Study the past if you would define the future

Confucius

I was born in Somerset, and before going to university worked for a seaside photography business, later writing history articles for a free magazine and my local weekly newspaper.

I gained my first degree from Durham University (BA Psychology) and became a Studio Manager with the BBC at Broadcasting House and BBC World Service.

I was a Senior Broadcast Journalist and a member of a local station's management team until 2011 when I decided to become a full-time writer, researcher, and local government officer mainly working with parish councils. 

My MA degree is in English Local History (Nottingham), and I hold the Certificate in Local Government Administration.  Currently, I work with five local parish authorities, and I am a trustee of my local Community Library.

BOOKS

TALKS & RESEARCH

PARISH ADVISORY

Leicester at Work

Leicester At Work explores the life of the East Midland's largest city and its people, from pre-industrial beginnings through to the present day.

The book charts the city's industrial growth, the decline in Leicester's traditional manufacturing industries, and how the city has been able to attract new businesses through its academic-industrial connections and its geographica location.

Published by Amberley Publishing
15 April 2018
£14.99
ISBN 978-1445677453
96 pages
Paperback

Historic England - Leicestershire

Explore the remarkable Historic England Archive, the nation's record of twelve million photographs, drawings and publications fom the 1850s and the earliest days of photography to the present day.

This collection of images will provide a nostalgic look at Leicestershire's past, highlighting the special character of many of the historic, architectural and industrial sites in the city and county.

To be published by Amberley Publishing in association with Historic England.
15 August 2018.
£14.99
ISBN: 978-1445683621
96 pages
Paperback

British Retail, and the men who shaped it

Many of the high street names that meet our twenty-first century needs began with men and women who had ideas, imagination and sheer determination in a different age.


Shopping is a universal part of modern-day life, and in British Retail and the Men Who Shaped It we look at the people behind the corporations that built the modern-day high street and changed the way we shopped.

This book is a celebration of the people who, through self-belief and determination created the multi-million-pound retail businesses we use every day.

To be published by Pen & Sword
31 August 2018
£19.99
ISBN: 978-1526715258
214 pages
Hardback

Turning the Pages of Time

Turning the Pages of Time

Just completed, with local historian Norman Harrison, a brief history of libraries in Kibworth to mark the 50th annversary of the present building and the 2nd anniversary of Kibworth Community Library.

The booklet will be sold to support the continuing work of the library including its outreach to every section of the local community.

Weston-super-Mare History Tour

A pocket-sized insight into the history of this famous seaside resort recording how the town changed during the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 

Follow the route on the map to discover the history and heritage of Weston-super-Mare.

Published by Amberley Publishing
15 April 2018
£7.99
ISBN: 978-1445678153
96 pages
Paperback (12.4 x 16.7cm)

The Life and Work of
John Theodore Kenney

John Kenney was the Leicestershire artist who gave us the image of Thomas the Tank Engine we know today, illustrated more than thirty Ladybird books and recorded the south Leicestershire countryside in superb detail.

A graduate of the Leicester School of Art, Kenney worked for Slater's design studios in Kibworth Beauchamp. During his war service, he documented post-D-Day Europe in a series of remarkable sketches and paintings.

I shall be presenting a talk about John Kenney at:

Market Harborough Historical Society
Roman Way Community Centre
Market Harborough
Saturday 27 October 2018


Research for Michael Wood's Mayavision television productions

Provided research, and production and location support for Michael Wood's groundbreaking BBC television series Story of England, 2009/10 including the 'Kibworth Dig'.

Also provided production support for Mayavision International's Great British Story : A People's History, broadcast on BBC2 and BBC4 in 2011/12.


Leicester City heritage panels

Research and text for twenty Heritage Panels installed at locations in Leicester. 

Commissioned by Leicester City Council,  2014/15 and created by The Art Department, Nottingham.

Also, research, text and project management for an interpretative history panel in the lychgate at Billesdon Cemetery, 2018.