.
.
There is enough here to cover the last twenty-five years or so within over fifteen countries.
.
.
About me - Career
To 1974
Trained in Hotel Management and Tourism and taught related subjects in colleges after working in the industry.
1974/7
Lecturer in Gastronomy at Surrey University. Was Departmental Admissions Tutor responsible for converting over 1200 applications for sixty-six places each year.
1977/83
Director, Edinburgh Hotel School at Telford College. Significantly involved in revising the Higher National Diploma Curriculum of Hotel Management courses throughout Scotland.
1983/8
Head of Faculty of Community Studies, Canterbury College. Also Open University Tutor to the Post-graduate Course in Post-Compulsory Education. Became its National Moderator and National Co-Examiner.
1988
Set up “Tourism Solutions” – a company specialising in Tourism Development and Tourism Marketing. As part of its activities, the company developed a cooperative network of UK companies seeking assistance.
The network later extended to Europe and further afield. Special projects arose in various countries which were interspersed with European activities. Meanwhile, other assignments arose of academic focus. They and other specific projects are now detailed within a long period of home-network activities.
1989
Three-month assignment at Haking Wong Technical Institute - a Tourism College in Hong Kong. Course development work carried out. The Hong Kong reaction to Tiananmen Square came half way through..
1990
Six-month assignment at Malta Institute of Tourism Studies. Curriculum development.
1992/3
One-year assignment at Schiller International University Campus near Lucerne as Dean. Course evaluation and curriculum development work carried out there and at the Strasbourg Campus.
1994/5
Home-network projects in Thailand, India, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, sometimes involving leading company representative groups needing specialised information and new network contacts.
1995
Some previous projects involved being asked to teach English. Trained as a TEFL teacher. “Teachers for Poland” in Hereford, UK asked me to teach at and evaluate two schools near the Ukraine border. Continued with network activities at the same time. (TEFL – Teaching English as a Foreign Language.)
“Disengagement/retirement” process began by winding down foreign and home-network projects.
1996 . . . .
Rented large house in Canterbury to academics and bought a seaside bungalow which I renovated. Retired ten years before normal age.
1998/01
Carried out short-term assignments as a Voluntary Advisor in Vietnam, Russia, Ukraine and Nepal for the British Executive Service Overseas.
.
Vietnam - advised an hotel group training college
.
Russia - advised a travel agent in St Petersburg on marketing
Ukraine - ditto in Kerch
Nepal - advised a hotel/tourism college on curricular matters
Since 2001, no projects have been undertaken. In November, 2008, this Gastronomy website was started.
Trained in Hotel Management and Tourism and taught related subjects in colleges after working in the industry.
1974/7
Lecturer in Gastronomy at Surrey University. Was Departmental Admissions Tutor responsible for converting over 1200 applications for sixty-six places each year.
1977/83
Director, Edinburgh Hotel School at Telford College. Significantly involved in revising the Higher National Diploma Curriculum of Hotel Management courses throughout Scotland.
1983/8
Head of Faculty of Community Studies, Canterbury College. Also Open University Tutor to the Post-graduate Course in Post-Compulsory Education. Became its National Moderator and National Co-Examiner.
1988
Set up “Tourism Solutions” – a company specialising in Tourism Development and Tourism Marketing. As part of its activities, the company developed a cooperative network of UK companies seeking assistance.
The network later extended to Europe and further afield. Special projects arose in various countries which were interspersed with European activities. Meanwhile, other assignments arose of academic focus. They and other specific projects are now detailed within a long period of home-network activities.
1989
Three-month assignment at Haking Wong Technical Institute - a Tourism College in Hong Kong. Course development work carried out. The Hong Kong reaction to Tiananmen Square came half way through..
1990
Six-month assignment at Malta Institute of Tourism Studies. Curriculum development.
1992/3
One-year assignment at Schiller International University Campus near Lucerne as Dean. Course evaluation and curriculum development work carried out there and at the Strasbourg Campus.
