BRIAN'S PAGE

"LEAD ON, SMALL MOLLUSC"

I was born in 1948, in Portsmouth in Hampshire. Having said that, I’ve lived here in Cumbria longer than I’ve lived anywhere else so although I don’t necessarily think of myself as a northerner I don’t have any great loyalty to anywhere else either.

I’ve had a variety of careers; soldier, outdoor pursuits instructor, youth worker, educator.
At present I’m working in a number of ways in the field of education, principally with
the Open University and the Y.M.C.A. George Williams College.

My approach to education has been influenced by many thinkers, principally Paulo Freire and Ivan Illych. I believe that education should not be seen as a ticket out, an escape route as it is so often portrayed, but rather that it should be the tool with which to change your situation from where you are. Not a way out but a way in perhaps. I am committed to a philosophy of life-long learning and am a passionate de-schooler. I have no doubt that one day we shall look at schools as we now know them and wonder how we could ever have created such institutions. That day cannot come too soon. My day job is that of Home Maker (cook, chauffeur, handyman, shopper, plumber, mechanic, what have you) I make wine (an unpretentious little red) and beer (which ensures a good night's sleep and healthy bowels) and have a tremendous recipe for Cheesy Potato Bread.

How do you light this thing?

I’ve been into folk music since long before it was fashionable, (since 1964) and long after, and my kids think I’m the last of the hippies.
My particular favourites are traditional unaccompanied singers (if you can remember Peter Bellamy you’re probably as old as I am).
June Tabor and Sandy Denny are high on my list (for different reasons). I am moved by songs which promote a sense of social Justice, particularly the work of Dick Gaughan. Listen if you can to his version of Hamish Henderson's "Freedom Come All Ye", and be moved. By way of contrast, I am also into Fairport Convention and of course, Richard Thompson.
Most years we go to the Fairport Reunion at Cropredy, where we try to relive the summer of ‘67. (Pity we can’t have the bodies we had then).

I read widely and with a catholic taste which I expect shows a very disordered mind.
Favourite novelists would probably be Anthony Powell for the Dance to the Music of Time, Simon Raven for the Alms for Oblivion sequence and the First Born of Egypt, and the wonderful John Irving for A Prayer for Owen Meany.
By total and, I suspect completely inexplicable, contrast I enjoy Terry Pratchett and Robert Rankin.
If you've read Rankin you will never eat a sprout again.

I've always enjoyed solitude and the wilder places and have spent a considerable amount of time backpacking and sailing in pursuit of both. I find a great deal of satisfaction in the making of journeys. Those who posses a similarly restless spirit might draw some comfort from reading Bruce Chatwin, particularly the Songlines.

My sense of humour borders on the surreal, something which dates back to the earliest days of Monty Python. Which probably explains this.(be patient and look at the eyes)

In my work, and in my dealings with my fellow beings, I have found some thoughts and words to be helpful as I try to make a little (and it is only a little) sense of the journey. If you would like to share these you might try this page. Any reflections which you might wish to add would be most welcome.

If you've stayed with things this far, many thanks.
Take care,
Brian.

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The midi file playing on this page is "Planxty Irwin" which can be found on the excellent Reelmusic site