Aged 75 and born in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England, July 1941.
Educated at the City of Norwich Grammar School from 1952 to 1957.
Amongst the positions I have held, were twenty-three years with the confectionery manufacturer, John Mackintosh (subsequently Rowntree Mackintosh) based in Norwich, twelve of which, as UK Design Studio Manager, involving graphic design, conceptual packaging development and print for the company products.
I also worked for several years as a Freelance Design Consultant.
I spent six years (1986–1992) as Marketing Services Manager with the Tom Smith Christmas Cracker company, when it was based in Norwich.
I am the world’s only Christmas Cracker historian and collector for nearly forty years, of beautiful hand-tinted, early twentieth century Photographic Glamour postcards, and I am also the owner of the Kathleen Kimpton Victorian Photographic Archive.
I decided to write my first book on Tom Smith and the History of the Christmas Cracker in 2000, when I discovered that, apart from the ‘potted’ history which I had produced when working for Tom Smith’s in the late 1980’s, an in depth book on the subject had never been undertaken before.
I have given lectures and written and contributed widely on the subject of Christmas Crackers, in the press and in the media, and in 2009 took part in the BBC’s Victorian Farm programme, to talk about crackers and their history. I have also appeared on the Russian TV (Channel 1), Deutsche Welle – German TV, BBC Breakfast, Mustard TV in Norfolk and various local radio stations around the UK to talk on Cracker history and traditions.