The Personal Page

This page contains things about family and career and projects that don’t fit easily anywhere else

Family History I’ve been researching my family history intermittently for the past two or three years. Eventually I will put some of what I have discovered onto my web site and you will be able to link to it from here.

Thanks For The Memories This is the title of a booklet of poems and short stories, written by Irene Powell - Jude’s Mum - which we had printed for her 80th birthday. Click on the illustration (left) or the link below to go to the online version of the book. It also includes the poem Irene wrote for her and Joe’s 60th wedding anniversary on Boxing Day 2000, which isn’t in the printed version of the book. Thanks For The Memories

The Computer That Changed the World In 1998 I worked on a CD-ROM for Europress and Manchester University to celebrate “The Birth of the Baby” - the 50th anniversary of the invention, in Manchester, of the first computer with a memory store. I was privileged to meet and interview the surviving inventor, Professor Tom Kilburn, for the project. Sadly, he died earlier this year. I hope soon to add a section with a little information about the CD and some links for those interested in finding out more about this remarkable invention.

Campaign for State Education I joined CASE soon after Teddy started school and soon found myself on the National Executive and, eventually, Chair for a year. Although I'm not on the executive any more, I still edit the CASE magazine Parents and Schools and run the CASE web site. CASE Web Site

School Governor Update I have been editing this subscription newsletter for Optimus Publishing since its launch in September 2000. It pulls together my background in journalism and my more recent experience in education. I was a parent governor at Teddy’s primary school and while he was there I also took a part-time course to gain a Certificate in Education, which led to me spending a while teaching English, Media and Communications Studies in further education colleges. There’s more about School Governor Update and its sister publications at the Optimus web site. Optimus Publishing