I took a promotion to Station Officer which came with a secondment to work as a Lecturer at the Home Office Fire Service College located in the Cotswold town of Moreton-in-the-Marsh in Gloucestershire. I travelled every week at first, staying in single man's accommodation at the college, but after a time this became wearing for the family and Kathe decided we should take up the offer of a provided house in an staff estate built for College Staff. Kath could not find teaching work there as it was a very rural area, so she took up part-time work in a local vintners, dealing with customers and doing there admin work. We let friends stay rent-free in our house in Aveley whilst they saved up a deposit for themselves, and they looked after our house and garden in return. I did a total of 3 years at the college all told, and Kath lived there for most of it. When it was over I returned to be an Assistant Divisional Officer in charge of Grays Fire Station and serving the surrounding area as an on-call officer attending emergency incidents all over SW Essex. Kath returned to teaching in Thurrock soon gained a reputation as an excellent teacher. She took on more responsibilities with each new post, but never let the family feel that she spent any less time with them.