I was born in the East End of London and educated locally. From the age of 11 till 15 I was taught woodwork by a teacher who expected me to go into one of the area's major furniture manufacturers.

Misguidedly I opted for an Apprenticeship in the printing trade, Fleet Street being less than five miles from my home.

After my marriage to Lynne in 1973 I moved to Uxbridge to the west of London, but it was not until the early 1980's that my obsession with wood became my profession. My hobby evolved to part-time but the workload soon became too heavy and I decided that full-time attention was now required.I  am now on the Register of Professional Turners held by the Worshipful company of Turners.

The storms of 1987 provided much needed (and free) timber, but unfortunately did not provide the colours or textures of the foreign exotics much admired in my bowls of fruit and inlays.

A diversification from woodturning towards furniture making was both lucrative and testing, but still not as satisfying as an item made totally on the lathe.

A large part of my work is restoration and it is a great joy to think that woodwork made today will still be around in one hundred years time.