How long have you been with the British Council?
I joined the British Council in August 2010 having spent ten years working as a teacher and a manager for a language provider in China. My first post with the British Council was in Khartoum, Sudan, and I loved it! I stayed in Sudan for five years in the role of Teaching Centre Manager and thoroughly enjoyed supporting the English language development of both Sudanese and South Sudanese Students in Khartoum, Juba, and at state level in Sudan and South Sudan.
Why did you join?
Well, after ten years in China I was ready for a change! The British Council appealed as it not only provides fantastic career development opportunities put also the chance to make a genuinely positive impact on people’s lives around the world.
If I had a lot of money, I would…
Travel, travel, and travel some more! We live on a truly amazing planet full of incredible landscapes, people and cultures. The lessons that we can learn from immersing ourselves in different environments are phenomenal and it’s something that I get a lot of energy from.
The book or film that has influenced me most…
With two young children the opportunity to relax in front of a good film or read a good book is fairly rare! However, when I do select a film or a book to engross myself in, I tend towards selecting something non-fiction and usually related to the country I’m travelling or working in. During the time I spent in China, I read a lot of books about the Cultural Revolution and the impact that it had on the people that lived through it and the generations that followed. Nowadays, it’s kids stories every day and I take great delight from reading bedtime stories to my children each evening.
My most treasured possession is….
I learnt a long time ago that I can live happily without material possessions so this is a difficult question to answer! While I wouldn’t consider it a possession, the thing that I treasure the most in my life is my family, who put a smile on my face every day.
The strangest experience I have ever had was…
Once upon a time, many years ago, I was travelling through India as a young adult. It was an amazing experience and one that I would recommend to everyone! However, one thing I wouldn’t recommend would be riding on the rooftops of the busses. One January morning, I was riding on the top of a bus travelling to a hill station in south India, when an extremely large tree came towards me. In the next instant I was flying through the air in a reverse summersault as I was catapulted from roof of the bus onto the road. I picked myself up, got myself to the nearest hospital, which was a three hour drive away, and had what turned out to be a broken wrist operated on and put back together. Now, three months later, thousands of miles away when I was in the north of India I was sat next to another young man on a bus heading into the desert, when he began telling me a story about a someone who was flipped off the top of a moving bus! I was famous! Even weirder, when I flew back to England and took the train home from Manchester, I found myself sitting next to the wife of the doctor who had operated on me in South India six months earlier!
My favourite city...
Urumqi in the far west of China. Not only is it the beating heart of the largest and perhaps the most diverse province in China but it was the city in which I met my wife and began my career as a English teacher.
Three things I would take to a desert island are...
Sunscreen, a guitar, and something with which to light a fire!
My favourite cuisine is…
Asian! Whether it’s Chinese, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, or Indonesian! I love the colour, I love the spice, and I love the concept that dishes laid out on the table are shared amongst those dining.
Something I hope to do in the next year is …
Scuba diving! I’ve never been scuba diving and living in Egypt I have the perfect opportunity to explore what I hear is a truly incredible underwater world.
The best piece of advice anyone has ever given me is …
The best piece of advice I was ever given was to take opportunities when they come along! Good opportunities don’t come along very often in life and when they do we should brave enough to embrace them even if it’s unclear where they will lead us.