If you happen to be studying economics, or are just interested in what the subject might be about, I give away a lot of free economics stuff, including a book and several articles, at:

TEXTBOOK REVOLUTION

Free educational material including textbooks and notes available here





HELP THE POOR!
PLAY A  GAME NOW THAT SENDS FREE RICE TO THE HUNGRY and can  help improve your vocab. - which, who knows, might help you to improve your grades

TEST PREP   PREVIEW
This site allows you to practice tests on line, provides you with an assessment, and may improve your overall performance.
GRAD SCHOOL TIPS
This site supplies sound advice for those considering a postgraduate degree.
To obtain any of the free things, click on the appropriate "Free download" link to get what you want.


1. LATEST BOOK!  Going to University: the Secrets of
Success, Kewei Press, ISBN 978-0-9561823-0-2
NEW REVISED AND EXPANDED
EDITION DUE OUT IN AUGUST 2009!

"Great for students going straight from college" Aisha V Shawcross

"Five Stars....invaluable for anyone thinking about going to uni,
enrolling in uni, or already at uni. I highly recommend it"
Michael Bower

If you want to get better marks in exams and improve your chances  of going to the university of your choice then this is the book for you. It will also teach you valuable skills that later on can help you get a better job and be promoted; these are benefits that will last you all your life. The valuable life-skills include some to help you to cope with stress and relax when you are working hard; and others can help you to make good presentations that influence people to your views. The Universities & Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) likes it and is now selling it in the UK.

Free CD! If you buy it direct from the publisher for £9.99 (Currently on Special for only £6.95) you will receive an autographed copy, free postage within the UK (and only £1 postage elsewhere in the EU), and a free bonus CD  containing 21 articles: 8 studying-related, 11 economics-related, plus one on Chinese history and one on Japanese culture. Something for everyone! Did I mention there is a free "Sneak-a-Peak" too?

2. How  to Succeed as a Student  - a FREE BOOK - true value there!
Improve your learning and writing skill, study efficiently, save time for a better social life, improve your results in exams and score higher grades in college and university. Help for the university student doing a degree and those in grades 11-12. It is 140 pages long. I wrote this for my Uni students and we sold it at cost. Now free online for everybody, it is an early version of list item 9 below, and is the work that in the end led to item 1, above.  Free download.

3. NOW IN PAPERBACK:  Japan: Doing Business in a Unique Culture. 

"Worth reading", The Cerebyte Wisdom Journal, August 2008

"5 Stars - Very informative and well written....it is clear the author
has a real and deep understanding of his subject and I would
recommend anyone entering in business relationships with Japan to
read this book carefully." Johnny Zeven, Belgium

The book deals with Japanese culture and the approach focuses on getting
along with the  Japanese, with emphasis on negotiation. In more formal
terms, it covers cross-cultural issues and the use of proper business
etiquette. The book was published in electronic format in January 2005 and
is available online from several book sellers, including Amazon.com. It is
most suitable for business people in the Asian market, government officials,
students taking Asian studies, grad students undertaking cross-cultural communication or management courses or going for a straight MBA degree. Chambers of Commerce and resident expats could benefit, as might tourists, as they would understand more of what is going on about them. It is now being translated into Italian. ISBN 9781932482324 

Read more about it and order it if you wish by clicking here, To buy now from  Amazon.com (USA) click here; or to buy from Amazon.co.uk click here. 

4. Chinese Business Etiquette and Culture. Boson Books, 2002,ISBN 0917990447.

"5 Stars. This is an excellent book" Charles Brennan

"An excellent book" Andrew Williamson

"Invaluable!! If you ever need to do business in China then don't
start anything until you've read this book. It will save you time,
money and your sanity! After reading this book we took advice from
it and saved a valuable business deal..." Shanghai Expat

This book could have the title "Doing Business with China". Valuable for
business people trading with China or investing there, as well as public
servants dealing with economic issues, and students studying cross-
cultural issues or Asian management,  perhaps for the MBA. 267 pages.
Second edition 2002.

