DAVID KENDALL David Kendall, who was born and bred in York, is now in great demand as an After Dinner Speaker throughout the country. He had perhaps a whiff of the excitement of an audience from his early days as a chorister at York Minster, under Dr Francis Jackson. During his time in the choir David sang at many important occasions and thoroughly enjoyed performing in such a magnificent building and this most probably set the foundations for his future career. After his voice broke David continued his education at St Peters School, York (the school which Guy Fawkes also attended some years previously - to this day the pupils do not celebrate Bonfire Night as it is deemed inappropriate to burn old boys!!) David commenced his career in a Chartered Accountants' office in the city and his interest in music was furthered by playing piano and guitar in a local Dance Band and later in a Cabaret Group in the early 1960's. In 1965 he entered Barclays Bank and rose to become the Manager of the York University Branch at Heslington in 1985. Having severed his connections with entertainment during his years with the bank, David was tempted back into the limelight, by being invited to compere Sportsmen's Dinners organised by York City Football Club. At that time David had no idea that this would lead him into a full time career as After Dinner Speaker. In the late 1980's banking changed considerably, and David having enjoyed his banking career found he was not enjoying the attendant stress. At the same time the number of invitations for him to speak at functions increased with the result that in 1990 David took the big decision to leave the Bank. David is now in very great demand as a public speaker and is known on the circuit as 'The Bank Manager from York'. He has spoken from Rotherham to Rotterdam, Denby Dale to Dublin not to mention Grosvenor House, the Savoy and the Cafe Royale in London. The majority of functions are for corporate bodies but he does also speak to many sporting organisations. Although David's new career sounds a far cry from banking, he is able to draw on his past musical, educational and fiscal experiences to deliver first class professional and entertaining speeches. David Kendall has taken the art of After Dinner Speaking into new realms of excellence. David is married to Mary, has three children, Vanessa, Sally and Mathew, and lives in the village of Nether Poppleton, near York. His hobbies include, music, the theatre, both codes of Rugby Football and of course Cricket.. David was reminded of his early days as a chorister when.......A vicar's daughter's pet hamster died and she dug a small grave in the back garden. He heard his daughter conducting the burial with the words, "In the name of the father and of the son and into the hole he goes". [ back ]