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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ken was born in 1945 In Barrow-in-Furness in Lancashire (now Cumbria), UK. As a child he lived in Dagenham, and Braintree, both in the county of Essex. He passed his 11+ exam. and went to the local grammar school. He joined the Boy Scouts, became a patrol leader, then troop leader. He enjoyed rope work, building two wooden bridge ends made of poles lashed together, with a strong rope running between them on which we walked. It was great fun. At school he enjoyed gymnastics, cross-country running, maths, french, and physics. He went to Exeter to gain a BSc. In Maths, then to London School of Economics (LSE) to gain an MSc. in Statistics, in which he was given a Distinction. For study at both universities he was fortunate to have a grant, some of which he saved towards a house deposit by cycling to and from the college, at one point being in the centre lane of five lanes of traffic. He had to keep alert, but he wouldn’t do that now due to increased traffic levels. In parallel with Ken’s studies, Guinette trained to be a State Registered Nurse. (SRN).

With both studies completed in 1967, Ken and Guinette were married, and went to live in Maidstone, Kent. Ken worked for Reed Paper Company, and Guinette worked as a nurse in the operating theatre of West Kent General Hospital, assisting surgeons sometimes in the middle of the night when there had been a road traffic accident. After two years Ken went to work as a statistician at one of Unilever’s research laboratories. At different times while he was there, he was secretary of the Christian Union, treasurer of the Croquet Club and chairman of the Music Society, singing and playing the piano as needed. Once a year we organised a charity concert and a Christmas Carol concert during the lunchtime. When our children were old enough to be left in someone else’s care for an hour or two, Guinette became a district nurse, but her nursing career ended when she sustained a back injury at work. Following that she was paid part-time to advise nurses who had been injured at work. This advice was so valued that she was invited to receive an MBE from the queen.Ken was involved in the local church, sometimes teaching in Sunday School, sometimes leading a teenage meeting on Sunday evening, sometimes lay preaching in a variety of local churches. We were also concerned for harmony in church, and for that reason we trained as MBTI practitioners and led workshops on Understanding People, in both this country, and in Kenya.