Updating the blog

I started this blog back in April 2019 when people first heard that I would be moving through the GA Presidential journey to becoming GA President in 2021-22 at the GA Conference. 

At the time this journey was a four year term, where the would-be President got to grips with the role, served on Governing Body and learned what was possible to achieve within their year as President to preserve what had been achieved by your predecessors, but make iterative improvements. I ended up being the last Junior Vice President of the GA before that was removed and it became a three year 'term'.

I'd like to think I helped further the work to improve the diversity within the Association, and representation of groups at Conference and elsewhere who previously may have been less inclined to get involved. COVID19 got in the way to a degree, and I wish my Presidential Lecture would have had more people attending irl.

I managed to contact all the Presidents who were still alive at the time. The surnames of all the former and present Presidents are here on this word cloud... Mine accidentally seems to be the biggest...

With the recent losses of Michael Storm, Norman Graves and Andrew Goudie, it's more important than ever that we capture memories of the people who have held the post before.

Please get in touch if you have any details that could help flesh out one of the entries on the blog.

Photos particularly welcome....

1000 posts!

I started this blog as a "legacy project" from my GA Presidential journey, and Presidential year in 2021-22.

It has attracted some interest and had over 450 000 page views, which is not bad for a blog.

Thanks to all the GA Presidents - past, present and future for their support and contributions.

I have just passed 1000 posts on the blog.

Thanks for visiting and reading.

Sharing the blog on Substack

It's time to share this blog as part of a series of posts on my Substack on blogs I run other than LivingGeography - this is #17 in the series of posts.

Check out the LivingGeography Substack here and be sure to subscribe.

A few new updates

I've tickled away at the site over the summer and updated the entries for quite a few people. 

I'm keen to keep the site up to date as the years progress since my own Presidential year. 

If you are reading this and you have been a GA member for a while or have a story (or pictures) from a previous GA Conference, or anecdotes relating to past GA Presidents,  please get in touch.

GA Conference - 2001 - University of Sussex

Thanks to Joseph Kerski for the image

200 000 page views

Good to see another small milestone passed on this blog.

Thanks for reading!

20 000 views

A small milestone, but good to see that people are reading the posts here, which tell a small history of the development of the Geographical Association, and the backgrounds to the people who have held the post of President. Feel free to comment, and get in touch if you have further information on someone who has held the role...

This is also post #777 on the blog.

Routes Volume 2 Issue 2 - an article featuring this blog

This is the 2nd issue of the 2nd volume of the ROUTES journal.

Routes is a peer-reviewed digital journal for sixth form and undergraduate geographers looking to read and publish geographical knowledge. They publish work from all areas of geographical scholarship, including both human and physical geography. Routes is a free, open-access journal with no pay-walls or subscriptions. It is free to submit and review work for Routes and there are no deadlines for submission.

Well worth seeking out, particularly as I am pleased to have an article in the journal of my own research into the people who have previously held the position of GA President which is located in this very blog.

The editorial for the issue is here.

Well done to the other contributors to this issue as well:

Examining the impact of the East Coast Low Storm, June 2016 on Narrabeen-Collaroy Beach, Sydney, Australia

Anna Pennington (Teacher of Geography at Pangbourne College)

Landscape assessment: A useful tool for A Level enquiry

By Edward Jones (Geography Teacher at Buxton Community School)

Walking in Paris: locating hidden sights in the city

By Emily Chandler (Geography Teacher at St George’s The British International School – Düsseldorf Rhein-Ruhr)

I particularly like this article as it connects with some of the influences of my GA Presidential theme of 'Everyday Geographies'.

Exploring the interactions between children’s sense of self and their sense of place through sport

By Zoë Sayliss (Geography Teacher at Berkhamsted School)

The importance and relevance of geographies of wellness to A Level independent research

By Charlotte Fulham (Geography Teacher at Bedford Free School)

Why not suggest to your students that they write and submit an article for a future issue - all the information on how to do that is on the Routes website.

Thanks to editors Cyrus Nayeri and Lizzie Rushton, and the peer reviewers and to all those who have supported the journal in various ways, including submitting articles.

Cite my article as shown below:

Parkinson, A. (2022) Researching the changing professional profile of the Geographical Association’s Presidents 1893-2021. Routes 2(2): 67-79