Biography

I’m a Whovian and political geek based in Manchester, UK. You might know me from:

  • Currybeer, a monthly social which I used to organise. Unsurprisingly we ate curry and (some of us) drank beer. There’s still an offshoot event running in Belgium.
  • Geek Walks, another monthly social I organise. We get the train to somewhere near Manchester, go for a walk, and end up in a pub for lunch.
  • UKUUG / FLOSS UK, where I served six years on Council (four as chairman). Sadly now defunct and the websites no longer work.
  • Manchester Linux Users’ Group, which I have attended since 2003.
  • NetMcr, a networking event for people working or interested in computer networks.
  • Manchester SciFi Book Club, a monthly discussion of science fiction books.
  • Barcamp Manchester, an annual unconference I attend most years, and have sponsored since 2018.
  • Manchester Classical Association, because of my interest in classics and ancient history. I also built the first two versions of the group’s website and looked after the hosting, and served as treasurer for several years. I’m no longer a member so you won’t see me at meetings.
  • Warrington U3A, where I attend the History group and give talks most years. You can find my talks at Ancient History UK.
  • MadLab, a co-working and events space which I used to work from and hosted several of the groups I attend.
  • Department of Computer Science at the University of Manchester, where I completed two degrees (BSc, MPhil) and worked as a member of staff.
  • Department of Classics, Ancient History, Archaeology and Egyptology at the University of Manchester, where I completed a postgraduate degree (MA).
  • X / Twitter, where I used to tweet about technology, trains, politics and Doctor Who. I’ve moved to Mastodon now and no longer tweet, and all my old tweets have been deleted. I still have an account for one DM group and to stop anyone else from taking my username.
  • Fosstodon, a Mastodon instance where I post about technology and Doctor Who.
  • Manchester’s Post Apocalyptic Book Club, which reviews books, hosts board game nights and has a film club.
  • Debian, where I help out with some of the conferences.
  • Goodreads and Rambling Readers, where I track my reading and post reviews of books.
  • UNaXcess (UA2), a BBS which is now defunct.