About Me
Having recently truly come of age I recognise that I am a fortunate man:
- I am blessed with a nurturing family
- I am fulfilled in fatherhood (and grand-fatherhood)
- I have seen and heard and felt and touched and tasted many wonders
- I have sampled diverse experiences and been immersed in many cultures
While my family on my father’s side originate from the wonderful Wiltshire village of Lacock, I was born in a small cabin by the side of the Lynher river in Cornwall, the fifth of five children. The son of a Bermudian mother and an English naval engineer, we moved regularly as we grew up. I went to a boarding school in Suffolk and while not my happiest experience, I had a sound education and learned a bit more besides!
After school, I had no burning ambition to be a train driver or rocket surgeon so eventually drifted into medical science, working in a number of London teaching hospitals. Unwittingly this set the stage for my working career.
I married at what would now be considered a young age and by my 27th birthday was the proud father of two delightful daughters. They have been a source of pride and joy to me ever since. I followed the example of two of my sisters and left England. In my case for New Zealand, where I marvelled as my daughters grew to adulthood. Mountain and sea, forest and farm formed part of a wonderful environment to allow young minds and bodies to expand and prosper.
For me, my venture into medical science grew into a commercial involvement. The great pleasure in this was being paid to travel to many different places in the world to ply my trade. Australia being close was a frequent destination, but I was lucky enough to have many visits to North America and Japan, and happily for me to Europe where I could also spend time with my parents and my brother.
Working with so many different people and experiencing such a diversity of cultures taught me the wonders of the world and endowed me with a rich store of experiences.
In a kind of slow progression, I moved to Australia and had a happy existence there, enjoying the similarities and differences, the sights and tastes of a big island. Such contrasts in geography and the huge scale of the skies in the outback. And then a return to New Zealand, to a dream role which sadly withered and died. But as that door closed another opened and I found myself in Sweden! Another insightful education and a dose of intense travel, learning more about the cultures of Europe and deepening my knowledge of Japan.
And then, full circle; back to England to be united with my younger daughter and briefly with my brother and youngest sister. Having enjoyed London life again for 7 years, I decided to return to the county of my birth. So here I now sit in Cornwall, re-acquainted with the complex hues and textures of this rugged part of England.
On my life journey I have had my losses. Each one has been successively harder and though physically absent, all those I have loved are present in me. Their support persists and sustains me.
Since I was a teenager I have written poetry and had a camera to hand. At school I tried writing fiction and enjoyed painting, though I was slow at it. In neither of these pursuits was I encouraged by my teachers! Nevertheless, a good distance down the track I have returned to fiction and painting. I was in the band at school and this grounding has enabled me to compose music. So the combination of this education, combined with experience allows me to offer what you see on this website.