Writing
Writing and publishing has been a growing interest since the days of the fight to save the Landscape Institute archive from being broken up. With it now safely in the hands of Reading University time has been available to resolve key personal and professional projects.
Books
Research on the biographical history of the lichenologist Charles du Bois Larbalestier broadened into the contribution of a lengthy section on the history of lichenology in Jersey and its international significance for the book The Lichens of Jersey. The section also discusses the input of other lichenologists and gives an insight into the world of botany before the existence of so many of the societies that we now take very much for granted.
With the publication of It's Warmer Down Below: the autobiography of Sir Harold Harding, 1900-1986, this long-awaited book has brought into publication the story of the 'tunneler extraordinaire' whose sense of humour, dignity and belief in civil engineering made virtually all who met him inspired and warmed by his contact. The book was published by Tilia Publishing UK in 2015 and launched at the Institution of Civil Engineers. It is available from www.tiliapublishinguk.co.uk for £19.95 plus p&p, with 5% of sales going to the Institution of Civil Engineers Benevolent Fund.
Further books are planned for 2016, including a children's wildlife book and a book on the churches of the South Downs National Park.
Also, several personal projects are ongoing, including:
Edmund Blair Leighton:
Setting an Artist in his World, developing the role of new patrons and new techniques and
evaluating the role of Sandemanians on developing the mind of a young artist.