A short time in the army, and a long career in teaching, with spare-time painting and writing, were a background to occasional exhibiting (oil paintings) and publishing (short stories, poems), and the the production of two short plays, one by BBC television. Retirement brought two prize-winning novels and international publication. After his Norfolk childhood, marriage and work have led to Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire. Three children have been followed by seven grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.