Duncan: OK, so how did you hear about this job and how did you arrive here?
Adrian: I came to visit a friend in London in wintertime because, before, I owned a small landscape company in Romania and in winter it’s much colder than here. When it’s minus 10 degrees or below we can’t do too much and you just stay relaxed at home, spending the money from the summer, and because I love golf very much and in our country, it’s not such a big industry like here. I emailed some golf course managers to see if I could come to visit their golf courses and to have a chat. Because I came in February and because until March / April we don’t do too much landscaping and irrigation and maintaining the grass, I proposed to Peter that I could come to do work experience as I was curious how they maintain the golf course. But after one or two months, Peter proposed to extend my contract and here I am after almost five years.
Duncan: And at that time were you here by yourself? Or was Stephanie with you?
Adrian: So, I came in February, and I spoke with Peter, in March he proposed me to stay. Yes, I spoke with my wife, and I told her I’ll go back to the UK, and she said ‘no’ because we managed the company, and I had some employees …
Stephanie: We decided together that if he wanted to come here, I’ll come with him and the kids because there’s no life, you know, me in Romania and the kids if he’s here. So, we’ve decided together to come here.
Adrian: And I sold everything. I sold my machinery, the employees I spoke with, I had some friends from university which have the same small company with landscaping and some of my employees are there. I some of my clients I gave to them.
Stephanie: Everybody said we were crazy.
Adrian: Everybody was, yeah, surprised.
Duncan: And after five years …
Stephanie: He came in February, and I waited till the summer for the kids to finish school and when they took the summer break they came here. But I came in June, end of June, and the kids in August.
Duncan: OK. And what year was that?
Adrian: 2018
Duncan: 2018 OK. And how do you feel about that decision now? Are you happy with that decision?
Stephanie: Yeah, I think it was the best decision, at that time.
Duncan: Why? Why has it been a good decision?
Stephanie: Because nothing was working anymore.
Duncan: In Romania?
Adrian: Yeah, too much stress too much work, work all day long, work on weekends. Not like here 8 hours, maybe not the same money, but for me, the money is not everything because maybe we make more money in summer, but in winter we don’t have any income, you know, just need to spend what we earned in summer, pay the employees.
Duncan: OK, but for you to leave Romania and to come was a big risk?
Adrian: Honestly no, it wasn’t for us.
Stephanie: No because we had some money from home. We didn’t come here without anything. So, we sold everything that we had in Romania, and we had some money to start our life here, so it wasn’t so difficult.
Duncan: OK, and do you now feel established here?
Stephanie: Let’s say so.
Adrian: Me, I like it. Honestly, I like it because I think that people are more open, correct in front of you and behind you, not just in front of you because I had my clients and sometimes, you know we signed the contract, everything is fine but after that, they change their mind all the time but here if they said OK a deal is a deal. Maybe I like that because all my life I like that.
Duncan: Out of 10 points, being happy here, how many out of 10, are you happy?
Stephanie: As long as we are together, we are happy. It doesn’t matter where we are. Us together as a family, with the kids, and we still have, of course, our parents and the rest of our family. But they know that we are happy and it’s better for us to be here.
Adrian: For me, it’s more difficult to see myself now living in Romania than here. I prefer it here yeah.
Duncan: Do you agree with that?
Stephanie: Yeah.
Duncan: So you’re going to be here for quite some time.
Stephanie: Yes, probably, we just bought a house so yeah, we have to pay the mortgage.
Duncan: So just give me a little bit of your background Stephanie and where were you brought up, whereabouts in Romania were you brought up?
Stephanie: I was born in a city near Bucharest. In Bucharest, I’ve met Adrian at university. He was in college actually with my sister. He’s two years older than me. And then after we finish the university we get married. We’ve moved to Campina. It’s a small city near the mountains. It’s nice.
Duncan: Is that the Carpathian mountains?
Adrian: Yeah, exactly.
