I am a Welshman, brought up in Britain. Read Japanese and Linguistics at Sheffield University followed by a one year post-graduate diploma in Japanese language and culture at Hokkaidō University. Worked at Seibu in Tōkyō for four years. Witnessed Emperor Hirohito at his last birthday appearance at the Fukiage Palace in Tōkyō in 1988.

Been living in Germany mostly since my 30s and have worked for Adobe as a quality engineer testing two applications for d0uble-byte language compatibility and helping out with icon production. Currently a tour guide for English, Japanese and German at Schwerin and Ludwigslust Palaces.

I have also worked as an historical actor, my speciality being Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary. My favourite meal is tea and biscuits [cookies].

My passion is my own conlang - Ungthumese. I started it, when I was 12. With just a list of English names and their Ungthumese equivalents. Now I have an English-Ungthumese Dictionary [approx. 15,000 entries] and an Ungthumese-English Character Dictionary [over 12,000 entries] on my phone. [Ungthumese is a character-based language with currently around 6,000 individual characters.] What drives me is producing things that are familiar, but in my alien language. Recognisable, but in an unfamiliar script, creating the feeling that the language really exists and people live their whole lives in that language.