I trained as a scientist, spending three years working on tsetse fly physiology and ecology in the Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe. I returned to the UK in 1985 to find that funding for tsetse research was much reduced due to government cutbacks and with my first son on the way, found a job as an electronics technician for the Dental Physiology research group at the University of Bristol. This sparked my interest in dentistry and in 1995 I started my dental degree at Bristol. I graduated in 2000 and worked in general practice, both privately and under the NHS until 2021 when I retired. I now enjoy writing, classic car restoration and gardening.
