Oliver Essame is a retired cabinet maker. Raised as an Anglican, educated in that tradition at boarding schools. His parents, however, were looking elsewhere and he went with them to summer schools at Combe Springs, where he was introduced to the works of George Gurdjieff, JG Bennett and Subud. Nevertheless, he briefly succumbed to the charms of Anglicanism and went to Oxford. Then, armed with his theology degree, became a stage manager for a while and then a teacher for a year at a school in India. He learnt there that the practical life suited him and when he came home he retrained as a woodworker. His mother gave him Taking Leave of God for his birthday in 1981 and asked him to accompany her to the Sea of Faith Conference in 1995 and he has been an active member ever since.
