Welcome to our monthly who’s who of Trafalgar Entertainment. This month we say hello to Jim Barker!

Which room do you currently work in at home and what do you do?
I’m the Global Compliance and Quality Assurance Manager for Stagecoach, which essentially means my job is to make sure all our fabulous network of Principals operate in line with policy and procedure. Recently that has meant abiding by our COVID Policy, allowing our schools to operate safely and within Government guidelines during these uncertain times. I currently work in my study which doubles up as something of a record library. I’ve been buying and selling vinyl for years and have a choice of 1500 LPs in boxes and on various shelves to listen to during the working day (so I’m never short of having some motivational music playing in the background between video calls, although getting up to flip a record over can be a chore).

Describe yourself in 3 words!
Loyal, honest, loud!

Favourite stage production and why?
Going with Les Mis at the Queen’s Theatre as there’s a story behind it. My wife (then girlfriend) had bought me an Italian Cookery Masterclass experience for Valentine’s Day, but not being a lover of cooking (see question below) and suggesting that dinner and a show was a much more romantic thing to do, we traded it in. First time I’d ever seen it and was blown away.

Favourite album?
Dreaded this question coming up as I simply cannot choose! If push came to shove then I’d have to pick Bryter Layter by Nick Drake, which I’ve adored since I first heard it about 30 years ago and appeals to the latent country bumpkin in me. One of the most prized records in my collection, I eventually managed to find a copy of it on vinyl in a record shop that doubles up as a post office in the picturesque town of Holt on the North Norfolk coast.

Best ever gig?
Spiritualized at the Royal Albert Hall, 1997. Balloons dropping from the ceiling, full gospel choir, meeting rock stars in the corridors… with the silver lining being that my Fiat Panda lasted the journey from Canterbury to London and back without breaking down (which it did have a habit of doing).

Top 3 films of all time?
The Royal Tenenbaums is my favourite film by a mile – I love everything Wes Anderson’s ever directed. Rear Window (always had a bit of a soft spot for Grace Kelly) and High Fidelity (which appeals to the record collector in me) would be 2nd and 3rd place.

What’s your go to TV binge boxset?
I don’t watch a great deal of TV, but got hooked on Stranger Things and Cobra Kai on Netflix to such an extent I spent two separate weekends binge-watching the lot. 

Favourite holiday destination and why?
If it’s warm, sunny, there’s a pool, shops to wander about in and great places to eat and drink I’m really not that fussy. Though I have to say playing cricket on the beach with the locals on Dover Beach in Barbados is an experience I’d love to have again.

Your Greatest sporting achievement?
I’ve played cricket since a young age (bit of a family legacy as my uncle was the chairman of Stage Cricket Club until recently), and have been captaining my local club for over 10 years. So it’d have to be my bowling figures of 5/21 to win a game against Guildford in 2017, which coincidentally was the first time I’d taken 5 wickets in an innings since my teens.

What’s your cooking masterpiece?
Embarrassingly I can’t cook to save my life, although I can BBQ with the best of them. I could rustle you up a more-than-adequate Yorkshire Pud if that counts.

Who is your hero and why?
My son. He’s the most resilient, happy, determined and positive person I know (he also gives the best hugs!) When you work for Stagecoach you quickly realise how amazing and inspirational children can be, and to think of how much they’ve all been through during this last year – from adapting to online learning to being apart from their friends – really puts everything into perspective. This past weekend I was in the stands at Selhurst Park cheering him on as his U8 football team came 3rd in a tournament – he gave it everything, worked so hard and smiled throughout despite not coming home with the spoils. I couldn’t have been more proud.