PROUD TO BE LOCAL — SPONSORED BY CFM IS OUR INSPIRATIONAL FEATURE , HIGHLIGHTING HOMEGROWN COROMANDEL PENINSULA FOLKS DOING WONDERFUL THINGS OUT IN THE WORLD.
Name: Sharon Carter
Age: 54
Where are you living now and how long have you been there?
Edinburgh, Scotland – been here 8 years but arrived in London in 1997.
Where on the Coromandel did you grow up?
On a farm in Whenuakite.
When did you live there?
From birth to 1987-ish.
Which school/s did you attend?
Whenuakite School and Mercury Bay Area School.
Highlights since you finished school?
Umpiring hockey to the highest level.
Gaining my Silver Fern as a NZ graded umpire (I think my jacket is framed and hanging up in the staff room hallway at school?).
Travelling over Canada for 6 months and the rest of the world – what a ride!
Umpiring men’s hockey in London for 6-7 years before retiring.
Being a Qualified Project Manager (jack of all trades some might say).
How do you spend your days now?
Cycle touring over Scotland with my partner Alan.
Working in Education within Scotland.
Craft beer tasting!
What about the culture where you are, do you like the most?
I love the history of Scotland and its people. My grandparents were married here, and I love going to the Tattoo and watching Edinburgh vs Glasgow rugby matches. The accent is wonderful, and the highlands are VAST and BEAUTIFUL. They are really encouraging everyone to speak Gaelic so that we don’t lose it. I am looking forward to re-learning te reo Māori in 2023.
What are you most proud of?
Representing my province and country and gaining my Silver Fern.
Being adaptable.
What are your fondest memories of home?
Actually, school and I still keep in touch with my old classmates (there were only seven of us in the 7th form back then!). I do miss the farming life that we had on the farm in Whenuakite.
Have you been back home recently? Impressions?
We were supposed to be home in 2020 but the pandemic put paid to that. We were there back in 2017 (it was Alan’s first time in NZ) and loved being back home – so much has changed!
I always visit MBAS every time I go home to catch up with what’s happening in the school and keep tabs with school sports and the local rugby matches.
Who are you looking forward to catching up with next time you are home?
Some old school friends and visiting MBAS. We will be in the Bay in Nov and attending the Armistice Day service on the 11th.
What advice would you give younger you?
Be adaptable, but listen and learn and follow your own nose and do what YOU want to do and not because someone famous has done it.
Biggest life lesson so far?
Take the risk as you will never know what you will find on the other side of the fence, and have no regrets.
Photos by Sharon Carter
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