John has been involved in education for most of his career. Initially, he worked as a teacher before moving on to work as an advisor for a Local Education Authority. His passion for mountains, however, has always shaped his life. Whether among the peaks of the Himalyas or the Alps, the Pyrenees or the Serra de Tramuntana in Majorca, John has searched to explore and interpret the landscape and those who live there.  (His guide book for the Cirque de Lescun in the Pyrenees remains the only English language guide for the range.)

The other passion that threads through his life is writing. His early poems won the acclaim of John Wain, the chair of poetry at Oxford University; his songs were recorded by various artists including the late Persian singer, Shusha Guppy and his children’s plays sold in excess of one hundred thousand copies. Current publications include a collection of short stories (Majorcan Tales and other stories) and “Letters from the Pyrenees”, which documents a year living in a high altitude village on the border between France and Spain