Stephanie: It’s nice and it was difficult in the beginning because we had Gabi at the beginning of our married life.
Duncan: Gabby is your daughter?
Adrian: No Gabriel, you’ve met him, the big son.
Duncan: And he’s now at Royal Holloway University studying Computer sciences, of course, thank you.
Stephanie: After two or three years, after Gabriel was born, we let’s say built our family business as Adrian said earlier, and it started growing and after a while no it just stopped. Yeah, it was difficult to manage because it wasn’t only us.
Duncan: OK, so let me get this straight. Both of you have university degrees. What course did you study Adrian?
Adrian: I studied crop protection, so everything about disease, about fertilizers, about chemicals, about fungicides. Everything related to the plants, not just the grass, with trees and flowers. So everything about that.
Duncan: OK, and what did you study at university, Stephanie?
Stephanie: I study management and marketing in agro-tourism and food supply.
Duncan: Three-year course or a four-year course?
Stephanie: No, a four-year course
Duncan: four years, so would I be right in thinking that is logistics?
Stephanie: Yes.
Duncan: So, do you think with those skills, in England that you could set up a new business over here between the two of you, or are you going to stay with us at Roehampton Club?
Adrian: She told me she wants to start the business but it was enough, so I started almost 15 years, the last 15 years before coming here was work, work, work.
Duncan: OK so you would like to have a business?
Stephanie: I would like to have a business, but I would like to be more relaxed because I know how we lived in Romania so.
Duncan: But if you did have a business, what would the business do?
Stephanie: Oh, it depends. It doesn’t have to do with what I’ve studied. I would like to have a coffee shop with homemade cookies and coffee.
Duncan: OK, because here you’re in housekeeping and you’re doing the ground stuff OK. And do you think the job you’ve got suits you? Is it good for you or would you like to do something else?
Stephanie: It was good for me in the beginning when I came here because I didn’t speak any English. And it was difficult to do something else. Now, I don’t think it suits me anymore, but I think I’m …
Adrian: … she’s not confident enough in my opinion.
Stephanie: Yeah, and I think I don’t like to do many changes in my life.
Duncan: Well, you made a pretty big change to come from Romania to England.
Stephanie: I know, but I was with Adrian.
Duncan: And how about you? Do you think you will stay now employed at Roehampton Club or somewhere else in the future?
Adrian: My experience from the start when I came here I saw it’s more relaxed. They offer me good machinery. They offer me a good budget to take care of everything. We have a big team, not so much you know like when it’s your own business it’s more responsibility and you can’t sleep. Sometimes here I can’t sleep if we have some problems like three weeks ago there was rain and we can’t manage everything. I was a little stressed but it’s not like your company to see, you know, you need to pay people, you need to have money for your family, for everything.
Duncan: I understand that.
Adrian: Yeah, so I prefer it’s the 25th of the month my money coming in my pocket, relaxed.
Duncan: Excellent, we like the 25th of the month.
Adrian: Yeah, it’s my favorite date now.
Duncan: Very good. Now tell me, Stephanie, how would you describe your major characteristics? Who are you?
Stephanie: I think I am a reliable person first of all. And I don’t know, I just like to help people around me and to see that they are happy.
Duncan: And are you an extrovert or an introvert?
Stephanie: Introvert I think. Yeah, that’s why maybe I don’t want to change my job because I’m just afraid and I’m just afraid it’s like I’m in a, I don’t know, in a balloon here and I’m just afraid to go out.
Duncan: OK, thank you. How about you? What’s your major characteristics Adrian?
Adrian: I think I’m very ambitious.
Stephanie: Yeah he is.
Adrian: I prefer to lead not to, if I have a good manager or something like that it’s fine, I appreciate him, but if I see it’s under me, I hate someone’s under me to be my boss, something like that. But here we are OK, we’re a good team. So for the moment, everything is in balance. I’m happy.
Duncan: OK, fantastic, and when you’re not working Stephanie, what other interests do you have?
