Bertie Roberson

Bertie Roberson worked at the Institute of Education: which has links with many former GA Presidents, particularly Molly Long.

His obituary was published in 'Geography' in 1995, and written by Norman Graves. He was also a colleague of former GA President Molly Long. He was also a long-serving member of the Secondary Section Committee, of which I was also a member for many years.

Reference

Graves, Norman. “B.S. Roberson 1911-1994.” Geography, vol. 80, no. 3, 1995, pp. 290–290. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40572678. Accessed 15 Jan. 2021.

Four cheers for Geography

1992
Nelson Education Lecture
Sir Simon Jenkins is mentioned in the programme for this year's conference, which Eleanor Rawling sent me, as providing the lecture at the GA Conference:
"Four cheers for Geography"
He wrote a piece published in 2007 with his thoughts on the importance of the subject. This is one of a number of pieces published over the years which teachers have identified as being of support to the subject of geography.

In 2020, he called for a return to localism and community spirit.

He has also been referenced in other pieces on the value of Geography, such as this one in the FT on Theresa May becoming Prime Minister.

My publishers also sent him a copy of my 'Why Study Geography?' book. I hope he enjoyed it.

Abandon ship!

Over the years, the GA has had some dalliances with alternative locations for the GA Presidential dinner at Conference, and tried different formats. It has become a buffet affair in the last few years. I've only attended one such event, and ended up on the top table as a friend had a spare ticket.

The image below was sent to me by former President Richard Daugherty, who has contributed a number of other blog posts to the project as well.

Richard told me:

At the 1990 Annual Conference the President’s Evening dinner broke with convention by being held on a Thames river boat that cruised down river to the Thames Barrier and back. This photo shows that year’s GA President, Richard Daugherty, making what must have been one of the shortest ever after dinner speeches at the event.
Unable to make himself heard on the boat’s PA system Richard soon gave up which was no doubt good news for everyone else, happily enjoying the food and drink on offer. The expression on the face of the other person in the photo Denys Brunsden, GA President in 1986-7, makes clear what he felt about it all.

Two years later, Eleanor Rawling tried a similar cruise which ended up having to cancel its plans to sail to the Isle of Wight because of bad weather, and there was a previous trip some decades ago to the Isles of Scilly which apparently nearly ended in disaster when bad weather struck.

Any other memories of these events, or other Presidential dinners past? Good speeches? Long speeches? I remember Sheila Jones saying she stopped talking at one event as she was aware of a sweepstake on how long she would talk for...

Image courtesy of Richard Daugherty

Bradford and Kent

This book was known by that name, rather than its actual title, which was Human Geography: Theories and their Applications.

Ashley Kent tells me that it "sold rather well" and I'm not surprised as we certainly had quite a few copies in the cupboards along the corridor outside the geography rooms in my first page. 

It was published in 1977, and went through several editions over the years.

This 2nd book below, written by the same authors was published in 1993, and we had copies of this as well.

Any memories of using this book?

1996: It's all happening at Herbertson High

Rex Walford wrote many documents and other articles and resources for the GA.

When I got my British Library reader's card, I needed to try it out and had a browse through Rex's work to see if I could find some unusual items. The title of this document piqued my interest.

I'm not sure of the original source of the document, which is a 4 page 'story' of a fictional Geography department. It was, I believe, an insert into a GA journal to publicise the Land Use Survey and encourage people to participate in it.

One of the department members finds a dusty book of the original Land Use Survey with L Dudley Stamp's name on the cover (see earlier posts) and a discussion begins over whether to get involved in the latest GA initiatives.

1996 saw the last Land Use survey which Rex was involved in coordinating.

It was accompanied by cartoons, which were fun. Some of those are shown below.

There were also fictionalised teachres representing stereotypes of teachers at the time, and they were obviously celebrating Geography Action Week.

Roger Perkins, the bright young NQT
Gillian Bennett the Head of Geography at Herbertson High
Marcia McMurdo

etc.

Chris Kington - 'the spark'

In late 2019, I met up with GA President for 2002: Chris Kington at an early screening of the film 'The Lighthouse' in Cambridge.

