Profile

I enjoy working with chemicals to manufacture the starting materials for very complex drugs. Not only does this involve me handling chemicals but I drive a fork lift truck and I am a St John First Aider.

I began in stargazing some 20+ years ago and this has taken me on some wonderful holidays all over the world to see 3 total solar eclipses [so far with one more in the pipeline], The Aurora Borealis – from Iceland and the UK twice, The transit of Venus [twice] and of Mercury [once].

I enjoy going to places where I can stargaze free from light pollution but also countries and places in the UK that have interesting natural beauty, special animals and/or the Wonders of the World – natural, technological and man-made; such as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Mauna Kea

I have worked on the same site for 25 years with 4 different employers.

My work involves the handling of challenging chemicals in bulk and ensuring that they are mixed in the right quantities and in the right way to get the desired product.

I sometimes work shifts and I work with a wide range of other functions on the site where I work.

In 2008 I had an article about the Chinese 2008 Total Solar Eclipse published in the work’s magazine and this led to an invite to Hyderabad in India to meet a group of amateur astronomers. This led me to do a very special vacation to visit the Taj Mahal and much more.

My day starts with checking out any emails from my boss about the tasks for the day. This is followed by a Team briefing to plan what needs to be done, in what order and if there are any special activities that need to be planned in on behalf of other people.

Then its in the manufacturing areas to order materials and check the availabilities of supplies and consumables.

We are then given an operating manual that details the steps to be taken to do the work for the day. Each step of the manual needs to be read through so we know what the manufacturing activity is and where we have to get do during my shift.

Then its on with the process which involves charging and discharging materials, taking readings, taking samples for testing, monitoring progress to make sure that we stick to the operating parameters that are defined in the operating manual – otherwise that could compromise our safety and adversely affect the quality of the product.