Check out other information about it and see the Contents page, the Preface and Chapter 1. To buy now in paperback from Amazon.com (USA) click here or from Amazon UK click here, Also available as an E-book from Mobipocket, Cyberread and elsewhere - Google it and make your choice!

5. FREE! - An Introduction to Economics: Economic Notes
for the GCE A-Level in the UK.
I was going to publish these notes as a book, but decided that I would
probably never get around to  finishing it. The book covers an entire
course, both microeconomics and macroeconomics, and was prepared for
the GCE Advanced Level in Economics papers. This exam is designed for
university entrance in the UK and the course is normally taken in the last
two years of high school. The notes might also be useful for first year
college work or business economics if you (or your students) are just
starting out. These notes could help you to pass your exams or improve
your exam results. You can take the entire book or just the parts of the

6. FREE! Tips for the Graduate Student. Help for all those starting research, students doing independent study courses, or those in their final year of university. 8 pages.  Free download.

7. FREE! Microeconomics Notes.  Revision notes - strictly for beginners. 14 pages. 
Free download.

8. China and the Open Door Policy.  Allen & Unwin, 1989. 169 pages. Out of print. Now that I have finished Going to University (see item 1 above) I am thinking of republishing it myself  - people keep borrowing it from libraries and I get occasional requests for a copy (none left now).

9. Studying at University: how to make a success of your academic course. How-To Books, 1996, 136 pages. Out of print in English but it is available in Chinese (China Youth Publishing, Beijing, 2001 as Zou Jin Da Xue) ; trust me, it takes quite a while to learn to read the language, but this version will at least fit into your pocket. How-To Books have now made it available again, this time in E-book form, via NetLibrary.com (http://www.netlibrary.com/)

10. The New Cambridge Handbook of Contemporary China, CUP, 2001.
I wrote Chapter 6, "China's economy".

11. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, OUP, 2004. I did the entry on Derek Bentley who was hanged in 1953 for a murder that he did not commit and which occurred while Bentley was actually in police custody, a fact known to the court. Bentley was feeble-minded with an IQ of only 66.  Lord Chief Justice Goddard is now officially blamed for running a grossly unfair trial and misdirecting the jury, causing Bentley to be hanged. The case is one of the more infamous miscarriages of justice in the UK. Bentley was finally given a posthumous pardon in 1998 and Goddard was heavily criticised. Posthumous pardons may be nice but they do not bring people back to life.

12. FREE!  "A List of Words Commonly Used in Exam Questions and What They Mean."
Words and phrases like "account for","evaluate", or "trace" in exam questions can suggest your best approach to the question.Check out this free list by clicking here. It may improve your answer and gain you better marks.

13. FREE!  "Mature Students - University Certainly is for You"
An article that reveals your strengths, shows you what adjustments you may have to make, and encourages you to go to college; and it's free.  Download now - in RTF format that all word processors should be able to read.

14. FREE!  "The Most Imortant Elements in Japanese Culture"
An article that was originally written for business people working with or in Japan, and public servants working in the sphere of negotiating across cultures, it would be relevant for an MBA student studying Asian business management. It is also of general interest. Click here.

15. FREE!  "How to Increase Your Motivation and Tackle Procrastination: A Practical Guide for Students"
Tips and advice to help you do better at university or high school. Many of the suggestions could help you, even if you are not a student. Click here.

16. Kevin B. Bucknall's Cultural Guide to Doing Business in China, Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford, England, July 1994.

Their marketing people insisted on having my name in the title;
I thought they were wrong then, and I still think so!

It is well out of print now.
               




        Less than fascinating personal stuff

Who am I?

An ancient academic, born in Yorkshire, England, but spent most of my adult life in Australia and Asia (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand). Trained in economics, worked for the UN and various universities, speak Chinese - but slowly forgetting it (sadly!) and know enough French to survive without actually starving to death.  Now retired to Primrose Hill in London, an area of actors, artists, drunkards, musicians, writers and similar sundry bohemians. Oscar winner 2000 Sam Mendes lives locally, as does Jamie Oliver, Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Alan Bennett, Ewan McGregor, Robert Plant, Joan Bakewell....  Fay Weldon lived here for many years but eventually moved out.