He told me about something that he had done when he was GA President to prepare for his Presidential lecture.
He had asked former GA Presidents, and also long-standing GA members to tell him when they first got the 'spark' that meant they pursued geography rather than other subjects, and moved into academic or other roles with a geographical theme. In early 2020, Chris gave me a series of letters: some tpyed, some word-processed and some hand-written. I was going to give them back to him, but then the first lockdown occurred and I haven't had a chance since.

I've added elements of those letters into the relevant biographies of several GA Presidents, and have another 10 or so to add in as we get nearer to the present day. Some of them are for Presidents who have not had their biography added yet. They are all really interesting letters and hugely variable. There are many references to particular teachers or university lecturers (including other former Presidents in some cases) and one can see the influences on these people who later became GA President in due course.

They include a copy of a letter sent by David Attenborough from his desk at the BBC in reply to a letter by Mike Morrish, who was the previous post on the blog, and the latest President to be added.
I've added some of these contributions to earlier blog posts, particularly when they are relevant...

Image: part of the letter sent by W.G.V. Balchin: author of the GA's Centenary book (1893-1993) and GA President in 1971.

1995: Mike Morrish

Mike Morrish was one of the few people to be a teacher at the time of his Presidency: at The Haberdashers' Aske's School, Elstree, Hertfordshire.

As we have seen during the many posts added to the blog there have only been a handful of other people who were in that position, which is interesting given the particular role of the Association in supporting geography teachers and developing their craft and pedagogy. This is partly a product of the time commitments involved in getting involved to this degree with the GA and its running.

Mike Morrish is known to many teachers of a certain age for his books, which I used when teaching back in the day, including the one pictured later in the post on Development, which was excellent as I recall, although the phrase 'Third World' gives away its age a little.

There is an excellent biography of Mike's involvement with both the school and also the Geographical Association in an issue of the school magazine.

The magazine is called 'Skylark' and an issue from 2008 features an interview with Mike.
It describes his early career when he rode a motorbike to work. He was famously organised apparently with piles of exercise books ready for marking. I can't say I'm quite as organised.

Michael was born in London. He enjoyed camping with the scouts and a trip to the Austrian Alps gave him a taste for travel. He studied for a degree in Geography at Exeter University.

The 'Living Geography of China' was the subject of Mike's Presidential Address. This continues in the tradition of other GA Presidents who were interested in the country: notably Percy Maude Roxby.

When taking over as President, Mike was Head of Geography at The Haberdashers' Aske's School, Elstree, Hertfordshire which makes him that rare thing: someone who was teaching when they became the President - quite a few had previous experience but had moved on to other careers or retired before they actually took over as GA President.

Book cover of one of Mike's books here. I remember using this to teach back in the day.

Mike is one of the assessors of the Rex Walford Award, and also wrote an obituary of Rex. He shared a passion for amateur dramatics and performance with Rex as well, which is where he first met him in fact.

He has also written a number of the GeoActive resources, which are popular with schools.



Mike kindly told me further information about him and his career by filling in the questionnaire that I sent to all living Presidents. The following information was provided by Mike.

Born: 1948, Finchley, North London

Education: 

Orange Hill Grammar School, Edgware, N. London

BA in Geography, Exeter University 1967 - 1970 

PGCE, Leicester University 1973/74

Career:
Marketing executive, Lever Brother Limited 1970 - 1973 

Secondary school geography teacher: Guthlaxton College, Leics. 1974 - 1975 

Haberdashers' Aske's Boys School, Elstree 1975 - 1983 

Head of Geography, Alleyn's School, Dulwich 1983 - 1995 

Head of Geography, Haberdashers' Aske's Boys School 1995 - 2008 

Author/editor of geographical textbooks, resources and magazine articles 1980 - 2018

He told me more about his Presidential year and theme:

'Living Geography' - I wanted to emphasise both the vital, dynamic and contemporary nature of the subject, and also the relevance it has to the way everyone lives their life. 

I attended GA branch lectures (Harrow) and annual conferences (LSE, London) from early on in my teaching career and joined the GA when Rex Walford recruited me as the GA's first Publicity Officer in 1982. I had known Rex Walford since my sixth form years in Edgware in 1966/67 through involvement in youth drama.

