I will be adding some details about myself and my family each time I update the other hopefully more interesting pages of my site.

Anyway here's some background info.

I am a widower with two children. I will not be saying anything about them because shortly they will no doubt want to include their own pages to this site. Anything I might say will just 'embarrass' them. Other interests 'on/or soon to be on' these pages are classical music, technology ( A/V equipment etc. ) popular science, Science Fiction (see my page on Satellite) and wine.

Here is one of my favourite pictures of my wife Marilyn.

I became interested in computers with the BBC Micro in late 1982. Since then I have owned an A3000 which was upgraded a few times - but my present machine is a StrongArm Risc PC ( Acorn ) that started out as an 600 RiscPc.I have a 586 Pc Card using Windows '95. Although I use the card quite a bit I much prefer to use the Risc OS desktop. See my other pages for Acorn interests.

Click for Acorn pages

I used computers in schools from 1983 and about 1987 I took part in trials for the new TTNS ( The Times Network for Schools ) - my school was one of six or seven primary schools in Derbyshire testing the system. I mention it here because then the transfer rates were 1200 - 300 to send teletext-type pages over the system ( that is 300 bits per second send and 1200 receive. )

!!New update on the A3000!! It's now back in use after a luckly break - getting an Acorn AF30 monitor for £49 :-) and with it for 20UKPs was a A3010 machine that the shop - 'Cash Converters' couldn't get to work being as it was stuck in 'supervisor mode.' This lead to my son using the A3010 rather that the A3000. It took about two days before he discovered that 'floppy-only computing' was not for him. So the bargain is less so with the additional cost of a 340 Mg HardDisc and Simtec EIDE interface.

My daughter wanted to know what so going to happen to the A3000! Just a few weeks later we picked up a second-hand Nec monitor for that. At least for a short time I even got back on my own machine!

A few months later and we now also are the owners of a well-used A4 computer picked up at a Computer (PC) Fair very cheaply. The screen is fine except for the bottom strip which is blacked, in fact 'yellowed' out, so I use !ExtraBar to help loading applications. The best thing is that it had a 200Mb harddisc which is working fine. Another problem was a duff battery but it came with a Mains power supply so it's used powered from the mains. The A3000 has gone back into the cupboard as we are using the Nec 2A monitor with the A4.

I'm quite impressed with the A4 it seems fast even using the 'NewLook2' icons and pinboard which although nice on the A3010 slowed it down too much.

Here is the family pet. A Dwarf Russian hamster called Steve. He is about two years old.

New Charity Link

On my Index( Home )page I now have an added link to the R.N.I.B. ( Which stands for the Royal National Institute for the Blind ) This society was very helpful to my late wife as it continues to be to many tens of thousands of others today.

In particular the main support and joy for my wife was the 'Talking Book Service.' Books on robust and long tapes plus the special machine to play them on were sent cost-free through the post for the user to enjoy. In my wife's case this helped lift the great sadness she felt from no longer being able to read.

After my wife died four years ago we raised the money to have a book recorded ( at the time £500 would pay for a recording and £200 would buy a tape machine.)

The link is added here again:-

Click for link to RNIB's Homepage

Click here for Home page