I have always been surrounded by music and art. Some of my earliest memories are of mum playing the piano and dad having to crawl down the side of the chair in the living room to get at the reel to reel tape recorder to record The Beatles from the radio. The blogs, document my life from the start of my own record collecting – I’m not counting when we bought “Back Home” by the England World Cup Squad in 1970, that was a family purchase. These are best read starting from the oldest post first (1972 – Electric Warrior), as they form a chronological document.

The songs shared here under ‘MyMusic’ are mostly original compositions, with the occasional cover thrown in for good measure. They are recorded under the names of either Short Supply or Meadowland – both my own bands.

The ‘Bite Size’ section is just a selection of random memories from various times during my life. The stories and poems are ones I have written and used during my time in teaching and beyond.

Never being a person to settle on one creative discipline, alongside my musical output, I studied art at university and have always produced 2D and 3D art, ranging from jewellery and wood carving to photography and printing. As a teacher of thirty-seven years, I am proud to have built up something of a reputation for cultivating creativity in the classroom, inspiring children particularly through my use of digital technologies, incorporating film and animation. These have always had a strong element of wordplay and rhythm. The ‘Gallery’ page shows some of my artwork created over the years – photographic and sculptural.

This is me, growing up, living and working in and around Sheffield and Rotherham. Hope you enjoy it.