Mike held a number of roles within the GA and feels that it is particularly important for people to engage with it, and become part of the wider subject community. 

He told me:

"The GA was an important influence on me as a young teacher, and a valuable support in terms of information, resources, advice, representation and curriculum development. Once I became directly involved with its work, it opened up a wide network of like-minded individuals, both academics and fellow teachers, who shared my enthusiasm for the subject and a desire to enhance its position in the school curriculum."

My roles were: 

Publicity Officer 1982 - 85

Editor of GA News 1985-89

Chair of Worldwise Quiz National Committee 1983 -93

Junior VP 1993/4

Senior VP 1994/5

President 1995/6

Past President 1996/7

Mike was featured in the images that Sheila Jones sent me from the 1993 Centenary conference.

Here he is on the front cover of GA News in 1995.

Of his GA Presidential year, Mike said:

The joint focus of my year was the national Land Use UK survey carried out by schools, in conjunction with the GA's first Geography Action Week. Preparations for these had been going on for the preceding two years. My main memories are of the many meetings that the preparations involved, and the crucial role of Rex Walford in bringing these joint projects to fruition. Of course, the Annual Conference at Southampton University in 1996 was an exciting end to the year, especially delivering my Presidential Lecture (on China).

References

Mike's pieces for the TES in 1996-2000: https://www.tes.com/author/mike-morrish

MORRISH, MIKE. “The Living Geography of China.” Geography, vol. 82, no. 1, 1997, pp. 3–16. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40572861.

https://issuu.com/bainespsa/docs/a31822_haberaske_skylark_2008/122 - biography and school history - links with Rex Walford

Personal communication thanks to Google Form and emails.

Main image of Mike taken at the official 'opening' of Solly St in 2010 by Bryan Ledgard.
Copyright: Bryan Ledgard / Geographical Association

All other memories and images of Mike and his time as GA President welcome.

Solly Street

Carl Lee got in touch with me in December 2020. He asked me when the GA had moved from Fulwood Road to Solly Street. He is currently completing a PhD. You may also know Carl from the book 'Geography' that he co-wrote with Danny Dorling and is well worth reading.
Furthermore, he was asking why the GA moved to Solly Street because at that time the district was incredibly down-at-heel (but cheap to buy property in). He was asking because he was preparing - as an off-shoot of his ongoing PhD a paper for a GA journal, utilising the St Vincent's Quarter as the case study. 

St Vincent's Quarter is the name given to the area of the city of Sheffield which includes Solly Street and relates to the church, which remains, although it is now dwarfed by new student accommodation. It is close to the main site of Sheffield University.

An Action Plan for the area was published by the city council in 2017:

https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/planning-development/master-action-plans/st-vincent-s-action-plan

Image source: Action Plan document listed above

Here's a picture of what used to be on the actual site of the GA building - Sambourne Place - knocked down in 1927 as part of slum clearance programmes. Thanks to Carl for sending through the image.

Image copyright: Sheffield Libraries. 

In 1997, the GA moved its headquarters from Fulwood Road in Sheffield to 160 Solly Street, where it remains to this day.

I asked Keith Grimwade, former GA President for his memories of that time, as I remember him talking about that time, when Governing Body and the Education Committee would have been involved in this process of decision making. He told me that there were a few key reasons for choosing the Solly Street site from a number of options. They included:

- it was affordable

- it was accessible

- it had plenty of space for the growing publishing activity the GA was getting involved with, and for items of the Fleure Library (some of which were stored by Sheffield University, after arrangements made by Alice Garnett) - Fulwood Road was getting very cramped as it was too small.

At the time, the area was one frequented by members of what could be called the "night time economy" or sex workers. I remember this area was quite large at the time. When I was a regular night time visitor to Sheffield from my home town of Rotherham in the late 80s and early 90s, the red light district expanding out along Hillsborough Road and on the edge of Kelham Island as well, with a few areas of Attercliffe offering massage parlours. I remember coming out of a pub called the 'Cocked Hat' (now sadly closed) to see a defibrillator being rushed into one by ambulance crew...