Stephanie: I started a course at the beginning of the year. It’s for supporting teaching and learning. Maybe I can get hired in a creche, or I don’t know, in a school. To do something else. But first I need the qualification.
Duncan: OK, and how long is the course?
Stephanie: It’s for two years, this year and the next.
Duncan: And do you get an NVQ at the end?
Stephanie: Yes.
Duncan: Very good. Are you enjoying it?
Stephanie: Yes, it’s a bit difficult because I have a lot to read and there’s no time. I don’t know I feel like I don’t have time anymore.
Duncan: OK, and how about?
Adrian: I just graduated this year from Elmwood College in Scotland on a distance course – Golf Course Management Level Four.
Duncan: And was that course done online?
Adrian: Mostly online yes. Part of them online, it was three years. But there are a lot of work to do, but it was easy for me because a lot of material is easy to understand because part of them I studied before when I was student, so it wasn’t too difficult but I was glad because in Romania I had a diploma so I’m more qualified now in my job.
Duncan: OK. So is what you have in Romania and here, is this an equivalent of two degrees?
Adrian: Yeah exactly.
Duncan: Oh, I think we’re lucky to have such intelligent people working for us here.
Adrian and Stephanie: Thank you.
Duncan: In the whole of your lives, Adrian, who do you really admire? Who’s been somebody you admire and would be an example to you.
Adrian: Vlad Tepes, you know, everybody knows him as Dracula. But Dracula is just a legend. But the last Prince, that was a big leader. Was proud about our country and fight for this. Not like now. Yeah, because when I was a kid when it was the communist, it was difficult life. And now the leaders are not the best leaders.
Duncan: How about you? Who do you really admire? Who have you admired?
Stephanie: I think my dad.
Duncan: OK, why?
Stephanie: Because he’s the best dad in the world. I have a sister and a brother and we all went to universities. And he was the only one who was working in the family. My mom used to work for a period of time and then she just stopped, she didn’t work anymore. So yeah, he did everything for his family.
Duncan: OK. Wonderful, you must miss him.
Stephanie: Yes, he’s coming in the beginning of next year. He’s coming to visit us.
Duncan: OK, well I think one final question for you. Since you’ve come to England and living in England, what is your most memorable experience?
Stephanie: That’s a good question.
Adrian: Here in England, honestly when we moved homes.
Stephanie: For me, the most important was when we bought the house and when Gabi was accepted to the university.
Duncan: Would you have achieved owning a house and Gabby going to university in Romania? Would that have been possible?
Stephanie: Yeah, I think it will be possible, but to do this in another country, for us that we are here only for five years, not even five for me. I think it’s huge.
Adrian: Maybe back home you need more sacrifice to do the same things and more pressure on you, more stress, need to work maybe double for the same things.
Duncan: OK, so after five years you have a nice house. You have one boy at the university. The other boy is how old did you say?
Stephanie: Matei is 15
Duncan: 15 and he will go to university and you both have jobs. You learn to speak English.
Adrian: Yes, my English is, yeah is fine. I’m happy with my English.
Stephanie: He needs to learn more.
Duncan: I don’t think you have a problem with English.
Adrian: On the golf course I don’t need to speak too much English with the grass so. I just need to know how to maintain it …
Duncan: OK, so where from here? Where will you take your life from here now? Just where will life go?
Stephanie: I think we can relax a bit now because the last year it was a bit difficult year for us. But I think now we can relax a bit and enjoy life here more.
Duncan: OK, do you feel secure?
Stephanie: Yeah, at the moment yeah.
Duncan: And that’s a pretty good feeling to have, which you might not have had in Romania.
Stephanie: Secure and happier, I think.
Duncan: Yeah, would you agree Adrian?
Adrian: Yeah.
Duncan: Well, we certainly enjoy having you at the Roehampton Club and thank you for coming and talking to me today.
Adrian: Thank you for inviting us.
Duncan: No, not at all. Well done.
Stephanie: Thank you.
