I live in Stratford, East London with my Partner, Philip, in an end-of-terrace house with a small garden. Philip does most of the gardening, all I really do is cut the grass and try to remember the names of the plants. Our house is usually a controlled mess, thanks to my ability to start seven things before breakfast, and leave all of them unfinished for the rest of the day. By profession I used to be a Freelance Business Consultant in Human Resources, which is a fancy way of saying that I designed and produced Personnel, Payroll and Pension systems. Being freelance I went where the work is, which means I sometimes had to work away from home. It also meant that if I didn't work I didn't get paid: no sick leave, paid annual leave or paid bank holidays. But the advantage was that I didn't feel guilty about taking time off; and if I needed to speak my mind, I could. If a company fires a Consultant for telling them how they could do things better, they are in a bigger mess than I could sort out. I gave that up in 2002, when the work ran out and I got a chance to start my PhD. 2003 was a good year: it was officially spent working on my PhD, but it mostly involved learning how the Hallowed Halls of Academia work (I’m still learning…). In 2004 I began a series of odd jobs, before taking the post of Communications Officer at the City of London Academy. This lasted for six years, in which I learned a lot about how schools, and the minds of children, work. I was also given the opportunity to lecture at King’s College London, a role I find very satisfying and enjoyable. I even like the marking! In 2011 I took early retirement from the school, but I have carried on my lecturing. In 2012 I became a Team London Ambassador for the Olympics (Philip was a Gamesmaker team leader on the Olympic Park), so we were part of the time when Stratford, East London, became the centre of the World. My hobbies include studying language and language origins, investigating the nature of self, reading myths and about mythology, writing, photographing insects, playing computer games, annoying Philip, and creating mess. Examples of most of these are on this website somewhere ....

	A Short History
2020	THE YEAR OF COVID19. Retired by KCL because of the pandemic.
2019	Launch of my two new BA at KCL modules: 5SSEL026 - Language Construction & 6SSEL045 - Language Origins. The Origins of Self: An anthropological perspective published.
2018	Started drawing State pension.
2017	Presentation of Night School on Anarres at Schools of Tomorrow kick-off conference at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin.
2016	Night School on Anarres art project at Somerset House, London.
2015	Philip gives LGBT talk at Victim Support, Octavia House. BOLD: Stories from older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people book published, with Philip & Martin interview.
2014	Philip is awarded OBE. Philip receives Rescorla family letters patent and crest (the first of his name, so to his design).
2013	Philip finally retires.
2012	THE OLYMPIC YEAR Trained as Team London Ambassador Mentor. Worked for four days during Jubilee & five days between Olympic & Paralympic Games. Philip worked as a Gamesmaker Team Leader on the Olympic Park through the two weeks of the Olympics, from Opening to closing ceremonies. Lectured at University of East London on BSc Psychology course. Presented “Reviewer meets Reviewed” at Royal Anthropological Institute. 40th Anniversary with Philip.
2011	Retired from CoLA.
2010	The Origins of Grammar: an anthropological perspective published.
2009	Working on grammar origins book.
2008-date	Visiting Lecturer at Kings College London.
2007	Completed PhD thesis.
2006	Civil Partnered with Philip.
2006-2011	City of London Academy (Southwark) as Communications Officer.
2004-2005	NCH as Pensions Administrator.
2004	Began looking for work to begin the long climb back to employment. Got a short term job as an editorial consultant.
2002	Gave up consulting work - or consulting work gave me up. Began an MPhil/PhD in "The Genesis of Grammar".
2001	Completed MA course by handing in thesis: Grammar and Language. Began this website.
1998	Began evening course in MA by Independent Study.
1997	Philip and I celebrated our 25th anniversary.
1995	Went online for the first time.
1989-2002	Freelance Computing, Systems, HR and Business Consultant.
1989	RHM Computer Services, HR Technical Support.
1985-1989	London Borough of Brent, HR Technical Liaison.
1985	First book published, Getting Started on Your MSX.
1983	First (and only) computer game published, Fall of Rome.
1983-1985	Argus Press Software, Games Software Manager.
1981-1983	North East London Polytechnic, working on student database.
1978	First boardgame published, Battle of the Ring. Other published boardgames were Africa (1979) and Simon de Montfort (1979).
1977	Bought our first (and, so far, only) house.
1974-1981	Civil Servant working on the National Economic Model and National Financial Information System.
1974	Finished University. Moved in with Philip. Began work.
1972	Met Philip.
1971-1974	UWIST, Cardiff.
1969-1971	Erith College.
1964-1969	St Mary's Grammar School for Boys, Sidcup.
1958-1964	St Stephen's Catholic Junior School, Welling.
1953	Born.