About Me - or, the Bits I'm Happy To Tell You
I was born in a northern town, in Yorkshire son of a mechanic and a mother who was prepared to work to keep my brothers and myself well fed, clothed and happy. In those days kids (boys) were pre-occupied with marbles, toy cars, comics, ball sports and sweets.
My other interests were reading and, when we'd got one, watching TV - yeah even in black and white!! In those days computers were in the early stages and filled a factory floor. Other entertainment involved weekend trips to a cinema to watch cartoons and serials like 'Flash Gordon' in a 'minors' club. That led to my keen interest in Science Fiction.
I passed my Eleven Plus exams, went to Grammar School and took 'O' level and 'A' level exams in order to develop a career. The direction I chose was in Chemistry, a subject I still find fascinating and fitted with my hobby of photography (taking and developing photographs and slides).
I could have gone to university but, instead, I opted to get a job and ended up working for a large chemical company, furthering my education part-time and eventually graduating in the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) with a GRSC.
In all this time computers were developing and I started integrating their use in my working and home life. The computers I have owned included a Sharp MZ80K, BBC Micro, Atari ST, Amiga 500, Amiga 1000, an Archimedes, 4 self built PCs, a Raspberry Pi and various other hand held systems. Mainly for pleasure but also to learn about programming.
When I retired I looked for ways to extend my interests in computing and enrolled in the OU web Design Package described here.
The path has been long and sometimes hard, but I have learned a lot and still enjoy the challenges. I hope you find information or resources here of use to yourself.