5, High View, Bedford. MK41 8ER
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In an episode of the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy it was said that Marvin ".... survived a remarkable and unwieldy series of adventures which he has never been able to satisfactorily explain ....". My life seems to have not been dissimilar :-)
I have now retired. I've not had a career as such but have worked in: flight research, computer programming/software engineering, technical writing and the teaching of Design Technology, Science and Maths, and was a local councillor. Amongst other activities I have also: travelled round the world, run a marathon, been on some long walks, and obtained a patent. Having retired I now have the time to continue the resurrection of the train set in the loft. This website covers these various activities.
I was born in Islington in London. My mother was a Cockney, and my father was if as he said "the wind was blowing in the right direction" on the day he was born. A true Cockney is born within the sound of Bow Bells: that is the church bells of St. Mary-le-Bow on Cheapside in the City of London, not to be confused with Bow in East London. We moved to Bedford in 1961 and I still regard myself as an ex-pat Cockney. Strictly speaking I am not, but as my parents are that will do: I qualify under FIFA rules! :-)
I grew up in Bedford and, after A-levels, graduated from Imperial College. I then worked at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (now closed) which was outside the town. From there I went to live in Surrey and worked as a software engineer. I retrained as a teacher in the early 1990's. I have had a variety of teaching and software related jobs since in Suffolk, Somerset, Holland and Bedfordshire. At the end of 2001 I gave up the job in Holland to travel around the world. On return I came back to Bedford and found work locally where I could. From 2004 to 2015 I was a local councillor representing Goldington ward in Bedford.
From November 2014 to July 2023 I worked for Netcall (formerly Matssoft) on their Technical Support desk. This was originally back in the Pilgrim School Buildings I left almost 40 years earlier! They moved to a larger office a mile up the road a few years later. Then from the start of the pandemic I worked from home until retiring at the end of July 2023.
I am a member of the Bedford Astronomical Society, the St. Kilda club, and, for my sins, a long suffering Spurs supporter.
I am also on Facebook where I post more recent and current activites.
Our London roots include one of the greatest peacetime disasters. On 3rd September 1878 the paddle steamer Princess Alice was hit and sunk by another ship in the Thames Estuary. Over 600 people lost their lives but between 50 and 175 survived (there were no accurate records so the numbers are uncertain). Luckily, or I wouldn't be here, my great-grandfather Alfred Thomas Merryman was a survivor. He was a cook on the Princess Alice. There are several websites about the story. A few years ago the BBC News website contacted me and others to write an article about it.
See: BBC Article
Other websites I had previously come across include: Alsbury, Transport History, Thames Police Museum.
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World Tour January to May 2002: visiting: India, Australia, New Zealand, Easter Island and the USA, crossing both Australia and USA by train, and using 14 aircraft to complete the trip as a whole.
Completed the Great North Run (2018), Amsterdam Marathon (2001), Milton Keynes Half Marathon (2003), Bath Half Marathon (2000), and other running events in the UK and Holland. Now doing Park Runs.
Walked the West Highland Way (2021), Great Glen Way (2022), Hadrian's Wall and around the Isle of Wight. Plus the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge (2002) and other shorter one day walks.
Buckingham Palace Garden Party 2014.
London 2012 Gamesmaker.
National Trust Working Party Member on St. Kilda (1990, 1995, 2003). Restoration of the abandoned village on the Island. Member of the St. Kilda Club.
Patent Granted (2002) for an improved working surface, which I have named a Study Easel. This enables several books, papers, etc. to be read in comfort without inducing back problems. It also converts into a drawing board.
Member of the Parochial Church Committee (1997-9), for the village of Hornblotton in Somerset, with a special interest in the former church clock which is now stored at the Science Museum in London as the oldest public electric striking clock in the country.
Planned and completed a 31 day tour (1992) of the Shetlands, Orkneys, Cape Wrath, Skye, Glenfinnan. Travelling by car, ferry, plane, cycle and walking.
Represented Cranfield College at the 1992 Inter-Varsity Debating Competition held at the Oxford University Students Union.
Former member of the (now closed) Bedford & District Model Railway Society and was their Exhibition Manager in 1984.
Student Union Representative for the Aeronautics Department at I.C. (1981/2). Awarded College Colours for my efforts in this post.
Additional Interests: Model Railways, DIY, Astronomy, Video Filming, and a lapsed Golfer.
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