About me

I always eventually like to know something about the author, artist, politician, commentator or musician I am spending some virtual time with. So after nearly a year I thought it might be better to put something here about myself.

I was born in 1957 and grew up in Linton, Cambridgeshire in the UK to American parents. In my early years there was an expectation that the family of which I was part was merely visiting England and that it and I would eventually go 'home' to the States. But this never happened.

I am a second child and have three brothers and a sister.

I went to the village school, the private Perse Preparatory School in Cambridge and the Cambridge Grammar School for Boys before leaving to go to the 'Tech' (now Anglia Ruskin University) to do 'A' levels.

With some cajoling I was persuaded to study for a degree - although in my heart I wanted to be a farmer or an artist. I went to Aberystwyth because it was in Wales and then transferred to Bristol University where I got a degree in Sociology and where I went on to get a PhD on the Italian trade union movement.

I moved to Sheffield to work as a Research Assistant and then commuted to Manchester as a Research Associate. I baulked at the last minute on being offered a lectureship in Human Relations at UMIST's School of Management and left academia in 1994. I wrote many articles, book chapters and a book, Managers Divided (with David Knights) during this period.  A copy of 'Managers Divided' features in Books 1994 on this site. (My academic citation profile.)

In the meantime I had started studying for a part-time Art degree at Sheffield Hallam University. I pursued this at Falmouth College of Arts (now part of the Combined Universities of Cornwall) but never completed my degree.

I moved with my then-partner and daughter to a house on the moors between Penzance and Zennor in Cornwall where I lived for ten years. I had gone to  'become' an artist, grow organic vegetables and tend the land.

I worked as a gardener, in galleries, for the South West Arts Council, and as an assistant freelance community artist and eventually regeneration consultant. I ended up helping to set up and then leading the community regeneration organisation, Cornwall Neighbourhoods for Change (CN4C), where I was 'Chief Executive' for five full-on years.

I helped set up and was a member of Penwith Artist Led Projects (PALP) which went on to put on a series of excellent shows in West Cornwall.

Through much of this time I was also interested in counselling and therapy work although I was usually on the client-end of the relationship.

I left Cornwall and CN4C in 2005 and have since lived with Jo in South and Central London and Kent.