School Memories

How old were you when you became interested in science?
I don’t remember a time when I was not interested in science.

What are your memories of science at school?
I remember very vividly a dredging expedition in Poole Harbour when we found wonderful animals – baby cuttlefish, sea-hares, and a multitude of plankton that looked exquisitely beautiful under the microscope; field trips to the New Forest for fungus forays and an ecology project; dissecting a bull’s eye and various dead animals that had been killed on the roads,; in fact, being fascinated by almost everything in biology. I also recall a chemistry class in which I leant from experience that gases expand on heating (I heated a test-tube with the bung in it, which flew out very dramatically); and the smell of nitrobenzene. And I remember being surprised to learn that what the teacher said and what the books in the library said did not always agree. But my earliest memory is from a tiny village school when I was about seven, where we attached balloons to the necks of milk bottles and placed them close to the old coke stove to see if the air would expand enough to fill the balloons.

What were your interests and hobbies as a teenager?
My main interest was natural history. I spent much time searching for wild orchids, and sketching and painting them when I found them (I didn’t have a camera capable of taking close-ups). I also went bird watching, badger watching, and rambling about the local Dorset countryside. I particularly enjoyed cliff-walks and exploring rock pools. I belonged to two local natural history societies and acted as a volunteer warden on the local nature reserve. In addition, I loved horse riding and sailing small boats, although I had neither of my own; and I read voraciously, anything and everything, not just books about science, but novels and poetry.

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