I was  at university with Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, was invited to go and hear him play in a pub on the Thames in 1961 when he was totally unknown, but felt I was too busy. What an idiot I was, a google curses; I could have drunk beer with Sir Mick!

Still driving an old Ford Fiesta with the (for a small car in England) luxury of airconditioning.  Recent reading:  Indra Sinha, Animal's People; Ivo Andric, The Bridge over the Drina. I like on TV: "24" (great Kiefer Sutherland); "House" (Go Hugh Laurie!); and (don't wince) "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (funny script, nice martial arts and acting, although my friend John Pocklington suggests that Freud would have something to say about my interest in Buffy. Actually, I have not told him but Spike is actually my favourite). And I enjoy "The West Wing" the American President in the White House series - great script Aaron! By the by, I came across a nice statement recently "Wagner's music is better than it sounds." Not bad, hey what?

I was the Press Officer for a book Primrose Hill Remembered, a history of the area in which I live,  based on peoples reminiscences. It came out in 2001 and sold out in 9 months. I was one of a gang of four who put together In Primrose Hill (a "What's Where" booklet) in 2003. Back in Feb.- Mar. 2006, I appeared in an exhibition by Tino Sehgal at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London; he designs situations that are based on movement and the spoken word - you're right, I moved about and spoke. My legs certainly ached after going up and down all those stairs!

Happily married to Sieska for nineteen years now, but who wouldn't be?

Why are many of the books and files free? Why not? One should contribute something to the world, to mark one's passage through it. I prefer to leave some trace of myself,  however insignificant. But I think that Woody Allen had a point when he said he preferred to achieve immortality by living for ever, rather than through his works.

My Greatest Contribution? The invention of Simulcast, you know, that way of watching TV and listening to stereo sound on FM radio. I came up with the concept in the 1960s and gave it to the BBC in London who ran radio & TV separately until then. They developed the idea and now it is in use round the world.  Honest I did!  (They never paid me anything for it either, curses, curses).  I thought of it as a way of solving the problem of subtitled foreign films when the white words appear over snow and thus disappear - but the Beeb did not pick up on that element. It would have involved paying actors - the Beeb no doubt felt lunches for the top brass were more important than keeping actors from starving. Actually, it is hard to say where the Beeb spends its money.....do you know that even Parliament cannot examine the BBC's financial accounts despite it being funded by the tax payers?  At last they are talking about eventually allowing this, which I guess is a start.

What do I look like? Despite my strong inner feeling that I bear a fascinating resemblance to the  younger Tom Cruise, my friends and the mirror assure me that this is untrue. So that you can judge for yourself, here are a couple of photographs.
Some of my books and articles
(And towards the end a bit of information about me; honestly, it's barely worth waiting for)
Then - when a musician in Malaysia and Singapore, in 1958 aged 20. Here I am playhing clarinet and alto sax in C.N. and Tony  Lim's nightclub band at the Kinta Swimming Club in Ipoh. A truly huge spider lived on the bandstand --- darn thing crawled across my music once as I was playing; and I suddenly discovered that I could swivel my thighs at 90 degrees to my trunk and still not miss a note....now that's what I call practical yoga!
Now that age has taken its toll - although the alternative to ageing definitely seems worse to me.....
To obtain any of the free things, click on the appropriate "Free download" link to get what you want.


1. LATEST BOOK!  Going to University: the Secrets of
Success, Kewei Press, ISBN 978-0-9561823-0-2
NEW REVISED AND EXPANDED
EDITION DUE OUT IN AUGUST 2009!

"Great for students going straight from college" Aisha V Shawcross

"Five Stars....invaluable for anyone thinking about going to uni,
enrolling in uni, or already at uni. I highly recommend it"
Michael Bower

If you want to get better marks in exams and improve your chances  of going to the university of your choice then this is the book for you. It will also teach you valuable skills that later on can help you get a better job and be promoted; these are benefits that will last you all your life. The valuable life-skills include some to help you to cope with stress and relax when you are working hard; and others can help you to make good presentations that influence people to your views. The Universities & Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) likes it and is now selling it in the UK.

