Career highlights

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1951–1968 Early years 

Born in Stockport, Cheshire in 1951. At Goyt Bank High School for Girls, was keen on English and Art but either my lack of academic ambition or the careers advisor’s ineptitude resulted in a bolt for employment after ‘O’ levels, harbouring the concept that higher education was for higher beings. 

 

1968–1969 Textile Tracer, Calico Printers Association, New Mills 

Entered the world of work at a 19th century cotton mill in the Derbyshire Peak District, reproducing textile designs for printing. Still remember the smell of the photopaque liquid we used to produce the drawings that would later be engraved on huge copper rollers for transfer onto fabric. 

 

1969–1970 Foundation Art, Stockport College

Having belatedly discovered higher education, skipped the end of final term to reprise the previous year’s summer season working in Newquay, Cornwall (art history versus sun, sea and lifeguards: no contest). Back to college for a second Foundation year in September, specialising in graphics and printmaking.

 

1971 Record Shop Manageress, Stockport

Managed a vinyl emporium named Purple Hair in Little Underbank, Stockport. Popular hangout for chums.

 

1972–1973 Graphics & Printmaking, Bradford Art College

Drawing boards and technical pens, etching plates and litho stones, a surfeit of David Hockney and virtual residence in the renowned ‘Kash’ curry house: 1/9d for a keema curry with unlimited chapatis. Why eat elsewhere?

 

1972, 1974–1975 Layout Artist, Lancaster Partners (Publishers), Stockport

Two stints with this publisher of police diaries and university rag mags, for which we studio artists designed adverts using metal printing blocks, archaic photographic equipment, paste-up boards and cow gum, in blissful ignorance of the labour-saving technologies to come.

 

1975–1976 Library Assistant, Manchester Central Library 

Local History Library: information retrieval, genealogical research and hanging out in the creepy Stacks: book heaven. However, detecting the onset of respectability, decamped to Amsterdam for the summer.

 

1977–1978 TSA Secretarial course, Didsbury, Manchester

Deciding secretarial skills would come in handy, qualified in Typing (RSA Stages I-III), Shorthand (RSA 80 wpm, Pitman 110 wpm), English and Commerce (RSA Stage I) and temped around Manchester for six months.

 

1978–1979 North West Film Archive, Manchester Polytechnic

Fun one-year post, archiving cinema and film industry material in a small research team. Sometime around here, started evening classes in silversmithing.

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1980–1982 Middlesbrough and beyond

Couple of years in Middlesbrough, mostly surviving by making and selling silver and gemstone jewellery. Lots of travelling around the UK and Ireland folk scene.

 

1982–1985 BA (Hons) Silversmithing & Jewellery, Sheffield City Polytechnic

Moved to Sheffield to do the Polytechnic’s S&J degree course as a mature student. Somehow never left (Sheffield, not the Poly).

 

1985–1987 Self-employed designer jeweller/pyrographer

After graduating, worked for a while on the design, manufacture and sales of original precious metal jewellery and illustrated clocks.

 

1988 Cert IT, Sheffield Skillcentre

Back to college to update the secretarial skills with new technology. Encountered word processing, databases and (crucially, as it turned out) computer graphics.

 

1988–1995 Senior Graphic Designer, Sheffield City Polytechnic/ Sheffield Hallam University

Enthused by the new possibilities of computers and design, applied for a graphics post at Sheffield City Polytechnic (which became SHU in 1992), involving design and production of educational materials, the first applications of desktop publishing, and early adoption of the internet.

 

1993–1996 MA in Writing, Sheffield Hallam University (part-time)

Distinguished poet Archie Markham (1939-2008) was SHU’s professor of Creative Writing and one of my favourite clients at the Graphics Unit. Enrolled on his first intake of the new Master’s degree in Writing. Specialised in Literary Editing, discovered haiku and published some term work in Sheffield Thursday magazine.

 

1995–2001 Senior Multimedia Courseware Developer, Sheffield Hallam University

Moved from SHU’s Graphics Unit to the Centre for Multimedia in Education to work with Dr Alison Hudson, a pioneer in interactive teaching and learning. Designed and authored websites and multimedia projects for CD-ROM and the internet, working with the University’s Schools and European Higher Education colleagues.

 

2001–2011 Web Producer, BBC Folk and Acoustic website/Smooth Operations Productions Ltd

Traded academia for media when independent radio and TV production company Smooth Operations needed someone with writing and web skills to deliver a new BBC Folk & Acoustic website based on its weekly Mike Harding Show for Radio 2. When BBC funding for the website dried up in 2008, remained as F&A message board host and continued to provide folk content until final budget cuts in summer 2011.

 

February–September 2012 Administrator, The Healer Foundation

Part-time post dealing with membership, team liaison and other admin issues for a leading UK holistic therapy support network.

 

October 2012–date

State pension started in September 2013 so I think 'retirement' may have happened. 

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July 2014–December 2022

Volunteer work (design and maintenance of website) for Fair Trader, a nonprofit co-operative in Holmfirth aiming to reduce world poverty by promoting fair and ethical trading.