I have been working on amateur movies since 1993, and previously wrote cartoon stories and some very feeble computer games. I currently work for National Grid, the gas/electricity company that's always got something 'in the pipeline'!

I was Area Co-ordinator for the West Midlands region of the UK MX-5 Owners Club for nearly four years. My first MX-5 was an original 1.6 with speakers in the headrests. It also had a grille on the front that (on close inspection) said Mat instead of the more-usual Miata. After six joyful years it went to a new owner. My second MX-5 was a Mk2 in Racing Blue Mica, a bit more subtle but no less gorgeous!  It also stayed for six years. My third MX-5 is a Mk3 Icon special edition in Stormy Blue, with added fog lights, mud guards, chrome door handle finish and concealed memory stick MP3 player that is linked to the steering wheel controls. Visit my MX-5 mini-site.



Some Favourite Things

1. Cressida!

2. Pub quizzes - it's not the losing, it's the taking part that counts. Plus the silly team names.

3. The Nintendo DS. Well done Nintendo for breaking demographics that were hitherto untouched in gaming.

4. Music - all time favourites are Depeche Mode, Dubstar, Electronic, Enigma, Jamiroquai, Jean Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk, Madness, Madonna, New Order, The Orb, Pet Shop Boys, Queen, Recoil, Republica, The Shamen, Stellar, Sunscreem, T’Pau, Yello and ZZ Top. Recently into Air and Goldfrapp.

5. Out and about - in recent years I have become a wildlife enthusiast, joining the RSPB, the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and also a member of The National Trust.  Year by year I am transforming my garden into an eventual wildlife haven.  A significant addition was a hedgehog house, which is occupied!

6. Driving - and not just around race circuits.

7. Cult tv - Recently watching Heroes, Lost, 24, Firefly and the new Battlestar Galactica - future classics? Well done to the BBC - who from 2005 started making great dramas again. Not only did Doctor Who return, but we also got Bleak House, Rome and Life On Mars (followed by Ashes to Ashes). In 2006 we also got Torchwood - style over substance or gripping drama in its infancy? Some previous great programmes are... Angel (moody), Babylon 5 (epic), Blake's 7 (wobbly), Buffy (fangtastic), Doctor Who (classic), Lexx (twisted), The Prisoner (enigmatic), Red Dwarf (funny), Star Cops (underrated), 'V' (revealing) and Ultraviolet (dark). Note that none of these are docu-soaps about holiday resorts. For something a bit more down-to-earth 'I, Claudius', 'House of Cards', 'Poldark' and 'Auf Wiedersehen Pet' are all unmissable.  I also enjoy The Bill.

8. Skiing - why is it that all ski resorts seem to have restaurants near the top? Is it because after a meal you are heavier and therefore get down faster? So far I have skied in Austria, Canada and France (and England if you count the Snow Dome!).



9. My cat, with her own Web Cat page.


10. Comedy - cult hits like 'Peep Show', 'Spaced', 'Black Books' and 'Phoenix Nights'. Also anything with Tony Hancock or Laurel & Hardy gets a big thumbs up, plus classics like Blackadder, Father Ted, The Simpsons, The Office, Fawlty Towers and the League Of Gentlemen. Not forgetting the Carry On team, Chris Morris and Alan Partridge!


11. The James Whale Radio Show - Brilliant, often offensive but never dull. Find out what the nation is REALLY thinking.  In 2007 James published his excellent autobiography.  This is an essential purchase!  After 13 years with Talk Sport, James was SACKED in 2008 because he told the nation to vote for Boris Johnson in the London Mayor Election.  After a summer spent in Play Radio UK, James has now been snapped up by LBC.  You can listen to his podcasts at http://www.jameswhaleradio.com/ 

12. The Far Side - Gary Larson's strange cartoons. You'll never look at a cow in quite the same way again.


13. Half-Life - the sequel was well worth the excruciating wait. Get yourself a copy of The Orange Box - featuring several great games including Portal - one of the most original games in years.

14. Tony Hancock - comic genius, competently supported by the scripting talent of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Carry On fans will find plenty to appreciate in the early works of Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Hatti Jaques - who feature in many episodes.  The Tony Hancock Appreciation Society keeps his legacy going admirably.

15. The ZX Spectrum and its archive of classic games. Years wasted playing the likes of Elite, Sabre Wulf, Laser Squad, Dun Darach, Starstrike, Chaos etc etc... I suppose I should mention Horace Goes Skiing.  Visit World of Spectrum for all there is to know.


16. The Asterix books - ageless and very funny with lots of details to spot in the background with each read.

17. Play Radio UK - a web-based radio network not subject to OFCOM regulations, and therefore contains much 'colourful' goings on!  The home of Tommy Boyd, Richard J Cartridge and also The Sunday Roast With Loaded Magazine - anarchy and crudity on a Sunday evening.

18. Audio Drama - science fiction often works better on the radio!  Look no further than Big Finish Productions - for more than a decade they have been producing new material based on shows like Doctor Who and Sapphire and Steel.

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