Free CD! If you buy it direct from the publisher for £9.99 (Currently on Special for only £6.95) you will receive an autographed copy, free postage within the UK (and only £1 postage elsewhere in the EU), and a free bonus CD  containing 21 articles: 8 studying-related, 11 economics-related, plus one on Chinese history and one on Japanese culture. Something for everyone! Did I mention there is a free "Sneak-a-Peak" too?

2. How  to Succeed as a Student  - a FREE BOOK - true value there!
Improve your learning and writing skill, study efficiently, save time for a better social life, improve your results in exams and score higher grades in college and university. Help for the university student doing a degree and those in grades 11-12. It is 140 pages long. I wrote this for my Uni students and we sold it at cost. Now free online for everybody, it is an early version of list item 9 below, and is the work that in the end led to item 1, above.  Free download.

3. NOW IN PAPERBACK:  Japan: Doing Business in a Unique Culture. 

"Worth reading", The Cerebyte Wisdom Journal, August 2008

"5 Stars - Very informative and well written....it is clear the author
has a real and deep understanding of his subject and I would
recommend anyone entering in business relationships with Japan to
read this book carefully." Johnny Zeven, Belgium

The book deals with Japanese culture and the approach focuses on getting
along with the  Japanese, with emphasis on negotiation. In more formal
terms, it covers cross-cultural issues and the use of proper business
etiquette. The book was published in electronic format in January 2005 and
is available online from several book sellers, including Amazon.com. It is
most suitable for business people in the Asian market, government officials,
students taking Asian studies, grad students undertaking cross-cultural communication or management courses or going for a straight MBA degree. Chambers of Commerce and resident expats could benefit, as might tourists, as they would understand more of what is going on about them. It is now being translated into Italian. ISBN 9781932482324 

Read more about it and order it if you wish by clicking here, To buy now from  Amazon.com (USA) click here; or to buy from Amazon.co.uk click here. 

4. Chinese Business Etiquette and Culture. Boson Books, 2002,ISBN 0917990447.

"5 Stars. This is an excellent book" Charles Brennan

"An excellent book" Andrew Williamson

"Invaluable!! If you ever need to do business in China then don't
start anything until you've read this book. It will save you time,
money and your sanity! After reading this book we took advice from
it and saved a valuable business deal..." Shanghai Expat

This book could have the title "Doing Business with China". Valuable for
business people trading with China or investing there, as well as public
servants dealing with economic issues, and students studying cross-
cultural issues or Asian management,  perhaps for the MBA. 267 pages.
Second edition 2002.

Check out other information about it and see the Contents page, the Preface and Chapter 1. To buy now in paperback from Amazon.com (USA) click here or from Amazon UK click here, Also available as an E-book from Mobipocket, Cyberread and elsewhere - Google it and make your choice!

5. FREE! - An Introduction to Economics: Economic Notes
for the GCE A-Level in the UK.
I was going to publish these notes as a book, but decided that I would
probably never get around to  finishing it. The book covers an entire
course, both microeconomics and macroeconomics, and was prepared for
the GCE Advanced Level in Economics papers. This exam is designed for
university entrance in the UK and the course is normally taken in the last
two years of high school. The notes might also be useful for first year
college work or business economics if you (or your students) are just
starting out. These notes could help you to pass your exams or improve
your exam results. You can take the entire book or just the parts of the

6. FREE! Tips for the Graduate Student. Help for all those starting research, students doing independent study courses, or those in their final year of university. 8 pages.  Free download.

7. FREE! Microeconomics Notes.  Revision notes - strictly for beginners. 14 pages. 
Free download.

8. China and the Open Door Policy.  Allen & Unwin, 1989. 169 pages. Out of print. Now that I have finished Going to University (see item 1 above) I am thinking of republishing it myself  - people keep borrowing it from libraries and I get occasional requests for a copy (none left now).

