Former handyman Mike Leaver lived an eventful life. Now retired, the 70-year-old however lives in a converted stating lorry, residing on a business park in a seaside town.
Mike's life took him around the world, leading to some amazing highs, but also some incredibly challenging lows, before he found the peace and happiness he has now. His life started with his parents in Birmingham among the bomb sites of the post-war city, though he suffered from asthma and persistent chest complaints and was soon shipped off to a more rural boarding school, which he referred to as a "dumping ground" for weaklings.
After escaping school, Mike's lifestyle became truly eccentric, as he ended up converting a flat in an industrial warehouse, living on a houseboat, and even ended up sleeping and eating in an office and spending a few days in an estate car, before winding up back in another houseboat.
The last 20 have been on an unused access road between a factory and a builders' merchant's yard, after his truck broke down there and is still on that spot. Because of this Mike has become a well-known character around his adopted home of Porthmadog He said: "As a committed vegetarian and recycler – who has never owned a television or been tempted to consumerism - I keep my living expenses extremely low. For example, I burn scrap wood, heat my shower water on gas rings, and eat cauliflower leaves with gravy.
Retirement does not mean life is over! Sounds as though he’s very much still alive to me.