About my website I cannot believe that I have been retired for almost twenty years. I remember wondering what on earth I would do to fill in about eighty hours of extra free time. For several years, I continued to feel a frisson of stress and anxiety each August when old habits were telling my subconscious I should be gearing up for the new session, but this was the only adverse reaction to my unsought…
Serendipity: reflections on an unplanned career. Should you stumble across my blog and begin to wonder who on Earth could write such stuff, here are a few biographical details about the author, explaining everything and nothing.I cannot remember any major turning point in my life that involved pre-planning and conscious decision making. Everything just seemed to happen, either on a whim or with the feeling that, since what is about to happen is inevitable, lets just go with…
Scottish history As everyone who studied history at my school will tell you, English History began in 1485 with the accession of Henry VII, and ended in 1745 at Culloden. European History took place within a comparable time frame. Nothing of note happened anywhere outside those dates.The reasons for this somewhat limited view of the world’s past lie within the history department at my school’s pragmatic approach to examinations. Those attempting O- level history…
My photography When I was working in East Africa in 1967 I bought a Canon FX for about twenty pounds. Given that environment, it was not difficult for even a complete beginner to produce a good shot every now and again and, thus encouraged, a life long passion for photography was born. My FX, with a few extra lenses, served as my main camera for another twenty years until a Canon A1 with a range…