Once the Rediffusion contract ended in January 1985, I had to find another job. I was lucky enough to find a job in freight forwarding with Power Packing Export Services, mainly due to my previous experience with Thomas Watson. This was a London-based company with subsidiaries in Buckland St. Mary, Somerset and Mildenhall, Suffolk. When I first started in February 1985, the Buckland St. Mary branch was about to be relocated to Exeter.
The company also packed goods for export, and manufactured export packing cases for exporters. During my time there, I learned how to do every job in the factory as well as handling all of the office paperwork, including all forms export documentation.
I quickly became the manager of the Exeter branch of Power Packing, and at one point was made a non-executive director of the company. It was during this time, however, that I first encountered personal computers and started to realise what an important role computers would play in the future.
My interest in technology was rekindled, and I started thinking about a career change. In October 1993 I left the company - admittedly without much of a plan - intending to find freelance work in the field of computing.