About

Born in Scotland, living in the Borders town of Galashiels as a child. I identify as Scottish culturally, the privilege of an open-minded upbringing: a happy childhood surrounded by well-read, curious, intellectually demanding, creative and above all kind and generous people; it left me with a respect for other cultures and an intolerance of the blight of self-serving, dangerous, extremist, nationalist, theist sentiment on the world we inhabit - to this day, in spite of the dire warnings that history offers us of the consequences of such folly.

When education gave way to a working life: I lived in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire; Calgary, Alberta; Vancouver B.C.; Moscow, Moscow; Houston, Texas.

I have come to rest in Uzès in the south of France: I manage to keep busy all day doing the things that, while working, I had to squeeze in to only half a day at the weekend. A full life!