Rob Mosley 41 ‘You can only do what you can with the time and resources you have available to do it. Anything else is an unrealistic expectation…’ I met Rob when we were both TA’s at a secondary school. We became fast friends sharing a love of Derby County and J.R.R Tolkien. He is a very interesting man- in some ways a quiet observer, but once you get talking to him you can have such deep and eclectic conversations. Caring, funny and clever, it’s been fascinating completing this interview with him. He has moved on to a new chapter as a husband and father, which he talks about with great love and honesty. How would you describe yourself? I'd like to think that I'm compassionate, trustworthy and loyal. Bit of an overthinker at times. My view of myself has changed over time and is still fairly malleable depending how I'm feeling. Suppose that would be the same for most people? How would others describe you? I think others would describe me as disorganised, laid back and earnest. It depends on who they are and how they know me… We met working in a school. What do you think of the state of education at the moment? Well, I haven't been at the coal face as it were for almost ten years now, so I'm not sure how valid any opinion I might give would be... It certainly has gone through some changes… Obviously COVID has happened since I left which I imagine was something of an earthquake for all involved. There is also the general background of rising cost of living, coupled with the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. It can be hard to try to explain the state of the world at the moment to young people… I imagine that for most children, to a greater or lesser extent, these things would be cause for concern and worry on top of the pressure to achieve academically which is ever present. How about education in general? The impression I get is that education has much in common with other areas of the public sector. All driven by data and targets with little consideration/lip service for the needs of the actual human beings, supposedly, at the centre of it all! Politics is often the antithesis of passion unfortunately… You’ve become a father! Has it changed your outlook on the world? Fatherhood. Wow, on every level. It's next level busy! Being that responsible for another human being (keeping her alive etc) and the absolute dependency they have on you would be a little overwhelming if you stopped to think about it too much! Luckily being a parent doesn't afford you that kind of time! It's relentless! But you enjoy it? It's the best thing that has ever happened to me. You don't think you can love someone quite that much until it happens. You also become more selfless than you ever imagined you could be. You are clearly smitten though! My daughter is 13 months old at the minute and growing up so fast it's frightening but it is wonderful to see her developing as a person every day. I worry for her life- all parents do for their children. What are the challenges? I think about her future and the challenges she will face (eventually without my wife and I) AI, climate change and the never ending cycle of conflict we put ourselves through as a species. Also, now, whenever I watch things on TV or read things to do with crime or horrendous accidents I almost automatically think, "What if that was her!?!" I’m sure every parent has that fear… Having said all that, she will adjust along with the rest of her generation to the opportunities and challenges that they have to face just as all cohorts before them have done. We share a love of fantasy. What interests you in that world? I suppose that ever since I could remember, I've been interested in things beyond the tangible 'real world'. Things you can't walk out your door and see or experience. When I was very young that was things like space, dinosaurs, Greek and Norse myths and legends, fairy tales etc. I like the escapism and sense of wonder and possibility, I think. I think we speak more about Lord of the Rings than anything else when we chat! I read 'The Lord of the Rings' in my dissertation year as an undergraduate (History). It had sat on my shelf for years prior to that and I decided that I would use it to alleviate the stress of study. It also helped that the films were out while I was at university so there was a bit of impetus to get it finished before the last one came out! I've been hooked on all things Middle Earth ever since. What do you love most about the world? I find it frustrating that Tolkein died before he could fully flesh out his fictional world but I suppose that is also what makes it so intriguing. You have just enough material to make it interesting but not enough for a definitive account. The gap is where your own imagination lives! Where is your favourite place in the world? Probably going to sound a bit worthy but my favourite place in the world is wherever myself and my family and friends are at the same time. Places become special when you can associate them with meaningful memories and they become part of your history. How about historically then? Two of the places that are most special to me are the house that I grew up in and my grandparents house. Both places now only exist in my memory as my grandparents have passed away and I moved out of my childhood home aged seven. Both houses have also been altered and so the place I remember is no longer there. Our old house in Nottingham is the place I moved into with my now wife. We went through COVID there, got engaged, got married, got pregnant and had our daughter while in that house so that place will always be special. The rest is geography and architecture. If you were to push me on a favourite location divorced from that my favourite city is Rome (Florence runs it a close second). I also have a soft spot for Dolgellau in North Wales due to childhood holidays and Stoborough in Dorset as we got married there. Let’s talk DCFC! I attended my first Derby game at the Baseball Ground in 1989 (incidentally the year my wife was born!) and had a season ticket for 17 years from 2006 until 2023 when my daughter came along. I still get to the odd game and I'm hoping to get back long term eventually! What does family mean to you? I find the older you get the greater your appreciation for those closest to you. You develop a real understanding and empathy for what your parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles went through bringing up a family, having a job, running a house etc. Similarly, you are going through all of that at the same time as your friends which is a real bonding experience. Having said that, I am extraordinarily lucky to have been brought up in a very close and loving family. We were never well off financially but I never wanted for what is important in life. When you are young you assume everyone is raised the way you are but as you get older (I have also worked in education, mental health and social work) you come to realise that not everyone is so fortunate. And friends? I have several friends whom I have known all my life and several others I've known for thirty odd years now. Again, I'm very lucky. That kind of friendship and trust is what sees you through in the end. I don't know where I'd be without them! To paraphrase a fairly well known quartet from Liverpool, we all get by with a little help from our friends don't we!?! (The kind that will still need us when we are 64!) What words of wisdom do you have to offer to those struggling with life? Don't worry about things you can't control. Most people greatly overestimate how much influence over events/their lives they actually have. You can only do what you can with the time and resources you have available to do it. Anything else is an unrealistic expectation. Not everything that can be measured is important, not everything that’s important can be measured. Film: Magnolia Song: Time- Pink Floyd Stage Show: A Man For All Seasons TV series: The Wire Book: The Lord of the Rings- J.R.R. Tolkien Word: Labyrinthine
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