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Um, since 21, I've got married,

had a couple of kids, and, um...

By 28,

he had married Yvonne

and they had

five children.

They've got everything, then.

They've even got

what I never had.

- Which is what?

- A father, innit?

So, I mean,

they've had everything.

By 35,

they were divorced.

At one stage, they all

stopped seeing me at all.

But now,

bit older, bit wiser...

And I'm a bit older

and wiser,

and now three of them

see me.

At 42,

he married Vienetta.

Hiya!

We used to go out

when we were younger.

We met in the launderette.

- Once a week.

- Once a week.

Vienetta already had

a daughter, Muriel.

And she and Symon

had a son, Daniel.

Is there

anything of you in him?

Ah, his dashing

good looks, yeah.

That's me.

And his love of sport,

as well.

Well, today's

Daniel's big, big day.

He's now 18,

and he's a young man.

He says.

And he's done

very, very well

with his schooling

and everything.

The beginning of the week,

I received the e-mail

saying that I got into my apprenticeship

with Procter & Gamble,

which I'm very...

I'm excited about.

And I start that in

the next couple of weeks.

All I want to say is

that I have had

the proudest week

of my life.

With my son passing

his exams,

he's passed his test,

and if

the money runs through,

he might get a car.

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday

to you

But here, people are undecided

about you.

They can be your friend one day

and not the next.

Obviously, when children

come into foster care,

family and friends

are involved, as well,

and we have to ensure that

the children are kept safe.

By 49,

Simon and Vienetta had decided

to train as foster parents.

Went to boarding school

when I was young,

and I always felt that

that was regimental.

They didn't allow for

personal care,

for loving

from the adult carers,

so I wanted to do something

like that for myself,

you know, in my own home.

And we always say

to foster carers,

please do not

cut the children's hair

without the permission

of the parents.

So, what's

the toughest thing

about being

a foster parent?

You're taking a chance

when you do it,

'cause you don't... you really

don't know what you're getting.

It's something that

all children want,

is to be loved.

Is to be wanted.

So, if you can

give that to them,

then everything else

is second.

You know why

Uncle Symon looks younger?

'Cause he's so laid-back.

Some of them come

back, ring you up and say,

"Hello, Auntie. Hello, Uncle.

How are you?"

They come and have

Sunday dinner,

come and visit us,

which is good.

I once

tried to count,

and I got up to 65,

and I stopped.

Because if you know that you're going to get

50 people...

She's like a mother to me.

She's always been there.

There was a time where

I felt like

I want to give up

and everything,

and she kept

saying to me, like,

"You have to keep on going. "

Like, "You have to

keep on trying. "

Oh, I get emotional.

Sorry.

When I came for the airport

and that, like,

my family wasn't at the airport

to collect me and that,

so, you know, I just

had to stay somewhere

for, like

a temporary base.

I was there for, about, I think,

five to six years?

I couldn't ask anything better,

to be honest.

Yeah, they were really nice,

you know, yeah, really nice.

Were you looked after

at some point?

My real mother

died at birth,

and my dad remarried,

and my mother

is the person who made me

the person I am today.

Because she was always helping

other young people.

And she used to always

say to us,

"Don't be jealous,

'cause you've got my love,

but they've got

no one to love them. "

You know?

As well as fostering,

Vienetta also works for

an organization

that takes homeless young

people off the streets.

And what happens to

the fostering children

when you're here

full days?

Symon and I balance them

together, we juggle.

Symon sometimes works late,

sometimes I rush home.

He'll do the school run

in the morning,

I'll do the school run

in the afternoon.

But my job is

very flexible.

So, you have an

incredibly busy life, don't you?

Very busy.

Well, we started to feel

that we were getting

sort of tense and tight,

you know,

and that normally means

you need a holiday.

Because we found ourselves

doing too much.

So, at some stage,

you've got to chill out.

Symon took the family

to Portugal.

Oh, look at this.

- That's nice.

- That's quite...

- What do you think?

- That's blingy.

That's really nice.

So, Jess is by

your first marriage,

and Minnie is your child

by your marriage.

And the relationship's strong?

They know each other

from being young.

They did things together,

went out together.

So, they're not, like,

strangers.

Before I'm old enough

to get a job,

I just walk around and see

what I can find.

Was going to be

a film star, but...

Now, I'm going to be

an electrical engineer...

which is more to reality,

really.

By 21, Symon was working

in the freezer room

of Wall's Sausages

in London.

I know I can't

stay at Wall's forever.

It's just not me.

I couldn't stay there

for that long.

My mind would go dead.

Do you never feel you should be doing

better jobs than these?

Aren't you worth

more than this?

No, I haven't really.

I suppose I just like hard work,

I don't know.

The factory closed down.

Since then he has worked near

Heathrow Airport

handling freight.

If I'd pushed myself

at school,

probably I could have done

a lot better.

Does that give you

pause for thought?

No, that means I was a lazy sod

when I was younger.

If we'd got together

when we should have got together

there's no way he'd have been

a forklift driver.

Not where I'm with,

no way.

Not with all that brains.

I've got common sense

and he's got the brains.

I am the proof that you need to

push yourself and go on.

If you want to get on,

if you want things in life,

you have to push yourself

to keep going.

I should have been

an accountant.

But I went in this office,

I looked at this gray,

grubby office,

and the people there looked

gray suited and miserable,

and I thought,

"This isn't for me. "

I want to stay out

in the fresh air.

I don't want this.

Years later I realized that

not every office is like that.

Some offices are vibrant

and moving.

But it was too late then...

I'd already sort of...

stagnated myself

driving forklifts

and working in a warehouse.

You could have made a lot

of money being an accountant.

Yes, he could have.

She looks after me.

She doesn't just push me,

she looks after me.

You know?

She would never let anything

be wrong for me.

Baked beans.

At one stage we went to marriage guidance

because the pressures of being together

were getting to us,

because we are two

completely different people.

I'm very, um...

laid back.

You know,

she always says,

if I go any further back,

I'll fall over.

Is the chemistry

still there between you?

Yeah, I think so.

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