Independent Researcher

Visiting Fellow

New College, University of Edinburgh

About

Born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1941, I was educated by the Benedictine monks at North Berwick (1950-55) and at the Abbey School, Fort Augustus (1955-60), the Universities of Cambridge (1960-63) and London, before studying Drawing and Painting at the Edinburgh College of Art (1965-70) and then training as a secondary teacher.. Since 1970  I have been a teacher and further education lecturer in Communication and in Tourism. Recently I graduated PhD in Ecclesiastical History from the University of Edinburgh (2005). Last year (2008-09) I held a Visiting Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (IASH) at the University of Edinburgh. Currently I am a Visiting Fellow at New College, University of Edinburgh (2009-2010). I am also a contributing editor for the Scottish ecumenical journal ‘Open House.’ I was awarded two Scottish Arts Council Writers bursaries (1993, 1997), two Glenfiddich Living Scotland Awards (1986, 1991), and a Sir Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship (1993). Other awards include those from the Farmer Trust, the Strathmartine Trust and the Carnegie Trust (2).