John Noakes is a dear friend I have had the pleasure of knowing for over 20 years.
Like me he is a veteran of the I.T industry, but before joining IBM in 1988 he was a Merchant seaman for 14 years from the age of 16.
The title of the episode refers to the Andy Williams song about a seafarer finally making it home but it’s also a reference to the strong family man that John has always been. John and his lovely wife Stephanie will be celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary this year. Proud parents to four children, last year they also became grandparents for the first time with the arrival of the adorable Mei.
John has a deep and lifelong love of the electric guitar and particularly the Blues. He himself is a guitarist who modestly describes himself as "no Eric Clapton”.
John brings energy, enthusiasm and passion to everything he does and this episode is no exception. He also marries that with some fantastic stories and a great sense of humour.
Enjoy!
The Spotify playlist with all John's choices plus the 25 other artists and songs we touched on in our discussion, can be found here
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6n1ICj22ri8QlRoEI9SRaX?si=7SJwmGTTS3CSgxa3M-fOgg