|
I suppose I always regarded life as a cross between an experiment and a game of dare, with the result that it’s been rich and spicy but never a rehearsal. I’d planned to be a beachcomber but the weather put me off, and after a demoralising three years getting an art degree at a prestigious London art school I turned to the natural sciences for consolation. The rest is history. I became curator of fossil reptiles and birds at the Natural History museum, then being a restless soul transferred to marine fishes and learned to dive. Not satisfied with the challenges, or salary, of a marine biologist I bluffed my way to a seven year managerial stint in Visitor Services. These days I’m a “resource”, which might mean National Treasure, but is more likely to indicate a spare part who is too expensive to make redundant. I achieved most of my ambitions, including working with David Attenborough, a long time ago, so now I’m working on a whole new set. |
 |
I like to live in the present but if required to nominate a few magic moments from the past, I’d opt for these (what a romantic) :
- Paddling down the Zambesi, crocs, hippos and all.
- Tracking rhino on the Waterburg, even when they were between you and the Land Rover.
- Skiing my first black run in the French Alps.
- Diving the reefs round the skirts of the live volcano, Miyake-jima.
- Photographing the fauna and flora of the Namib Desert
- Watching the stars come out on New Years Eve in the deserted temples of Luxor.
I also like silence, feasts with friends, clean air, a good argument and I’ll do anything for a laff ? That’s some of the things I can mention. Don’t like sitting still, frostbite, mobile phones and restrictions. History and archaeology are fairly recent interests and can be directly attributed to some of the people I knock about with. I’ve dug a few sites where archaeology meets palaeontology, like the Gower Caves, Swanscombe and some Mendip caves, but these days the armchair wins over the trowel.
I come in useful if you want to see behind the scenes at the NHM and I have a wide range of contacts who can help you with your Palaeolithic problems.
I’m an English Civil War re-enactor and civilian member of the famous Fairfax Battalia. http://www.fairfax.org.uk/
Special Interest Areas
17th- 18th Centuries and early medical practices.