a solicitors becoming one of the first female law accountants in Scotland. I’ve really stuck to this profession and even now although I should belong retired still look after some lawyer clients. My time now is taken up with golf, lots of it, which I enjoy particularly playing on unfamiliar course especially abroad. I also like to travel, I like my four grandchildren - Daniel, Callum. Ben and Andrew although they are growing up too quickly! I’ve also given up hope of a granddaughter. With so many of the Haluch family now living in Australia my next adventure is to go there soon and travel round them all. |
|
| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 12 March 2008 09:37 ) |
