Tutor Biographies

Adrian Poynton is an award-winning writer. His work has covered all mediums from fiction and non-fiction, television, theatre, radio and live performance and his passion to transfer his knowledge of storytelling to new writers is unmatched.

Much of Adrian’s work now involves him working with new writers (of all ages) and helping them get their ideas out of their heads and onto the page using the skills and techniques he has learned over his 20 years being a professional writer.

He is very excited to be joining The Settlement to continue doing just that.

@mradrianpoynton

Anne is a freelance landscape historian who has coordinated the research work of the Hertfordshire Gardens Trust since 1998 and lectures in landscape and garden history.

She has written two books about Hertfordshire’s deer parks – one on parks in the Medieval period and the other about Tudor and Early Stuart Parks. She has also co-authored books on the county’s landscape history, on the 1766 county map by Dury and Andrews and on Hertfordshire’s garden history as well as contributing to the Historical Atlas of Hertfordshire. She was thrilled to be awarded a PhD in 2020.

Anna McNay is a writer, editor and international curator, who contributes regularly to art and photography journals, including Studio International, Art Quarterly and The Flux Review.

She writes catalogue essays, hosts panels and in conversation events, and has judged numerous art prizes, both nationally and internationally.

McNay originally worked in academia as an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow in linguistics at the Humboldt University in Berlin and a Heath Harrison Teaching Fellow at the University of Oxford, where she lectured and gave tutorials and seminars in undergraduate and postgraduate linguistics and German translation.

annamcnay.art @annamcnay   #TheCriticWithTheDog

Andrew Bamford read History at Selwyn College Cambridge, graduating in 1983.

He taught a variety of historical periods during his time at Kimbolton School, Cambridgeshire where he was Head of History from 1990-2021 and Head of Sixth Form 2005-2019, as well as teaching A level Politics.

Since retirement, Andrew has lectured at the Rothsay Education Centre in Bedford on a wide range of subjects from the Unification of Italy to the English Civil War. He is Curator of Kimbolton Castle and a keen Crystal Palace fan!

Dr Christopher Woolston, PhD, CSci, CChem, FRSC, is passionate about all aspects of science and its history. For most of his career he has been a teacher and lecturer, his main specialisms being Chemistry and Physics. He did his Doctorate (in organic chemistry and cancer research) over a six-year period whilst teaching full-time.

In addition, he has worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a medicinal chemist, carried out technical reviews of new science books for the publishers Harper-Collins, and served on the council of the Geologists’ Association.

His interests include classical music and opera, the Victorian exploration of Africa and, of course, all aspects of science and natural history, and he is keen on hill walking, swimming, and cycling.

Christopher is a writer, teacher, and musician, with a specialism in music for film. His interests range from silent cinema to electronic music via Hollywood from the studio system to the experimental ’70s, and British and European film and music of the 1960s and 70s.

He has written for publications including Music Teacher and Classical Music on diverse topics and contributes regularly to music magazine Shindig!. He also teaches private instrumental lessons and records as a session musician.

Derek was born near Edinburgh and was educated there and at the Universities of Aberdeen and Durham. As well as teaching music, he is also a performer, lecturer and keen audience member of a wide range of musical styles.

He regularly lectures for SKAG, U3A, The Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, The Manchester Wagner Society, of which he is president and many other educational and learned organisations.

Elizabeth trained as a primary school teacher in the 1970s. After a long gap doing voluntary work, she returned to teaching as a supply teacher. She has always loved writing and has found going on writing courses a valuable way of learning about the craft.

After some success writing stories for a comic, she moved on to writing fiction and non-fiction for county and national magazines. Since 2006 she has run ’Get Writing!’ at Letchworth Settlement.

Elizabeth holds the Undergraduate Certificate in Creative Writing Part I (Fiction) and Part II (Non fiction) awarded by Cambridge Institute for Continuing Education. She is delighted that her latest book, ‘Stone Arrows’, has been shortlisted for the Historical Association’s Young Quills, 2024.

www.elizabethbarberwriter.co.uk

Honor never quite left Cambridge after studying there, and further developed her knowledge of the City and University by becoming a Tour Guide. She then worked for both the City and the University.

At the same time, Honor enjoyed sharing her enthusiasm for local and social history with adult students through WEA and The Settlement. Honor is currently Chair of the Cambridgeshire Association for Local History.

James is a highly motivated artist and arts educator with over 20 years of teaching and management experience. He has taught fine art and art history at all levels from GNVQ1 to final year BA degree.