Carl said that the area has undergone a lot of change since 1997, "when it was lets say 'a zone in transition' apart from nobody had a clue what it would transition into". It was felt it was an area that was on the up, and it was worth moving while rental values were low (Solly Street was eventually purchased as this was also financially preferable to continuing to rent). 

Keith said there were a few initial safety concerns, particularly for staff working late, but that quite quickly the area had improved, with lighting, signage and other security measures for Solly Street staff, and the area has now become one of student accommodation with plenty of footfall, close to the University.

Solly Street is now a little surrounded by the student accommodation, with more having been given planning permission including high rise developments. For the last few years, meetings in the Patrick Bailey room (named after a former GA President of course) have been slightly interrupted by construction noise. The views it used to enjoy up the valley have been blocked off for some years now. Wendy North has shared some of those views on her Flickr page.

When I worked there, John Lyon and I kept an eye on a few of the student areas, and there was one which had an ironing board which didn't move all year, but the wine bottles lined up along the window certainly grew.

I'd love any more memories of visits to Solly Street, or about and  from former staff....

More to come on Solly Street when I get to the period when I worked there - 2008-2011

GA Presidents in Classroom Geographer

I've previously blogged about Classroom Geographer journal. 

This was first published in the 1970s by Neil Sealey and ran for several years gaining a good readership. Neil lives in the Caribbean but kindly donated a virtually full set of journals to me a couple of years ago, and they were included in a specially curated exhibition, which I helped with, for the 125th Anniversary conference.

Neil Sealey was the editor of the journal.

Here's an article by future GA President Steve Rawlinson and Geoff Dinkele on the use of Lego to make population pyramids.

More to come...

Inside the black box

An influential book, written by David Lambert and Paul Weeden: long-time chair of the GA's Assessment and Examinations Working Group. (now the AESIG)

It followed on from another influential book by Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam.

Paul remains the Secretary of the AESIG.

It is currently chaired by Elizabeth Rynne.

Another example of the GA's involvement in teacher development.

1986: GA News appears

In the summer of 2019, I went to Solly Street, and had a look through two large lever arch files containing the print copies of early issues of GA News. This is now published as a PDF.

Issue 1 was published in 1986.

This was on thin paper, and type-written, with the title Geography Newsletter.
By Issue 3, it was published on thicker more glossy paper and was not typeset. It ran to four pages, and had the addition of illustrations.

The editor by now was Michael Morrish, GA President in his time (in 1995).

By the early 90s, the editorship passed to Bob Leake from Beauchamp College, Oadby, Leicestershire.

In 1995, the design changed again, and had a globe masthead with GA News across the top.
This was edited by Dave Rendell from Darlingon, and the design was now being done by Bryan Ledgard and Fran Royle.

In October 1998, the Editorship moved to Emma Till from Petersfield in Hampshire, and from there to several other editors in time.

I started contributing to the newsletter in 2005 and writing the Webwatch column.

Some images from past issues will be shared in due course as we get closer to the present day.

1994: Professor James Anthony (Tony) Binns

Tony is currently the Ron Lister Professor of Geography at the University of Otago in New Zealand, and still working, in fact he was planning to come over to the GA Conference in Guildford in 2020 before it was cancelled.

This entry includes information provided by Tony himself, via the Google form questionnaire I created.

Tony was born in Prestwich in 1948.

Education:

Stand Grammar School, Whitefield, Lancashire. 

In 1967 I went to Sheffield University to study Single Honours Geography. I graduated in July 1970 and then stayed at Sheffield to Study for a Diploma in Education, which I gained (with distinction) in July 1971. I joined the GA in 1969 in my second year as an undergraduate at Sheffield and made good use of the GA library which was then in the ground floor of a large house at 343, Fulwood Road.

Career - quite a varied one:

I taught at Adwick High School in Doncaster in 1971 and 1972. 

I became fasciated with Africa through my studies at Sheffield and also from teaching a Sixth Form General Studies course at Adwick High School. So in October 1972 I went to the Centre of West African Studies at Birmingham University to study for an MA and then a PhD. 

