Contractors were entrusted to provide the earliest days of my education. Unequalled for the buildability content obtained and for the appreciation of why the precision of specifications and design will sometimes not always be achievable in site conditions.

My site experience for the corporate engineering examination was gained at High Wycombe District General Hospital and Queens' College Cambridge over a two year period.

Following success in 1971 in The Institution of Structural Engineers corporate examination (awarded the A E Wynn Prize for exam success) I looked for employment with consulting engineers who could provide me with the widest possible experience.

I have put back into academic life much of my experience by tutoring at Universities over the course of my career.

My University teaching role renewed my own examination interest again and I applied to the RICS to see what was required from an engineer to become a Chartered Building Surveyor. The answer was two years at Reading University sitting the modules of Law, Building Technology and Planning and Development.

I have also proudly been associated with the British Cement Association who trained me to give seminars on aspects of design and construction.

An interest in dispute resolution was rewarded when I joined The Thames Valley Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and subsequently became Chairman.

There is a time in life when all the experience and qualifications amassed can be put to an even more rewarding purpose and that is the role of an Expert - I have been appointed as a single joint Expert by claimants’ and defendants’ instructing solicitors.