He founded the Letchworth Arts Centre and is currently Resident Artist and adult learning consultant and tutor at Sir John Soane’s Museum.

His areas of special interest and study include Fine Art and the Academic Tradition, Painting techniques and concepts, Georgian Architectural Drawing and its Historical Context, the Development of British Art in the 18th Century and the Art and Social Context of Renaissance Venice as well as contemporary approaches to traditional subject matter.

Justine Lister is a qualified English teacher, passionate about inspiring a love of reading in her students.

She runs ReadWriteIgnite offering Secondary English tutoring, educational services and CPD sessions for schools, reading and writing groups online and in person, adult literacy and professional writing services.

www.readwriteignite.co.uk

Katherine is a historian and London Blue Badge Tourist Guide who lectures on a wide variety of topics, in particular the history and architecture of London. She graduated from Queens’ College, Cambridge University, in 2011, before turning her back on the world of academia to train as an actor at the Oxford School of Drama.

Soon however she discovered her love of the past was luring her back, and she found herself entering the world of professional tourist guiding. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, and sits on the Membership Committee of the Institute of Tourist Guides.

She is a regular contributor to the Travel Channel’s ‘Mysteries at the Museum’ and ‘Beyond the Unknown’ and also runs a tour company specialising in the history of London’s lavatories! www.katherinealcock.com

Kathryn Brooks Hughes is an historian of the American 1960s, and a doctoral candidate at the University of Edinburgh. She specialises in Vietnam War-era protest, and its intersection with the counterculture movement of the late 1960s, and the nascent feminism of the early 1970s. After completing degrees at the University of St Andrews, Kathryn worked in the third sector in Scotland and the Middle East, before beginning her doctorate. Kathryn’s thesis is titled all Girls Say Yes to Boys Who Say No: anti-Vietnam War activism on the Seven Sisters campuses, 1965-1970.

Lesley studied Psychology at the University of Wolverhampton and then went on to gain her MSc in Occupational and Organisational Psychology from the University of East London.

Later she gained her PGCE and is passionate about teaching Psychology as a subject for general interest. She has worked as a trainer and assessor and brings her experience in these areas to her courses at the Letchworth Settlement.

Louise Reed trained as a teacher and then went on to Manchester University to qualify as a teacher of the deaf. She worked in schools for the deaf, specialising in working with children with additional handicaps. She then worked at Addenbrookes Hospital working with children in the psychiatry ward.

After her children were born she began to work part time- teaching deafened and partially hearing adults to lipread. She has been doing this for many years- her children are now adults! – and so she has a great deal of experience in helping people cope with being hard of hearing.

Margaret Norwich studied liberal arts at Vassar College, New York and read English at Girton College, Cambridge. She has worked in publishing, higher education and the voluntary sector.

She lectured on English Language & Literature for many years at Bedford College/De Montfort University and was Tutor/Organiser for the WEA in Bedfordshire.

Her interests include the poetry of Sylvia Plath, the novels of Hilary Mantel, the plays of Tom Stoppard, and the redemptive power of art, music and literature.

Michael Williams has an undergraduate degree in History and an MSc in Politics. For 21 years he worked as a ministerial adviser in Whitehall before leaving for academic life in 1995. He spent another 26 years teaching a great variety of courses in different universities until retiring in 2021.

He’s been teaching courses on politics and history at the Settlement for several years. He published a book on Britain since 1867 in 2000 and a family memoir in 2022. Michael is currently working on a sequel.

Rosemary has written over fifty books, mainly for children and young adults. Many of these have won or been shortlisted for awards and several translated into different languages.

She has worked in publishing, been a reader for a well-known authors and advisory service and runs creative writing workshops for both adults and children.

www.rosemaryhayes.co.uk

Sarah is a Yoga Teacher, Personal Trainer, Massage Therapist and a Group Fitness Instructor, teaching classes at various gyms in the north Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire area and online.

She combines these skills in addition to a wealth of life experience to bring together a holistic approach to wellness. “My goal is to guide my clients as they find their way on their journey to a positive, healthy and sustainable lifestyle.”

Sarah studied History of Art at Cambridge University before doing a masters degree at University College London. She went on to have a career in museum and gallery education, establishing new services in three different museums before working at the Fitzwilliam Museum for many years.

