JOANNE COOK was born in Stevenston in July 1974. Her father described her as having been “a good baby and infant” with “an ex-tremely full of life personality,” something that was taken in stride by her mother, Jan. At the age of two, Joanne’s parents had a scare when they discovered her with an open tub of aspirin that was usually kept well out of reach. The trip to the hospital “was a harrowing experience” for the parents, who were thankful when tests the following day showed that Jo-anne would be unharmed.
According to her father, Joanne liked all things ‘girly’ in her earliest years. She played with dolls and was often to found in the kitchen with her mother. A neighbourhood girl, Gayle Hamilton, was a good friend of Joanne’s. She did follow after her father in some ways – apparently having had quite a talent for drawing, painting, and illustrating.
In the middle of …show more content…
Their son, Jamie, was born in August of the following year. Young Jamie became much the focus of not only his parents’ attention, but also of his Cook grandparents’. John taught him to play chess at the age of four, much as he had done with Jamie’s mother and uncle years earlier. He attended the local nursery and primary school, where he proved to be “a good scholar [and] listener with an aptitude to numbers.” Jamie’s extra-curricular pursuits included karate, involvement with the Boys Bri-gade at Ardeer, and naturally football. At the end of his primary schooling, Jamie was streamed into a football school, sponsored by the Scottish Football Association, which runs parallel to his academic studies. At the time of writing, he plays amateur football with a Kilmarnock side, Bonny-ton Thistle Football Club, and has his sights set on progressing to univer-sity. According to John, Joanne and Gary have done nothing but support young Jamie in his
According to her father, Joanne liked all things ‘girly’ in her earliest years. She played with dolls and was often to found in the kitchen with her mother. A neighbourhood girl, Gayle Hamilton, was a good friend of Joanne’s. She did follow after her father in some ways – apparently having had quite a talent for drawing, painting, and illustrating.
In the middle of …show more content…
Their son, Jamie, was born in August of the following year. Young Jamie became much the focus of not only his parents’ attention, but also of his Cook grandparents’. John taught him to play chess at the age of four, much as he had done with Jamie’s mother and uncle years earlier. He attended the local nursery and primary school, where he proved to be “a good scholar [and] listener with an aptitude to numbers.” Jamie’s extra-curricular pursuits included karate, involvement with the Boys Bri-gade at Ardeer, and naturally football. At the end of his primary schooling, Jamie was streamed into a football school, sponsored by the Scottish Football Association, which runs parallel to his academic studies. At the time of writing, he plays amateur football with a Kilmarnock side, Bonny-ton Thistle Football Club, and has his sights set on progressing to univer-sity. According to John, Joanne and Gary have done nothing but support young Jamie in his