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BARRIE BLAND
In 1976 Barrie left
Bishop Luffa School to pursue a career in
farming. He went on to serve a two year apprenticeship, the
first year on an arable farm, and the second on a mixed farm. Over this period he attended
Brinsbury College on a day release.
From 1978 to 1979 Barrie was a full time student at
Plumpton College
qualifying with a National Certificate in Agriculture.
On leaving college he worked on various farms as a self employed
Agricultural Contractor and before finishing this period he
managed a 400 acre farm until the time the owner retired. With
his forthcoming wedding, Barrie first took a job as Assistant
Herdsman and tractor driver in Surrey, and later moved to Hampshire as a Head Herdsman with a 150 cow milking
herd. |
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In
1989 Barrie joined his father at S.P.R.
Centre,
later to become a partner. His excellent all round practical
experience in all sections of farming has provided invaluable,
not just to S.P.R, but also to the company's ever increasing custom. When Barrie
first joined S.P.R. Centre,
they kept and bred from a small flock of sheep, a few cows and
pigs as well as having the largest Utility Poultry Bred in Flock
in the South of England. |
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DAVID M. BLAND
Educated at
Bishop Luffa School, he left in 1980 with A levels in Economics and
Geography. David then worked on a Kibbutz, farming for twelve
months, then for a further six months, where he gained
experience working with most livestock including poultry as well
as fruit picking. After obtaining this general all round
experience, David was first employed at S.P.R. Centre making
poultry houses, where he took part in the design and erection of
our large free range units
The Ranger Series.
As the business grew, David became more responsible for the
ordering and supervision side of the new, and fast expanding pet
food sales, and it's ancillary divisions. Now like his brother Barrie, David has become a full partner and taken charge of the firms financial
department from his father. |
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DEBRA SYME
After leaving Bishop Luffa School in 1976, Debra went on to
Worthing
Art College and attended the Foundation Studies Course for a year covering subjects in design, photography and pottery.
Debra
then moved into the retail trade in 1978, working in a
small department store in Chichester, and then for a DIY company
in Portsmouth in 1981. In 1985, Debra joined
Knight and Lee (part of the John Lewis Partnership) in their Southsea
branch where she worked on the Gift and Garden
Furniture/ Xmas Departments. Whilst there, Debra attended many training courses on behalf of the company, including Window and
Department Display.
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Debra joined Allders Department Store in
Portsmouth in 1992, working for a Belgian Chocolate Concession
until they left the store in 1998. Following this, Debra's job
at Allders then became more involved, where she was required to work
in all the departments within
the store, covering staff off sick, or on holiday. Her
flexibility also
included working in their Customer Service Department, where she learned
valuable computer skills.
Debra left
Allders in March 2002 to join her
father and brothers in S.P.R,
bringing with her over 20 years of retail and office experience. She has since been made a partner in this ever thriving
business. Debra has also recently featured on the B.B.C.
appearing on the television programs
Country File and
Car Booty
giving advice on purchasing chickens and poultry housing. |
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