John Stenton was born in Leicstershire on the 24th of February 1960. The only Son of Edward and Joan Stenton.
The Family lived at 30 Scraptoft Lane from 1963 until 1968 when, Ted his father, purchased a business in North Devon.
The very first place John was taken to in Devon, on the first Evening that they arrived ,was Instow by the sea.
John Went to school at West Buckland from 1969 until June 1976. He hated the place and escaped then to
the North Devon College, and then to London to work in theatre. First at the Victoria Palace Victoria, then the Queens Theatre on
Shaftesbury Avenue. Being promoted to Deputy Chief Electrician and then Chief Electrician.
In 1989 he decided to move to the Royalty Theatre on the Kingsway, where he remained until 1993 and
then lastly moving the Lyric Theatre, again on Shaftesbury Avenue.
In 2002 as he puts it, He joined the other side and went into Head office, and Management,
as the Really Useful Group’s Technical Projects Manager.
Although he was employed from Head office, his own office and workshop were in the basement of the
London Palladium. As he says, he had never seen sun light from when he started his life in theatre,
and it is unlikly that he will see much of it until he finished. A vastly overrated concept in his thoughts!
Working across the groups 12 theatres, he had seen them change over the 36 years, and now he
has retired back to the west country. ” You don’t miss the sea or appreciate it, until like many things it isn’t there”!
Married in the year 2012 to his almost life long friend Rachel, He now lives with her and lovely little rescue Jack Russell, Maggie. Who he adores with all his heart, he just never says which……….He has after all these years learnt a little sense!
If ever asked by anyone knowing him at work, if he would miss theatre and the south east”?
He would be heard to reply that “He would miss some of the people most of the time, and some of the people not at all”!
He also says that “he misses the work of yesteryear, but not of today”.
And so now he has left the South East, and moved back to guess where? Yep his beloved Instow!
To walk by the sea what ever the weather, with with Rachel and little Maggie by his side is his idea of true Heaven.
The idea of building green energy sources from everyday junk appeals to him, but then as he says darkly it would!