9. Studying at University: how to make a success of your academic course. How-To Books, 1996, 136 pages. Out of print in English but it is available in Chinese (China Youth Publishing, Beijing, 2001 as Zou Jin Da Xue) ; trust me, it takes quite a while to learn to read the language, but this version will at least fit into your pocket. How-To Books have now made it available again, this time in E-book form, via NetLibrary.com (http://www.netlibrary.com/)

10. The New Cambridge Handbook of Contemporary China, CUP, 2001.
I wrote Chapter 6, "China's economy".

11. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, OUP, 2004. I did the entry on Derek Bentley who was hanged in 1953 for a murder that he did not commit and which occurred while Bentley was actually in police custody, a fact known to the court. Bentley was feeble-minded with an IQ of only 66.  Lord Chief Justice Goddard is now officially blamed for running a grossly unfair trial and misdirecting the jury, causing Bentley to be hanged. The case is one of the more infamous miscarriages of justice in the UK. Bentley was finally given a posthumous pardon in 1998 and Goddard was heavily criticised. Posthumous pardons may be nice but they do not bring people back to life.

12. FREE!  "A List of Words Commonly Used in Exam Questions and What They Mean."
Words and phrases like "account for","evaluate", or "trace" in exam questions can suggest your best approach to the question.Check out this free list by clicking here. It may improve your answer and gain you better marks.

13. FREE!  "Mature Students - University Certainly is for You"
An article that reveals your strengths, shows you what adjustments you may have to make, and encourages you to go to college; and it's free.  Download now - in RTF format that all word processors should be able to read.

14. FREE!  "The Most Imortant Elements in Japanese Culture"
An article that was originally written for business people working with or in Japan, and public servants working in the sphere of negotiating across cultures, it would be relevant for an MBA student studying Asian business management. It is also of general interest. Click here.

15. FREE!  "How to Increase Your Motivation and Tackle Procrastination: A Practical Guide for Students"
Tips and advice to help you do better at university or high school. Many of the suggestions could help you, even if you are not a student. Click here.

16. Kevin B. Bucknall's Cultural Guide to Doing Business in China, Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford, England, July 1994.

Their marketing people insisted on having my name in the title;
I thought they were wrong then, and I still think so!

It is well out of print now.
               




        Less than fascinating personal stuff

Who am I?

An ancient academic, born in Yorkshire, England, but spent most of my adult life in Australia and Asia (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand). Trained in economics, worked for the UN and various universities, speak Chinese - but slowly forgetting it (sadly!) and know enough French to survive without actually starving to death.  Now retired to Primrose Hill in London, an area of actors, artists, drunkards, musicians, writers and similar sundry bohemians. Oscar winner 2000 Sam Mendes lives locally, as does Jamie Oliver, Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Alan Bennett, Ewan McGregor, Robert Plant, Joan Bakewell....  Fay Weldon lived here for many years but eventually moved out.

I was  at university with Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, was invited to go and hear him play in a pub on the Thames in 1961 when he was totally unknown, but felt I was too busy. What an idiot I was, a google curses; I could have drunk beer with Sir Mick!

Still driving an old Ford Fiesta with the (for a small car in England) luxury of airconditioning.  Recent reading:  Indra Sinha, Animal's People; Ivo Andric, The Bridge over the Drina. I like on TV: "24" (great Kiefer Sutherland); "House" (Go Hugh Laurie!); and (don't wince) "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (funny script, nice martial arts and acting, although my friend John Pocklington suggests that Freud would have something to say about my interest in Buffy. Actually, I have not told him but Spike is actually my favourite). And I enjoy "The West Wing" the American President in the White House series - great script Aaron! By the by, I came across a nice statement recently "Wagner's music is better than it sounds." Not bad, hey what?

I was the Press Officer for a book Primrose Hill Remembered, a history of the area in which I live,  based on peoples reminiscences. It came out in 2001 and sold out in 9 months. I was one of a gang of four who put together In Primrose Hill (a "What's Where" booklet) in 2003. Back in Feb.- Mar. 2006, I appeared in an exhibition by Tino Sehgal at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London; he designs situations that are based on movement and the spoken word - you're right, I moved about and spoke. My legs certainly ached after going up and down all those stairs!

Happily married to Sieska for nineteen years now, but who wouldn't be?

