My name is Andy Culshaw and I am married to Samantha.
Samantha and I met in March 2019 and have been together for nearly 3 years. We had an amazing wedding on 31st July 2021 in Maughold church.
We are both very proud to be Manx and we live in the north of the island.
My family are from the surname Allison and my great nana was May Collister. My mum is Pat (now Kinvig) and her brothers and sisters are called Susan, Cathy, Jimmy, Bobby, Nick, Elizabeth (Boo) and my Auntie Irene who sadly passed away last year. My two sisters are Cathy & Gilly and my brother is Robert. My Dad is Geoff and I have a granddaughter called Sophie.
I have had several jobs over the years starting with serving my apprenticeship as a mason/bricklayer with Caine brothers (Ramsey)
I left the building trade in 1993 to help run the Trafalgar Hotel in Ramsey and did this until 1997 when I got a job as a technical services engineer for Heron & Brearley working through all of the islands Hotels, Pubs and clubs.
After an injury in 2004 I went to work voluntary in Auldyn school in 2006 and then continued to progress and qualify to a level 3 teaching assistant where I stayed for 15 years working with both primary & secondary schools all over the island. In 2020 I became a bus driver/conductor based in Ramsey.
Also in 2006 I signed up as one of the very first Community volunteers for Isle of Man constabulary. I did this for 5 years and then signed up to be a special constable in 2011 (in Ramsey) which I still do to this day (November 2021) I work alongside the Northern neighbourhood policing team and have had several chief constables commendations for different things during my time. I gained a Spirit of Ramsey award presented to me by Andrew Cowie when he was the chairman of Ramsey commissioners for some work I was doing with the young people of the North, which I really enjoyed and loved being part of our future.
My wife Samantha is the daughter and one of 5 children of John & Ella Skinner also from Ramsey. Sam has lived in Ramsey all her life.
Sam’s dad (John) was a local well known fisherman based in Ramsey and had a fishing boat called ‘Cair Vie’ which in Manx means ‘safe journey’’
Sam works as a senior support worker with Home care (IOM government) and has done for the last 15 years working with some of the most vulnerable old people all over the island.
Our contribution to the Queens Pier project is minimal for the work this team have done and we wanted to support the project and what a lovely thought to have our names engraved onto a plate to be displayed on the pier for us to be remembered and to also have a place on the website.
My nana (Joyce Allison) was the reason for my donation as she was such an incredible lady not just to our family but to everyone who came in contact with her. A lot of people knew my nana as she was one of the characters in her own way.
My wife’s family are Skinner’s and we made a donation in memory of Samantha’s Dad, (John) and Mum (Ella) Skinner.