Introduction
Rob came to Brighton in 1971, and has been here ever since, apart from a 9 month period early on. He came to work for the Brighton Hostel, a charity which tried to help look after the homeless.

These were his first impressions:

I remember the first five or six weeks I was in Brighton I didn't get to the seafront. I got off the train and walked with the aid of the map I had been sent, to Islingwood Road which was where the charitable hostel was and was straight away involved in the day to day running of the place and never got to see the sea for a week. The first time I saw it we were actually delivering soup to a couple of points along the seafront where local homeless people were waiting. So I first saw the seafront at night, handing out soup and stale bread which Forfars used to provide free for charities.

In 1978 he started working for Brighton Polytechnic (now called University of Brighton)

In April 1983 Rob moved to his present home, in Upper Lewes Road and this remembered date has helped him to date other events he was involved in at the time (environmental, labour politics)

Rob has been interested in Environmental issues for all of his adult life. As an undergraduate, he studied Environmental Sciences (the first year that this course was offered at University of East Angli). He has been involved in Environmental campaigning, and a keen supporter of Friends of the Earth since leaving university in 1971. Although nowadays, he is less likely to be involved in active campaigning, his personal choices are still made according to environmental principles.