About

…me.

I was born and dragged up in Brighton, well Hove actually. I lived on the same council estate (the ‘servant’s quarters’ for Hove) all through Infant, Junior, Secondary School and Art College. After ‘compulsory education’ (that ended at 16 in them days) I found myself at Eastbourne College of Art & Design training to be a graphic designer/illustrator. That didn’t take, and after a couple of years I gave that up for a life on the dole in Thatcher’s Britain.

After five or six years of that I had to take my younger brother’s place in my Dad’s furniture polishing business when he got sent to prison. I then spent about four years faking up Regency furniture for gullible and aspirational Americans. I enjoyed that. By this time I was living in Worthing, and in the Labour Party (second half of the 1980’s). I stood for Council once – increased the vote by 10% (to 180)!

My partner and I got pregnant and we moved to Hucknall, seven miles north of Nottingham (1988: that’s a long story). I then worked in the shop-fitting trade, again as a polisher, till 1993. I got made redundant in the early 1990’s recession – I have been through five now I think! Ain’t capitalism great?

Next I thought I’d try one of those A Level things: I only had Art from Art College then, and a few O levels and CSE’s. I found myself on an Access to HE course and took a place at Nottingham Trent University studying Social Sciences. I turned down a place at the University of Nottingham – aka Beeston Tech. I couldn’t stand the stench of privilege up there, and they made it clear at the open day that they were only taking mature students because they had a quota to fill. I think they thought we smelt too, so fair-doos.

So, I got to uni at the age of 34, and absolutely LOVED it, and wanted to stay a student as long as possible. So I did an MA at the University of Leeds in Democratic Studies, and a PhD back at NTU in democratic/social theory. In between I convened seminars at NTU, worked for an MP (he is now PCC for Nottinghamshire), and an MEP. The latter got chucked out of New Labour for being a socialist! So I then worked with him in the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation, of which I am now a Director.

Me & the wife brought up one kid, and later inherited another (again, long story). The daughter has had two kids – so I am now a Grandad. When I was a hippy going to punk gigs in the late 1970-early 1980’s, ingesting too much beer and many other substances, I fully expected not to get past 21 – so this comes as a bit of a surprise to me.

The wife and I are now living the dream at the seaside in Morecambe (so far up North!), retired like. We absolutely love decaying British working-class seaside resorts, and it’s fukin terrific not working. No need to suffer fools any more, gladly or otherwise.