I started playing the flute on returning from Tanzania where I worked in Rural Development. My eldest son decided that the wonderful flute I had bought him was not so much fun as rugby and cycling! Since then I have never looked back.
I studied with a local musician - Bryn Lewis - and after a year or two we formed a woodwind band called Big Pyramid in Chichester. Following Bryn's death a few years ago I now run the band and arrange all our music for flutes, alto saxes, tenor and baritone sax, clarinet and base clarinet. There are now 20 in the band and we play mainly Glen Miller style music from the 30's and 40's.
We meet in Chichester on most Saturday mornings and perform for weddings and fetes. The picture on the left was taken at Fontwell race course.
One of my clarinet players was also an accomplished and well known woodwind engineer - Reg Thorp. Reg had a heart scare and decided to retire from repairing instruments. I had been looking for something to take me forward towards my retirement from the day job and so decided to train as an instrument repairer.
I undertook most of my training at the Malden School of Instrument Repair in Wales under Trevor Head and invested in tools and setting up a workshop. Later I was to become a professional member of NAMIR - the National Association of Musical Instrument Repairers.