Selling John Dent

Born to Cleetus and Mary-Jo Dent, in deepest darkest Alabam(a), John soon rose above the ranks of the average son-of-a-cotton-picker…triumphing over the fact he was born with 11 fingers to become the South-East’s best Ukelele player.

Well, not quite, but a man can dream.

Bridgend, South Wales, UK, 1987. Hedley and Linda Dent are already the proud parents of a lovely 2 year old daughter, named Fiona. Before the year is out, they will have a proud new addition to their family in the form of a screaming, squealing little son.

By the time John hit the tender age of 3, he’d already been living in France for a couple of months. Hedley had been training at a Bible College when John had been born, and having completed his studies had felt led to become a missionary to the people of France. Not knowing how to speak the language, Hedley and Linda moved to Paris and joined a language school.

John’s first memory is of the smell of the toilets at his infants school in Nantes–bleach and toilet cleaner. By now, John is beginning to pick up the French language from his classmates and classes… and by the age of 10 is able to speak and write both French and English fluently.

 Languages seemed to be his only strong point, however, as he displayed average talent in academics and subpar efforts in sporting realms. Music by far proved to be the worst of his attributes, as exemplified by his expulsion from the “Conservatoire de Musique Choletais”. John has never quite recovered from such humiliation, holding both a distinct admiration of talented players as well as a smudgeon of resentment.

The Cultural clash John experienced on his return to the UK was unimaginable. No amount of linguistic skill can help anyone fit in a foreign community. John’s teenage years were filled not only with the general problems experienced by every youth of that age, but the neverending cultural gap established in childhood.

 John rededicated his life to God whilst studying English and Creative Writing at the University of Aberystwyth. Deciding not to persue this degree, he moved on to a job at a charitable organisation specialising on helping the elderly and disabled, during which he was able to continue his studies in different areas.

At present, John is reading French, Italian and German at Cardiff University, and hopes that God will make clear what he should do after his studies are finished.