Why are many of the books and files free? Why not? One should contribute something to the world, to mark one's passage through it. I prefer to leave some trace of myself,  however insignificant. But I think that Woody Allen had a point when he said he preferred to achieve immortality by living for ever, rather than through his works.

My Greatest Contribution? The invention of Simulcast, you know, that way of watching TV and listening to stereo sound on FM radio. I came up with the concept in the 1960s and gave it to the BBC in London who ran radio & TV separately until then. They developed the idea and now it is in use round the world.  Honest I did!  (They never paid me anything for it either, curses, curses).  I thought of it as a way of solving the problem of subtitled foreign films when the white words appear over snow and thus disappear - but the Beeb did not pick up on that element. It would have involved paying actors - the Beeb no doubt felt lunches for the top brass were more important than keeping actors from starving. Actually, it is hard to say where the Beeb spends its money.....do you know that even Parliament cannot examine the BBC's financial accounts despite it being funded by the tax payers?  At last they are talking about eventually allowing this, which I guess is a start.

What do I look like? Despite my strong inner feeling that I bear a fascinating resemblance to the  younger Tom Cruise, my friends and the mirror assure me that this is untrue. So that you can judge for yourself, here are a couple of photographs.

This page was last updated
on: July 8, 2009






But in the words of William Butler Yeats.....

"Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."

Actually, I rather think that Yeat's words might sound better as "Tread softly, for you tread upon my dreams".  But I must be wrong - Yeats WAS good!




























And while we're at it, given that millions of people seem to remember the words:


"Alas, poor Yorick!
I knew him well"


and not as the play
actually says:


"Alas, poor Yorick!
I knew him, Horatio"



Should we perhaps  wonder if Shakespeare, the master, might have got it wrong?           


GRAD SCHOOL TIPS
This site supplies sound advice for those considering a postgraduate degree.
TEST PREP   PREVIEW
This site allows you to practice tests on line, provides you with an assessment, and may improve your overall performance.
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Some Links That You Might Find Useful:
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HELP THE POOR!
PLAY A  GAME NOW THAT SENDS FREE RICE TO THE HUNGRY and can  help improve your vocab. - which, who knows, might help you to improve your grades

Free Stuff
The free study book, the free economics book, and free tips for starting your research etc are on this site! Head down the main panel for anything marked "FREE".
TEXTBOOK REVOLUTION

Free educational material including textbooks and notes available here
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They say that age shall not weary them.....  hmmm...  I'm sure I had more energy when I was 20 and I
know that I was faster than that spider....

My Family

Two lovely daughters, Carolyne and Fiona, both now adult and living in Brisbane, Australia, and a splendid grandson, James, who is both intelligent and good at sports. This is a very desirable and potent mixture, one that I have always lacked. Somehow, when I was a child and the kids were choosing who would be on their team for a quick game of something or other, I generally seemed to be the last but one selected. Well, it could have been one worse I suppose....    Keep on playing that trumpet, James!

A Very Potted Resume
I was a high school drop-out and left at fifteen; this was normal for that period for a member of the working class. I had to leave school to contribute to the family income and get a job. After spending time as a rent collector and office junior, I worked briefly on a market garden, then in a record shop, before going into the army. Ah, National Service, those were the days. Horrible days.

I managed to get into the band of the King's Dragoon Guards and worked my way up the clarinet line from third to first clarinet, via ripieno, a word that you do not come across every day. Then I was suddenly switched (it was the army - what did my views matter?) to first alto sax. During this time, whenever possible I drank too much, always ate too little (have you tried army food?) and was as bored as a piece of juicy soft wood poked into a termites nest and left to fend for itself. I was a hopeless soldier and as a natural rebel, did not fit in. The only attribute that I possessed of any value was when they discovered I was a good shot with a rifle. Surprisingly, it turned out that I was in the top one percent and if I had had more than two hours sleep the night before the trial and had not been hungover at the time, I think I would have made the top half of one percent and then been in the Regimental Shooting Team. Ah me, what I may have missed. Serves me right for playing in the a Chinese band in an out-of-bounds night-club until four in the morning of course (see photo above). The army might have warned me about the forthcoming test, but no! I picked up some Cantonese from my fellow musicians and developed a taste for Chinese food, especially the Malaysian variety. I lived with the C.N. Lim's family in Ipoh at every chance I could get, played in their band, and began to learn about the brilliant Chinese culture. Playing sax in a Chinese strip club in Singapore's New World entertainment park for a time probably influenced me too - well, when one is twenty year's old........ And that was "sax" by the way.

