I was born and grew up in a small mining village in South Wales, where life was hard and every day was a struggle to put food on the table. My options were limited — work in the coal mine or factory. But that had killed my father and grandfather, both miners, and both dead before their time. My path took a different turn. Education was my escape, and studying history, economics, and psychology at university changed everything.

To support myself through my studies, I took manual work — in the coal industry, on production lines, and in factories — all of which taught me the meaning of real labour. It was tough, unrelenting work, and I learned to respect it. But it also made me determined not to have to do it.

I went on to build a business career that spanned more than forty years and took me around the world. I worked with people at the top of the corporate ladder — some generous and inspiring, others driven purely by greed, indifferent to those beneath them. Those years gave me insight into how power works, how systems shape people’s lives, and how easily those at the bottom can be overlooked.

In 2019, I chose to slow down and now live quietly in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park, surrounded by ancient mountains, shifting skies, deep forests, and the steady presence of the sea. I’m not a native Welsh speaker, but I understand some and speak a little — and I continue to listen, learn, explore, write about and photograph this wonderful, ancient landscape that’s steeped in myth and history.