Sarah is the founder of Cambridge Art Tours, which runs tours and courses in and around East Anglia and an accredited Arts Society lecturer. She is also a Tour Director for ACE Cultural Tours for whom she leads tours to Italy, France, Germany, Belgium and America and a Lay Canon at Ely Cathedral.

www.cambridgearttours.co.uk

Sue studied Psychology at Swansea University and went on to gain an MSc in Psychology. For over 35 years Sue has been teaching Psychology in colleges and schools.

Sue started work in the further education sector but joined St Christopher School in Letchworth Garden City in 2000 as Head of Psychology, completing 20 years teaching at the school. Now retired from full time teaching, Sue still enjoys passing on her knowledge of psychology to others through tutoring and adult classes.

Brought up in Hampshire, Steven read English Literature at Oxford University where he was heavily involved in drama, including producing the World Premiere of Samuel Beckett’s ‘Lessness’.

On graduation he embarked on a career in teaching, working in places as disparate as Sudan, Ethiopia and East Sussex before spending 22 years as Head of English at Kimbolton School.

When he retired from school teaching he moved to teaching adults as well as chairing a Riding for the Disabled group. More importantly he also was able to get a season ticket at Portsmouth FC!

Sharon has taught a number of literature and writing courses at The Settlement, The Rothsay Education Centre, at Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education and elsewhere.

Her background is in Eighteenth-Century British literature and she has presented numerous papers on Boswell and Johnson at literary conferences. Her discussion-based courses in American and English literature range from biography, nature writing and prize-winning novels to classic and modern fairy tales. Contemporary women’s writing is one of Sharon’s special interests.

Stephen spent 21 years as a specialist writer with Reader’s Digest before going freelance in 1999. He has been writing and lecturing on broadcasting, film and popular music on a part-time basis for over 30 years.

He has run courses for the WEA, De Montfort University, the City University and a number of Hertfordshire arts groups, and his five books include Studying Radio, the standard academic textbook on the subject.

Steve Lyall taught Tai Chi and Qigong as leader of the Luton Tai Chi Club from 2007 to 2020.

He belongs to The Tai Chi & Qigong Union for Great Britain (Advanced Instructor membership), The British Council for Chinese Martial Arts (Level 2 coaching) and The Longfei Taijiquan Association of Great Britain (Instructor).

Tim Parrott took his degree at Cambridge then worked as a schoolteacher before specialising in explaining Popular Science to general audiences.

In addition to Cosmology, Physics and Evolutionary Biology, he also teaches courses on architectural structure, always with a view to developing the knowledge and understanding of people without a background in Science who nonetheless want to know more.

Paul Green studied at Oxford (English Literature) and the University of British Columbia (Creative Writing).

He has worked as a freelance writer/broadcaster and his plays have been performed by BBC Radio 3, CBC Canada, Capital Radio, RTE Eire, Resonance FM, and by theatre groups in London and regionally.

Four of his speculative fiction novels have been published, in addition to two poetry collections. He also writes short stories – one of which won the Fiction Prize at the 2019 Hastings Literary Festival.

His parallel career has been in education, most recently as lecturer in media at the Royal National College for the Blind.

paulgreenwriter.co.uk

Paul has had a varied career in several universities and running his own business. He had a number of academic works published but had never tried his hand at creative writing until he retired from full-time work and enrolled on a course at The Settlement.

He has had four books published so far with thousands of reviews on Amazon. He runs an online writers’ group and has given a number of one-off presentations and lectures.

Now, Paul shares his experience in a course aimed at assisting those who may have tried their hand at creative writing and decided to continue with a view to progressing their work.

Wafà was born and educated in Lebanon, but has worked and lived in Australia, India, Poland, Cyprus, the UAE, and the UK. In addition to being a French, Arabic and English as a Second Language teacher, Wafà is a writer, translator, and storyteller.

She has written seven children’s books and has translated children’s stories from English into Arabic in addition to TV documentaries from Arabic to English.

She loves travelling, visiting art galleries and museums, going to the opera and ballet, walking in nature, practicing yoga, swimming, and dancing.

www.wafatarnowska.co.uk

Vitali Vitaliev was born and grew up in Ukraine and Russia. He is a University-educated (PhD) linguist and teacher of languages.

He is also a multi-awаrd-winning British author (15 books, written in English and translated into a number of languages), editor, columnist (formerly for the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, The European) and broadcaster (Have I Got News for You, QI, Radio 4, etc.).

Presently – Features and Columns editor of E&T magazine, distributed in 129 countries. Vitali lives in Letchworth.