To Boldly Go - A Sideways Look at Space Exploration (ePub)

Hello. Thanks for taking a look at my author page.

Throughout my life I have had a keen interest in history – especially the little stories, anecdotes and interesting people that do not make it into the more formal history books or the history that is taught in schools. So in 2015 I started a blog (thequirkypast.com) with the aim of sharing some of this slightly odder history – and hopefully occasionally causing the reader to smile.

Whilst researching a possible blog post I stumbled upon John Gamgee. The more I investigated his life, the more amazed I became. This man needed more than an article. My research became more serious, 'Zeromotor Man' began to take shape and the blog took second place to the book.

Many years ago I graduated with a degree in Engineering and Social Sciences from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and spent the first ten years of my career working in the electronics industry. Then I managed to combine my interests of history and writing by setting up a business producing audio tours for museums and heritage sites. In this role I wrote scripts for over twenty tours, with the content carefully pitched to convey interesting information to a relatively casual listener. We then began producing packs for teaching history in primary schools. These combined a cassette tape featuring a child talking about their life in a particular era of the past with a book. The packs covered a time-span from Ancient Egypt to the 1960s, and over 14,000 were sold. At the moment I run a small business selling books to schools, the main product being a scheme to help children who are struggling to learn to read.

I live in central England and I am regularly surprised to realise that I am now in my mid-fifties. Luckily, I have a very understanding and tolerant wife and two amazing but at times exasperating children, both currently at university.