1994/5
Home-network projects in Thailand, India, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, sometimes involving leading company representative groups needing specialised information and new network contacts.
1995
Some previous projects involved being asked to teach English. Trained as a TEFL teacher. “Teachers for Poland” in Hereford, UK asked me to teach at and evaluate two schools near the Ukraine border. Continued with network activities at the same time. (TEFL – Teaching English as a Foreign Language.)
“Disengagement/retirement” process began by winding down foreign and home-network projects.
1996 . . . .
Rented large house in Canterbury to academics and bought a seaside bungalow which I renovated. Retired ten years before normal age.
1998/01
Carried out short-term assignments as a Voluntary Advisor in Vietnam, Russia, Ukraine and Nepal for the British Executive Service Overseas.
.
Vietnam - advised an hotel group training college
.
Russia - advised a travel agent in St Petersburg on marketing
Ukraine - ditto in Kerch
Nepal - advised a hotel/tourism college on curricular matters
Since 2001, no projects have been undertaken. In November, 2008, this Gastronomy website was started.
Leisure pursuits
Community Interests
Age Concern – Fund-raiser, “handyman” and Lone Worker.
WRVS – driver for people with surgery, hospital etc appointments.
Scouting – one-time Senior Scout Leader and former Chairman of Ross Scout Group. Wrote a song and bagpipe tune for the 2007 Centenary.
http://ross-on-wye-scout-groupxmaslogcabin.blogspot.com/
Tools for Self Reliance – refurbishing old tools to send to Africa
http://toolsthatchange.blogspot.com/
Piping -
The Ross-on--Wye Rotary Christmas lunch for the elderly alone.
Fund-raising for charities – bagpipe concerts, galas, Burns events etc such as three Brampton Hall [near Ross-on-Wye]dinners.
Remembrance Day – in WW2 Cameron Highlander uniform
My bagpipe tune for the Scouting Centenary 2007 was published in the magazine of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association in the same year.
In Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, UK all the news from miles around is on the net. Burns-season 2009 coverage included me. If you click this link, you will see a screen on the left. It has a control slider at the bottom. Move it to a little past half way across. Alan and Tina Wood introduce a Burns event where I address the haggis.
http://www.wyenot.com/news/wntv090128.htm
Associations
Member of the International Wine and Food Society
Member of the Chaine des Rotisseurs.
Member of the the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association
Other music
Guitar music – play the Flamenco guitar and a little early Spanish classical guitar music.
Play camp-fire and other informal music.
Opera and operetta – especially G & S.
Motorhome
Motorhome holidays occasionally combining military re-enactment in the form of WW2 Piper.
http://www.themotorcaravanclub.co.uk/ is my related website
DIY
ambitious projects included the seaside bungalow mentioned in the Career section. Combine motorhome and DIY interests when static.
Computing
It helps in ancestry searches, Age Concern and Tools for Self Reliance fund-raising.
Computing is combined with DIY and cooking since my wife became more disabled. It led to a website for the Ross Scout Group. On that is an ‘electrified’ Christmas log cabin cake and links to full instructions. See above.
Ancestry – we have found living relatives previously unheard of.
.
Writing
The Haggis book will continue until I look for a publisher. It is found via the Hggis button.
I have recently finished "Education Across the Board" a text book which I will place on the internet in due course. I have also finished a book "Health Education and Food" which pursues the material included in this website.
It will also be placed on the internet along with the first two books and the Scottish Social History book.
To summarise -
"Gastronomy" and "Are We Really What We Eat? . .." can be perused at http://www.avrf23.dsl.pipex.com/
"The Haggis and Other Stories: A History of Scottish Food and Hospitality" - most of it is on this website. The book will appear alongside the first two books in due course.
"Education Across the Board" and "Health Education and Food" are complete apart from indexing etc and will appear with the other three books in December 09. The former is outlined on the Ancillary Topics page in the main web-site.
Several papers appear on this website. A list with links is found via the link at the top of this page.
.
If others included in the publications list are of interest, just contact me at
avrf23@dsl.pipex.com