I spent the whole of 1974 in Sierra Leone researching on the relationships between rural development and diamond mining. 

I took up a position as Research Fellow at the University of Sussex in October 1975 and stayed at Sussex as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Reader until September 2004 (30 years). 

In October 2004 I took up the position as Ron Lister Professor of Geography at the University of Otago in Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand where I still work. I have published 21 books and over 160 book chapters and journal articles. 

My writing has focused mainly on development issues in Africa, South Asia and the Pacific, and also on aspects of geographical education.

An impressive output, similar to the previous 2 Presidents who have also had long academic careers in the field of geography education.

Of his own GA Presidential year, Tony told me that at the time he was Reader in Geography in the School of African and Asian Studies at the University of Sussex, Brighton.

"My theme focused on understanding processes of development in poor countries and, in particular, appreciating indigenous knowledge and perceptions."

This is important work which still needs to be done.

He told me about his appreciation for the work of the GA.

"The GA plays a vital role as guardian of the school Geography curriculum. Among GA members there is a vast amount of knowledge and expertise on all aspects of geographical study. It is vital that the strength of Geography in our schools is maintained and indeed enhanced, to ensure the success of Geography in higher education and the contribution of the discipline to understanding so many aspects of the world we live in."

Tony co-produced the GA's response to Keith Joseph's questions following the 1985 speech to the GA special event I have blogged about previously, working with Patrick Bailey. 

See the earlier entries on 'A Case for Geography'.

Mike Morrish told me that he was good friends with Tony, who ran a number of GA Study Tours to China and one to the Gambia.

Tony also told me about his memories of his Presidential cycle:

"We achieved a membership of 11,000 during my time as President. The GA primary initiative was gaining momentum and the national curriculum had been launched. 

In 1988, as GA Hon Secretary (1985-1989), I played a key role in setting up the Teacher Education Working Group, the International Committee, the International Fund and the New Initiatives Fund. 

I also played a key role in launching the GAs overseas study tours through the International Committee, and I took part in the first study tour to China in 1988. 

In 1993, we had a very succesful tour to Pakistan and China to celebrate the centenary of the GA. 

My Annual Conference in April 1995 was the first and only conference to be held in Lancaster. 

The theme of the conference at Lancaster University was 'Developing Geography'. We had a memorable President's Evening held in the splendid Victorian edifice of Lancaster Town Hall with the Mayor of Lancaster hosting us. After the dinner I had arranged for an African band to come up."

Recently, Tony co-wrote a paper with Alan Kinder, which can be obtained from the Geo-Ed website.

In 1993, Tony attended the Centenary conference events and was featured in several photos which were sent to me by Sheila Jones and have been appearing on the blog in recent years. Several of those have appeared on previous posts.

 

I'd hoped to have an image taken with Tony at the 2020 GA Conference, as Tony was coming over to lead a session. He had to cancel of course, before the whole event went virtual.

He did, however still take part by offering a session. This can be accessed via the GA website.

Tony has travelled widely in Africa, leading trips for other geographers and involving himself in projects.

Here he is in Freetown , Sierra Leone in 2011

Image credit: Kenny Lynch

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lynchkenny/5430881779/sizes/l/

Thanks to Tony for answering my questions and contributing to this post.

You can find out more about Tony's work in supporting Geography, which mentions his GA Presidency in the introduction to the Ron Lister Lecture in October 2020. He talks about his work in Sierra Leone, and ideas of place.

 

Professor Binns has been visiting and researching in Sierra Leone, West Africa, for 46 years and has developed strong links with the remote community of Kayima in the north-east of the country. The United Nations ranks Sierra Leone as one of the world’s poorest countries, where development has been constrained by political and economic instability, a decadelong civil war, an Ebola epidemic and now COVID-19. In this lecture, Tony will draw on his experiences since 1974 to examine the changes the community has experienced and to appreciate the underlying causes of poverty in Kayima. Very few longitudinal studies have been undertaken in Africa, and this study reveals a remarkable level of community resilience and ability to adapt to changing scenarios.

