I wanted for a long while to be a Geologist. I did indeed get a degree in the subject, and one short contract in South Africa, but the work dried up after that.

I next worked at a job in Sheffield which was a mixture of metallurgy and computer programming. This is a lot less glamourous than it sounds. However, I have been programming ever since (although I was made redundant over a year ago).

I also tried the Armed Forces briefly, but wasn't suitable (although it left me with some experiences and good stories). The Geology and soldiering occasionally come to the fore, as friends ask me to lead walks around the local hills.

When at school, I suffered from teachers whose attitudes seemed frozen in the late 1930s. They threatened if you didn't pay attention in class or do your homework on time, you would find yourself working down a mine. They seemed to think that the acme of academic achievement was to come back and teach at the same school you attended as a pupil. I am proud of having avoided that fate, and having worked down a mine.