I am semi-retired but very active at 77. I am currently Director of Pastpresent, chair and trustee of a community development trust, and a Trustee of Community Hall. I am also Events Officer at the Medieval Free Company, a member of a working party on the Great Torrington History Alive 2022 community project, and a member of Torrington 100 – a social prescribing project.

My Fellowship was concerned with heritage interpretation and its use in promoting better understanding of our past and its relevance to today, in particular the use of costume to bring the past alive to catch the imagination of the visitor.

As a historian and educator, I have always tried to look beyond the headlines of history to the ordinary citizens and find ways to bring them to life today.

I was working for the National Trust at the time of my Fellowship. Following restructuring and redundancy I formed my own company Pastpresent, working in schools, museums and heritage sites, which I still do.

As we come out of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is interesting to see an apparent increase in interest in our history and the desire to discover more by visiting heritage sites.