At the start of 2009 I decided to take up the way of the chimney sweep. I’m not sure whether it was the glamour of the job or luxurious working conditions that sold it to me, but becoming a sweep was probably one of my better life choices. Up until this point I had been blissfully unaware of the amount of work my father had put in to the sweeping Industry and the sheer volume of knowledge he had on the subject.

So I joined the family business and under Bil’s watch I had a twelve month long apprenticeship, much longer than is mandatory. During this apprenticeship I learned much about sweeping, one thing in particular I learnt is that there is always something new to be uncovered, the job always requiring a keen eye and sharp mind.

The training required was very much a hands on approach but was not restricted to merely sweeping chimneys. This job demands a lot of problem solving as there are many things that can, and will, go wrong with a chimney. More often than not these problems are caused by the construction of the chimney, but there are many factors that need to be taken into account when addressing problematic chimneys.

Having passed the theory and practical assessments I was then accepted into The Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps towards the end of 2009.

The work is hard and demands a lot of you, though to the customer this can be deceiving. Some customers will say “That was quick”, especially when working with Bil, unaware of the amount of training involved. It takes a lot of training to get the work up to a reasonable speed but most customers will only ever see a well-trained sweep doing a prompt but thorough job. If you’re ever treated to seeing an apprentice sweep being trained you’ll be enlightened to the amount of work it really takes to sweep a chimney.

Despite the demanding work I am more than happy being a chimney sweep. I get to meet a lot of people from and around Cambridge, Essex and Hertfordshire and the majority of my customers are more than pleasant. I’ve met some truly decent and interesting people and consider myself lucky to have a job where I enjoy the company of so many of the people I deal with.