I was awarded my Fellowship in clean technology in 1992 and travelled to the USA to study good practice in energy conservation and schemes to reduce fuel poverty. It required visiting a range of US states with varying climatic conditions: hot – with high energy use for air conditioning, and cold – with high energy use for heating. One of the highlights was meeting the US Secretary for Energy in President Clinton's Administration and giving a presentation to her department.

As a direct result of my Fellowship, I established the Plymouth Energy Advice Centre, which helped over 8,000 residents in the Plymouth area to reduce their energy consumption and to get households out of fuel poverty. The Fellowship greatly extended my vocational knowledge and provided me with a wide contact base of experts which I was able to draw upon and apply to improving lives in Plymouth.

Now retired, I am a volunteer IT tutor at Age Concern, helping seniors to get to grips with computers. I am now planning a digital inclusion hub at our local seniors lunch club. I am also a trustee of a group helping to improve access and user facilities within the city for residents with mobility problems.