About the author

I retired in July 2009 having been a Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management at Leeds Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom.

I don't consider myself primarily as an academic, though. For eleven years I worked in local government, for four years in museum interpretation and marketing and for one very enjoyable year for a leading northern design company. Very early on I taught geography and history in a secondary school.

Part time work (work? - just as much fun as 'work') has always been a feature: for a commercial company as a leisure breaks leader and lecturer; and as an active member of a UK society for environmental interpretation, variously treasurer, regional judge for an awards scheme, and for one year only full time administrator. I ran a tiny company producing one of the earlier environmental studies magazines for three years, a project which grew out of life as a university student.

I keep in touch with a very large number of ex-students from the University and can be found on Facebook and Friends Reunited.

Specialist teaching subjects were:

Tourism Geography
Tourism Planning
Tourism Development
Heritage Interpretation
Tourism and Mass Communications
Educational Tourism

I was also the undergraduate dissertations co-ordinator for Tourism Management courses and residential visits organiser to Scarborough, Edinburgh, Malta, Amsterdam and co-leader of visits to Bruges; and for day visits/conferences to the Lake District, Blackpool, Manchester and Bradford

More detailed background:

1962-1964 Teacher, Endon Secondary School, Staffordshire
- pre-University teaching, which has not been possible for many years. It was like serving an apprenticeship for two years and entirely invaluable. I taught geography and history and bits of all sorts of other subjects when required! I also co-led a group on a Staffordshire Youth Camp week at Teddesley Park and introduced class excursions within the region.

1964-68 Geography and History general degree course, University of Wales, Swansea. As a student I acted as the News Editor for the University College newspaper, then as chair of the Students' Union publications board. I was responsible for introducing first some basic letterpress printing facilities for Students' Union stationery, tickets etc; and then some of the first IBM electronic typesetting systems for the newspaper and magazines produced by Union groups.

1968-1973 Computer Operations, University College of Wales, Swansea
- shift operations management and the design of training information

1973-1978 Head of Interpretation, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust
- managing multiple sites, visitor staff, marketing and visitor interpretation. The Museum achieved international awards and status during this time thanks to an outstanding team and community support

1978-1985 Tourism Officer, Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council
- management of a town-centre tourist attraction complex situated in a scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade 1 listed building, the Halifax Piece Hall
- developing tourism in a West Yorkshire manufacturing community - a non-traditional destination

1985-1989 Public Relations and Marketing Officer, Calderdale Inheritance Project [Urban Regeneration]
- a partnership between the public, private and voluntary sectors with a pioneering national profile which involved HRH the Prince of Wales; Richard Branson, the (national) Civic Trust, Business in the Community
- coordinating officer for the Council of Europe Heritage and Urban Regeneration Conference, Halifax, October 1988

1990-1991 Director, Society for the Interpretation of Britain's Heritage
- a short-lived project that had unfortunately not been well set up by the organising committee of the time and as a result was severely under-resourced

1991-1992 Senior Executive, Bulmer and Glennon Ltd, Leeds [Tourism Design Division]
- a leading commercial design company in Leeds. However in 1992 the principal directors went their separate ways. My division was on target after a year but with the splitting of the company I moved to the University......

1992-2009 Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, Leeds Metropolitan University. Some of the most rewarding years possible, even within the context of rapid changes to higher education. Please see the pages on this web site for further information!

also:

1969-1972 Editor, 'Fieldworker' environmental studies magazine (part-time project)

1976-1999 Lecturer, Leisure Learning Weekends, Embassy Hotels Ltd (part-time).

1982-1985 Adult Education Lecturer, Calderdale MBC and the WEA (part-time).

1984-1987 Regional judge, Interpret Britain Awards for the Society for the Interpretation of Britain's Heritage. Treasurer of the Society, 1980 onwards

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