I was born in a small mining village in South Wales, where life was hard and luxuries were few. My father and grandfather, both coal miners, were lost before their time. The dust, the miners called it. It slowly destroyed the lungs and claimed far too many lives.
Growing up in a community shaped by mining and industry gave me a lasting respect for those who endure such work. But I didn’t want that life, and education opened a different path.
At university I studied history, economics, and psychology, supporting myself by working in coal yards, factories, and on production lines.
A career in information technology spanning almost five decades then took me around the world and into very different social and professional environments. I met many influential people: some driven by ego and ambition, others thoughtful, generous, and kind.
That gave me a broader perspective and a reservoir of lived experience that continues to shape what I write. Over time, I became increasingly interested in how systems influence lives, how motivation shapes behaviour, and how easily quieter voices are lost.
In 2019 I made a conscious decision to leave that world behind and begin a new chapter in my life.
I now live in the heart of Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park in North Wales, a landscape of mountains, coastlines, castles, industrial remains, myth, and memory. Here I explore and photograph the landscape, wondering who lived there and what their lives were like. View Where the Light Falls, a photographic study.
Those questions often become the starting point for stories about people, place, and how the two shape one another.
What interests me is the connection between past and present: how experience, belief, and environment shape the lives we lead today. I call this The Human Thread.
