I was born in 1957, grew up in North London and, in 1975, after school (where I failed to reach my academic potential), I was offered employment with a pharmaceutical company in West London (relocating twenty years later to Hertfordshire, north of London) as a laboratory technician in a virology lab.

The company paid for my further education and I was awarded a Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Applied Biology (Microbiology) in 1979 and a BSc. (Hons.) in Applied Biology (Physiology and Pharmacology) in 1983.

During my time there I worked on research projects attempting to discover treatments for influenza, herpes, various cancers, psoriasis and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s (citations). My last few years were spent in an IT/Communications role, developing web sites and Lotus Notes databases for a large research division.

In 2008, after nearly 33 years, I was offered redundancy and (very) early retirement. Yay!

In my spare time I enjoyed composing electronic music, trying my hand at digital art, experimenting with computer operating systems, playing tennis and the occasional game of squash. In recent years I have developed something of a wrist watch obsession.

I am now a Lord.

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It Never Happens Like it Does on the Telly – Spasms