Jacob, fresh from Uni, becomes our 4th new writer this year!

I have the great privilege of introducing Jacob Moore to you as a new creative writer for Saddleworth Life. All our writers are volunteers and give their time for the reward of seeing their words online with other experienced writers, a great addition to their CVs. We had a brew and a chat over zoom and he told me all about himself …..

What brought you to want to write for Saddleworth Life?

The coronavirus pandemic has left a lot of us, including myself, feeling quite useless. We have spent hours upon hours shut inside with not much to do but stress and worry. As a recent graduate, I know I am not alone in the fact that I have struggled to find long-term employment. However, instead of just bemoaning my failed job search, I decided that I wanted to volunteer. This would offer me an opportunity to play a part in helping the local community through these difficult times. Not only that, but it is also something that provides me with a sense of purpose or direction, something that I have struggled with in recent weeks.

When I came across the opportunity of working with Saddleworth Life, I knew it would be a great fit for me. I have always had a passion for creative writing and have, in the past, toyed with the idea of writing a novel. Hence, I’m looking forward to finally putting this passion to good use! However, most of all, I am excited to help Saddleworth Life be a source of positivity and togetherness for the local community.

Please tell us a little about your background and how the recent year has been for you.

First off, as most people who speak to me in the area probably notice very quickly, I am not from the North. In fact, you could probably say I couldn’t be from further south in the country! However, when I met my wonderful girlfriend Becca at university, for the first time I got to properly experience this great part of the country. For one, I was really happy to finally experience some form of friendliness from strangers on the street, something you rarely get to see down south (I’m joking, but there really is a lot of kindness in northerners). In fact, I enjoyed my time up here so much, when I graduated from university in the summer, I decided to look for jobs in Manchester, so that I could live with my girlfriend in Chadderton.

Whilst two lockdowns have prevented me from experiencing too much this year, I certainly believe I’ve made massive progress as a person. I have improved my physical and mental health significantly, becoming a frequent runner and taking up meditation. All of this, I believe, helped me achieve my goal of achieving first class honours in my history degree, and gave me the mental resilience needed to get through lockdown.

Although you are from the New Forest, what do you know about this area and what interests you?

Growing up and living in the New Forest (on the edge to be exact) is something I’ll always be grateful for. It is an area with scenery that never fails to disappoint. Even better, it is full of free-roaming ponies, donkeys, cows, deer, pigs, snakes, badgers…The list goes on. It truly is a place where British nature can be experienced at its brilliant best. Earlier this year, on a late-night stroll, I was lucky enough to come face to face with a deer about a minute away from my house!

I will be perfectly honest in saying I wasn’t expecting to experience much of the same natural scenery in the Oldham area when I first arrived here. However, I’ve certainly discovered some fascinating places. As I mentioned previously, I’m currently living in Chadderton with my girlfriend. Just past the estate we are on is a great little track for running down that goes all the way down to Rochdale Canal. Until recently, I was unaware that this track used to be part of an old railway line. It is nice to have a place so close to home, full of nature and history too! I’ve also been lucky enough to visit the nearby Tandle Hill Country Park which boasts an incredible view, and I’d love to visit the Peak District as well.

Regarding Saddleworth, my girlfriend and I recently went for a lovely walk along Huddersfield canal and saw plenty of wildlife along the way, before enjoying afternoon tea at Diggle Lock café (we passed Grandpa Greene’s café, but as we were anticipating, the queue was very long). I don’t know too much about the history of the area as of yet, apart from maybe its major role in the cotton spinning industry in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, I’m looking forward to finding out more and hopefully writing for Saddleworth Life will allow me to do so!

What do you do in your spare time?

Well I have had a lot of spare time recently and it’s been a rewarding challenge to attempt to find ways to keep myself preoccupied in the last few months. Perhaps most important to me is spending time meditating. I used to suffer a lot from anxiety, but ever since I discovered the peacefulness and even practicality of meditation, I’ve really learnt to deal with anxious, and any other negative thoughts, much more clearly. I’ve also used all this extra free time to rediscover my love for reading. I’ve read quite a few books recently, including Orwell’s 1984 and Ekhardt Tolle’s The Power of Now. When I’m not curled up in some corner quietly reading or observing my thoughts, you may find me outside running along the canal, or possibly passionately supporting my beloved Liverpool football club. You are probably wondering how a southerner came to support a northern team, but I can assure you it runs in my family. My grandad just happened to be a glory hunter in the 70s.

Who inspires you?

I genuinely believe that we are able to learn something from every person we meet. Having said that, there are a select few from whose experiences I am able to draw hope, courage and determination. The most significant of these is a rather unusual one, and someone whom, a few years ago, I would never have dreamed of admiring at all. This someone is Russell Brand. Many people perhaps know him best as a whacky and sometimes controversial comedian. In recent years however, Russell, once drug and sex addict, appears to have found true purpose to his life. He is now happily married with two children and runs the Under the Skin podcast, to which I listen to frequently. It is a fascinating platform for listeners to hear from some truly brilliant guests, of many different points of views and disciplines, and share in Russell’s pursuit of creating a network of people who really want to make the world a better place. Through Russell I have been able to discover a vast array of inspiring people. From the determined and wise pioneer of alternative economic systems in Yanis Varoufakis, to the brilliantly warm, kind, and supportive persona of Brené Brown, whose studies into vulnerability provide new understandings of courage and power.

I’d just like to finish by saying a big thanks to Jude for giving me this opportunity and I’m looking forward to writing more for Saddleworth Life in the near future!

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

If you would like to share an interesting story, achievement, photo or something you just want to happily shout about please send it in an email to hello@saddleworthlife.com We'd ❤ to hear from you!!