Demobbed in the middle of a Yorkshire winter with a suitcase full of tropical clothes, I learned that teeth really DO chatter when cold enough; it is not just a phrase. My only other posession was an alto saxophone and the laquer was pealing off that. It was then, at the less than tender age of twenty-one, that I decided this was ridiculous, I had to do something with my life. So I began to study, passed my exams, and went off to the London School of Economics, a college of London University. Finally stopped gigging around in bands after two car crashes made me realise that the winter Yorkshire fog and ice do not mix well with (cough! cough!) the tired and emotional musician who is driving..

At LSE, I studied politics, philosophy, history and economics, and finally specialised in the last-named. After gaining a B.Sc. I went on to study Chinese for a year before going off to live in Hong Kong for a couple of years. I then joined the staff at London Uni (the School of Oriental and African Studies) in 1967 and taught for two years before joining the UN and going to Thailand. I had started work on a Ph.D. thesis by then but had little time in the UN to continue it, so after two interesting years in Bangkok I went to Australia (the Australian National University) and finished it there. And I stayed; no one had ever told me what a great country Oz  was and the wine was superb. Back then, as a grad student I drank really good Penfold's red which cost just twice the price of the cheapest plonk. Now I cannot afford to drink such wines - those I used to drink are now up to fifteen times the price of plonk. If only the world had not discovered Penfold I would still be able to enjoy the product! I have realised, incidentally, that changes in the standard of living are well measured by The Price of WineTest rather than the more popular and generally available Index of Retail Prices. I really should suggest this to the government.

After two years working for the Australian government in Canberra, I moved to Griffith University, which was just starting up, and stayed for 24 years. Too long really: at one time I was approached to accept a full Chair (Professorship)  at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, but turned it down as I did not like the terms they offered. Not many academics do that kind of thing!  I blame my rebellious upbringing; but maybe the poet Philip Larkin was right about the effects of parents on oneself. It is well worth Googling his poemThis Be the Verse by the way - I could quote him but this is a family home-page.

I set up all the early economics courses in the School of Modern Asian Studies at Griffith and later became the first Head of the School of International Business Relations.  I became interested in cross-cultural issues and business etiquette, then designed and taught courses on doing business and trading with Asia. Went to China on quite a few occasions, had great time in in charge of a bunch of students living in Chengdu (where are you now, guys?), and got involved in negotiations. Then Japan attracted me and I started working on that fascinating country.

As the millennium staggered to a close, the amount of administration that was forced upon academics grew and grew.  Much of this was the fault of government but quite a lot must be attributed to what I regard as the university's own poor administrative practices.  That, coupled with a new Vice-Chancellor who was in my opinion rather weak, led to a bureaucratic nightmare.  Filling in forms just about replaced teaching and research as the favourite pastime of the staff.  The traditional university battle between the central administration and the faculty was resolved in favor of the former, one hopes temporarily.  As a result of all this, early retirement began to seem a very good option to me.  It would also allow me time to finish writing the book about Japan that I had been working on for too long already.

I thought long and hard about early retirement and reader, I embraced it.  (Yes, I admit I was influenced in the use of these words by Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre).

Since I retired I keep up my interest in cross-cultural issues, especially business etiquette, and studying/learning techniques. And of course I drink just enough.
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Tell me what you think and email me!
If you happen to be studying economics, or are just interested in what the subject might be about, I give away a lot of free economics stuff, including a book and several articles, at:

Bucknall's Refuge

Advice: efficient studying means extra time for more  interesting things
I'm sure you can think of something

Self-motivation is a grand thing and we can all do a little better.

Life is not a spectator sport but has to be participated and revelled in. It is not enough to stare at the steps, one has to step up the stairs.
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