My Writing

I have been writing since the 1980s. Initially I wrote factual and sometimes whimsical pieces for the Computer press. These led to regular commissions in Computer Weekly, Financial Times and the Guardian.
I was subsequently commissioned by Reed Business Press to write two books about Computer Contracting. The first of these "Considerng Computer Contracting" was very successful and went on to 3 subsequent editions.
I also wrote a number of technical articles for the HiFi press.
More recently I have contributed articles (in English) to the Swedish Cruising Club Odysse magazine.

I have two novels in print which are based in the period from the 1930s to modern times. Each features the island of Leros:
Four's Destiny	Cheese and Chalk
Four's Destiny was featured in a YouTube Video for the 2021 "Gathering For Peace" in Leros in 2021.
My third novel, Separate Times, published in Q4 2021, is in a completely different genre.
Click on the clock for more details.
I also wrote the libretto for an opera, "Mister Butterfly", music composed by Ken Roberts, which was performed in Hong Kong in the 1990s.

My Singing

I am a musician - an opera singer (so, perhaps not really a musician at all?). I started singing as a treble, appearing in the Royal Opera House production of Britten's "Midsummer Night's Dream" in 1961. I went on to become a music scholar at King's Canterbury and Choral Exhibitioner at Christ Church, Oxford. In the 1970s I performed as baritone soloist in many oratorio concerts and opera productions. In the 1980s, realising that tenors are more often given the romantic roles (and kiss the girls - even though subsequently either the man or the girl dies), I became a tenor. In that voice I sang many more operatic and concert roles, both in Britain and overseas. In all, I’ve performed over 40 operatic parts, encompassing the classical, romantic and modern repertoires. I have also performed as a soloist in many oratorio concerts and recitals throughout the UK and abroad. In the 1990s my wife and I started the Champagne Opera company to provide the entertainment at various events.
I still sing, though I've become "convertible" - singing some baritone and some tenor parts, and sometimes even both - such as the tenor and baritone solos in the Messiah in 2019!

Here are some examples of my singing
Fauré Requiem, November 2018:
Two Arias from Handel's Messiah
“Comfort ye my people” from near the beginning of the work before the “Christmas” section, based on Old Testament writings foretelling the coming of Christ.<	“But Thou didst not leave his soul in hell”. It comes during the Passion section after Jesus’ death, describing how God did not leave his Son to moulder in hell after his death.

My IT Consultancy

When I left university, I was too young to begin a singing career straight away. I had always been interested in science and particularly electronics, so decided to investigate a job in Computing. I was lucky enough to be quite competent and to be able to work after a few years as a freelancer.
My careers developed side by side. Music, sadly, does not pay enough to live on, but I joined the nascent software industry developing in the 1970s. I developed a number of quite successful products for various clients in the areas of accounting, HR and Risk Management.
My last product is a web-based Risk Management system:
It is available online and the latest version, 10.1 has recently been released.