References
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Binns
Image taken from Otago University newsletter.

https://www.otago.ac.nz/geography/staff/otago084963.html

https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p246-tony-binns

A Facebook video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=253550984837812

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/030913259301700108 - "a place in the sun"

If anyone has other memories of Tony and his time as GA President please get in touch.

New Years Honours

Updated January 2021

Lovely news today that former GA President Margaret Roberts has been awarded an MBE in the New Years Honours List.

Here she is working with teachers in Singapore in 2016.

The citation mentions the GA:

Margaret Grace Roberts. 

External Examiner and President, Institute of Education and Geographical Association. 

For services to Education. 

(Sheffield, South Yorkshire)

Margaret was GA President in 2008.

Other GA Presidents to gain awards or honours:

Richard Daugherty, OBE

Eleanor Rawling, MBE

Denys Brunsden, OBE

Rex Walford, OBE

Frank Debenham, OBE

Harry Thorpe, OBE

J R James, OBE

Osbert John Radcliffe Howarth, OBE

Leonard Brooks, OBE

Kenneth Charles Edwards, CBE

John Allan Patmore, CBE

Michael John Wise, CBE

J A Steers, CBE

Sydney William Wooldridge, CBE

Robert Steel, CBE (awarded in 1983 - thanks to Elizabeth Steel for details)

Sir Halford J Mackinder

John Linton Myres, OBE (later Sir...)

Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas

Sir Richard Arman Gregory (first Baronet)

Sir Harry Alexander Fanshawe Lindsay, CBE

Sir William Mitchell Ramsay

Sir Patrick Abercrombie

Sir Alexander Morris Carr-Saunders

Colonel Sir Henry G Lyons

Colonel Sir Thomas Hungerford Holdich

Sir John Russell

Sir Charles Close

Sir William Leslie Mackenzie

Sir Cyril Norwood

Sir Thomas Henry Holland

Sir Laurence Dudley Stamp, CBE

Sir Josiah Stamp (later Lord Stamp)

Lord James Scorgie-Meston

Lord Nathan

Lord Robert Cecil - also a Nobel Prize winner

William George Arthur Ormsby Gore (later Lord Harlech)

Also good to hear that Professor Mark Brandon from the Open University has also been awarded an MBE for his work in Polar science.

He has helped support the geography teacher community in different ways over the years through his work.

A lovely quote from Margaret on the GA website.

“I was very surprised to receive the award and felt very honoured, particularly when there are so many people in geographical education who have worked so hard to promote good practice. I would not have been able achieve what I have done without the support of the community of the Geographical Association. Through the GA I have met and shared ideas with so many inspirational people. The GA has given me opportunities to publish my ideas and those publications have led to further opportunities to present work at conferences and to work internationally. I feel most fortunate to have had this support but feel a bit parasitic, feeding off the ideas of others and incorporating them into my own thinking.”

For those wishing to incorporate some of Margaret’s inspirational ideas into their own thinking, a good place to start would be:

Geography Through Enquiry (2013)

Or listen to Margaret talk about her life and career in education on GeogPod.

Geoff Dinkele

Geoff Dinkele was associated with the Worldwise Quiz for many years and supported the GA in several other ways as well.

He wrote quite a few books which were popular, and sold well. "Population Geography" published in 1980 was among his books.

He also co-wrote an article in 'Classroom Geographer' journal with another former President: Steve Rawlinson on the use of lego to make population pyramids.

Geoff also contributed a number of articles to 'Teaching Geography', such as this one from 1983 which explored a TV programme made by David Bellamy.

References

Storm, Michael. “The Geographical Association.” Geography, vol. 73, no. 3, 1988, pp. 268–271. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40571429. Accessed 15 Nov. 2020.

Dinkele, Geoff. “Bellamy in Tasmania - Quicker off the Mark next Time?” Teaching Geography, vol. 9, no. 1, 1983, pp. 37–39. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23751069. Accessed 15 Dec. 2020.

Other memories of Geoff's association with the GA welcome...

Rob Lodge

Every six months or so, I spot a C3 Picasso and the tall figure of Rob Lodge in Morrison's car park in Fakenham and have a chat. He lives in a neighbouring village of mine. He has been involved with geography in Norfolk for well over 30 years in various ways and has helped so many fellow teachers during that time. He is known by many, including Kit Rackley as "Rob Ledge"...

