I was born in July 1949
in Kilwinning,
Ayrshire, of a
mother who worked as
a secretary, and a
father who worked as
a draughtsman at the
I.C.I. Ardeer
explosives factory.
My grandfather on my
father's side had
brought his family
from Sunderland to
Ardrossan in the
early years of the
last century to be
close to the point
of twice yearly
departure of the
ships of the Hudson
Bay Company, for
which he
worked. Some
of his adventures in
that employment are
described in this
website.
A photograph shows
me, aged about 5,
with my sister and
mother, in the
garden
of the house in
Stevenston where I
was to spend most of
the first 32 years
of my life.
Another photograph
shows the whole
house
and garden - a large
one, in which my
father could indulge
to the full his
passion for growing
roses.
Most of my education
was at the High
School in Stevenston,
and in a
school
photograph dating
from about 1960, I
am standing at 5th
from the left in the
top row.
Another photograph
dating from about
the same period
shows the family
assembled by the
side of
Loch Trool,
which remains one of
my favourite places
to visit.
The last two years
of my school
education were
completed at
Ardrossan Academy
and were followed by
two years of study
at Glasgow
University.
During the summer
vacation of
1970, I spent
two months as part
of a group studying
the geology of a
central area of
Finland. The
return trip via
Leningrad, Moscow,
Warsaw and divided
Berlin was a
memorable
experience.
My
first full time
employment was
with Laporte
Industries in the
lab at their Ayshire
Bauxitic Clay mine
in Kilwinning,
but I was
there only a few
weeks, in
1971.
Following this, I
found
employment as a laboratory
assistant at the
Roche vitamins
factory in Dalry,
earning just £965 per
annum! During
my four years there,
I was able to add an H.N.C. in Chemistry
to my list of
qualifications.
In 1975, I was lucky
enough to find a
much improved
position within the
Chemical Services
section of the South
of Scotland
Electricity Board at their Hunterston
"A" and
"B"
Nuclear Power
Stations on the
Ayrshire
coast.
When the
"A"
Station
closed, my
employment continued with
Scottish Nuclear and
with British
Energy at
"B"
Station. I
retired at the end
of March 2006.
My leisure time
interests include
cycling, walking and
listening to
classical
music. My many
cycling trips
include two visits
to Corsica (see
photo of the village
of
Evisa),
while a
round-the-island
trip to Majorca in
1985 was one of many
visits I have made
to that island,
often based in the
lovely village of
Puerto Pollensa.
The spectacular
cliff scenery on the
nearby peninsula of
Formentor
includes one of my
favourite
viewpoints.
In the 1980's, I
became very
interested in
promoting the aims
of
Sustrans,
the cycle route
construction company,
and I still support
that organisation
today - even if at a
more modest level
than in the past -
as well as other
charitable and
environmental
enterprises.
Two photographs can
be viewed - in the
first, a long-time
friend is cycling on
the former rail
route near to the
site of
Bridge
of Weir
station, and in the
second, I can be
seen cycling on the
route north of
Kilbirnie.
A favourite, and
convenient, walking
area is the island
of Arran, and in the
photo, I can be seen
on the top of
Goatfell,
in rather
unwelcoming weather
conditions.
In more recent
years, I have
revived an old
interest in the
French language, and
in 1997, I gained
the qualification of
Diploma in French
from the Open
University. I
have attended many
French courses, both
in Britain and
abroad, in such
places as Provence,
Montpellier and
Paris. I have
made two visits to
Paris, the
first in October
1992, when I was
able to take some
good photos,
including one of the
Palais de
Chaillot
from the Eiffel
Tower, and the
second in May 1999
during which I
survived a
tornado
which killed three
people in the city
- in an
otherwise perfect
week of weather.
More recently, I
have revived my old
interest in geology,
and I am working on
Open University
courses as indicated
below.
I am terminating
this account of my
life so far with
what seems an
appropriate sunset
scene.
It was taken during
a cycling holiday in
Kintyre, looking
west towards the
island of
Gigha.
Recent Open
University courses:
TU170
Learning online:
computing with
confidence
2001 (pass)
TT280
Web Basics May-July
2003
(pass)
L224 Horizons
(French)
(pass)
B.A.(Open) awarded, Dec
2003
T189 Digital Photography Oct. 2008 (pass)
Completed
geology courses:
S260 Geology.
Feb.-Oct.
2005 (pass)
SXR260
Geology of the
British Isles (Durham)
2006
(pass)
S193
Fossils and the
History of Life
2006
(pass)
S278
Earth's physical
resources.
Feb.-Oct.
2007 (pass)
SXR208
Observing the
Universe (Majorca)
Mar. 2007 (pass)
S186 Volcanoes, earthquakes & tsunamis Nov. 07 - Jan.08 (pass)
S104 Exploring Science Jan.- Oct. 2008 (pass)
SXR103 Science residential course (Herriot-Watt) July 2008 (pass)
S196 Planets: an introduction Nov. 2008 (pass)
Current courses:
S369 Geological record of environmental change Feb.-Oct.
2009
SXR369 Residential course for S369 (Durham) July 2009
