Having studied art & design at Goldsmith’s College, London, on graduating in 1979, my first of many jobs was in publishing.
After a couple of years, I retrained and embarked on the first of what was to be several different careers, working for many years as a Driving Instructor for a major School of Motoring and later co-running a small but successful school in Fulham. On selling the business, I then trained with The Ivor Spencer School for Butlers. My first position with a titled lady came to an end after a year when she was arrested for fraud! My second position ended after 18 months due to insanity (of the employer, not CJ). These exploits will be published later on this site. Watch this space!
After a fascinating period at a major London hotel, working for the rich and famous, I decided that butlering was probably not for me. (I would rather have a butler than be one!) Turning down a lucrative position in the States, I finally opted to settle down and get married. After the obligatory mid-life crisis, the world of art started calling again and with the support of my wife, Maria, I set up an office and studio, started drawing and painting again and learned how to design on Apple Mac.
Over the next twenty years, I worked on various projects, such as magazine illustration as well as posters, wine & spirit labels (I was project manager and designer for a range of wines & spirits to mark the 30th anniversary of Monty Python's Flying Circus, some of which, incorporated the original Terry Gilliam artwork.) At the launch party, He, John Cleese and Terry Jones both expressed their pleasure with the designs.
Having been a lifelong aficionado of Conan Doyle, I then began illustrating and designing for The Sherlock Holmes Memorabilia Company in Baker Street. I produced portraits of Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke from the Granada Series, whom I met several times and produced designs and articles for various other businesses.
After this, I took up writing and published my first novel in paperback entitled "The Breath of the Zephyr". It is a historical/metaphysical murder mystery with a touch of the supernatural, spanning three hundred years, from eighteenth century Venice (no, it’s not another story about Casanova!) to wartime England. After receiving advice from a major publishing company, I split it into two books, the second being "White Phantom City".
I have recently completed the third instalment, "Sorrow for the Lost" and have just published all three on Amazon as a trilogy under the Series title "The White Phantom City" at:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DR5ZZ81P?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tkin
They can be bought as Ebook for kindle or paperback and will soon be available on other platforms.
In September 2018, my wife, Maria and I semi-retired to Cyprus. I now have several "offices" in various establishments (tavernas) and I am continuing with my writing. Maria has set herself up as a counsellor/psychotherapist and we have made many new friends and contacts. (One of these owns a brewerey in the capital, Nicosia!)
My interests range from art and literature to the appreciation of fine wines, malt whiskies and real ale. (Cyprus wines are now considered "New World") along with European craft beers. (our local serves Belgian Grimbergen and Guinness?)
I relax by playing the guitar, the ukulele – and several brass instruments, when available.