Rob Lodge was the advisory teacher for Geography for Norfolk when I first started teaching. He ran CPD sessions and was also involved in the National Strategies when they were first introduced. We had regular meetings at the PDC on the edge of Norwich and this was where I first started presenting to other colleagues - some short inputs, one on blogging, one on using Excel to make 3D landscapes. He was also leading a session on the internet which was actually the first time I ever went on the internet... I go on it quite a bit now.

He has also had the pleasure (I think) of observing me teach several times when I was teaching in King's Lynn and his brief was supporting certain departments within the school.

He has also worked as Head of Humanities at Hamond's High School: a school I have visited several times over the years as well, and contributed support materials to the GA's 'a different view' manifesto (of which more to come in due course)

Rob Lodge was also the co-chair of the GA's SPC when I joined, along with Alan Kinder from memory, or possibly Gary Dawson, or possibly Sarah Watts.

He involved me in the SPC from around 2004, and I remember in the first meeting listening to discussions which were going well over my head, and also the train journeys to and from Norfolk, where I talked about my possible further involvement with the GA. He was also a referee when I went for a job with the GA in 2008 which I was successful in getting. I will always be grateful to him for that.

He was also behind my first time presenting at the GA Conference in 2005 - although he was on holiday at the time!

The presentation can be viewed here still.

I remember that Fred Martin was last up - we over ran but by the time Fred started talking we were already nearly at our time limit - we still blamed him for the overrun :) Looking at it now, I can see quite a few of my ideas in there - the 'Have I got News for You' animations, and the use of Only Fools and Horses... quality still, plus GeoBlogs getting an early mention, This is your Life Old Harry, and some other classics...

He later had to widen his brief into the Humanities and school improvement, and also changes to the advisory service generally before it disappeared eventually.

He was also involved with events held at Gressenhall Rural Museum that I attended and presented at, and also an event in association with Norwich Castle museum. He has written a few articles with Colly Mudie from Gressenhall as well.

He organised a CPD session where I first met Jason Sawle and saw ESRI's Digital Worlds product - I later worked with ESRI and Jason for several years on various projects.

In 2009, I was in Dereham at an event that Rob had organised

http://livinggeography.blogspot.com/2009/03/norfolk-gis-links.html

He was/is a trustee of CPRE Norfolk, and is also a governor of the local Fakenham Academy.

He also got me involved in a conference at Holt Hall, along with Anne Marie Emmett, who has widened her links with the GA since, in 2012. I remember that event well. The venue is currently threatened with closure to save funds.

https://csapps.norfolk.gov.uk/csshared/ecourier2/fileoutput.asp?id=12062

References

https://csapps.norfolk.gov.uk/csshared/ecourier2/fileoutput.asp?id=15121 - CPRE involvement mentioned here.

Mudie, Colly, and Rob Lodge. “New Ideas in Norfolk Museums.” Teaching Geography, vol. 32, no. 3, 2007, pp. 127–128. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44633497. Accessed 23 Dec. 2020.

Dawson, Gary, and Rob Lodge. “Campaigning for Geography.” Teaching Geography, vol. 28, no. 1, 2003, pp. 36–36. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23756451. Accessed 23 Dec. 2020.

https://www.geography.org.uk/Our-Wonderful-World

Image: CPRE event in 2018 - an awards event in the Hostry at Norwich Cathedral

Postscript

At the meetings of Norfolk geography teachers, Rob handed out Norfolk Geogers awards, and I am the proud owner of a Norfolk Geogers shield, handed out in 2006 when I was still teaching in King's Lynn, and before I started my GA journey.

Hello to all those teachers from past meetings, such as Graham Ridsdale, Terry Mansfield, Ben Utting, Kit Rackley, Kirsten Remer, Gordon Stone, Chris Clarke, Peter Coote, Helen Carty and many others from these events...

I'm not the only one to have a Norfolk Geogers award either...

I still have my Norfolk Geoggers medal proudly on display at home. The man is a legend.

— Alan Kinder (@GAChiefExec) December 23, 2020