He has been around the block, and back again, but Chris Holley is still up for another tilt at becoming council leader. Merchant seaman, factory worker, maintenance fitter, leader of the opposition, Lord Mayor of Swansea, council leader, Assembly candidate, and opposition leader again - Mr Holley has been in the thick of it.
After leaving Bishop Vaughan Catholic School in Morriston, the young Mr Holley was thrust into a working environment where good, secure jobs seemed plentiful in Swansea. "You could leave a job on a Friday and get another one on Monday," he said. "We had huge factories, manufacturing plants. We were a prosperous area. Now the jobs are more service-based - the wealth creation is not what we had."
Mr Holley spent some 30 years working at Imperial Metals Industries - now Timet - in Waunarlwydd. It could have been different if he had taken to life as a merchant seaman in his younger days, but he served for just over a year. "It was a way of life," he said. "You've got to be cut out for it, and it didn't suit me." You can get more Swansea news and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here.
