For many years I organised Newcastle's Annual International Seminars on the Teaching of Computing Science at University Level, whose proceedings are, following a re-organisation of the School's website, for the time being provided here. Similarly, here is a complete list of our Honorary Graduands, since the reorganised School website in lacking half of them.
My perhaps less formal research activities concern Genealogy, though these have turned out to have a considerable overlap with my computing science interests, and have led to a number of student projects as well as publications! (I maintain the Devon pages of GENUKI, the UK & Ireland Genealogical Information Service that I helped launch in 1995, and which now has over 300,000 pages.)
My other pastimes include walking, initially on medical advice, but now pursued for its own sake, taking advantage when possible of the superb Northumberland countryside. And I also collect antique maps of Wales, time and money permitting.
At times I probably give people the impression that computers are most important things in my life - more important still, of course are the people: especially my wife, our four "kids", and our nine grandchildren. My wife Liz, subsequent to her career as a French teacher, a few years ago completed first an M.Litt. degree in French Linguistics at Newcastle University, and then a Ph.D. at St. Andrews University. Our daughter Jackie, married to Humbie (Ian Humberstone) and living in Aberdeenshire, is an Inspector with the Health and Safety Executive, with a family of identical twin sons, Dougal and Finlay, who are about to go to university, and daughter Sula. Our own Ian has recently retired from being a Detective-Sergeant with Northumbria Police. He is married to Catherine, who has also just retired from her position as a Detective-Constable - their daughter (aged 14) and son (aged 11) are both at Gosforth Academy. Alun and his wife Shu-Ya, who he met when he was teaching in Taiwan, now live in Bath, with their second son Owen. Alun is Head Teacher of Midsomer Norton Primary School, Shu-Ya is increasingly successful as an artist specialising in embroidery designs and abstract paintings. Their eldest son, Max is currently sequestered in New Zealand on an interrupted back-packing holiday of South-East Asia. Our third son Gareth, after spending some time as a scuba-diving instructor, has for some years been an IT Consultant working at the Royal Bank of Scotland, following many years at UBS Investment Bank, in London. He is married to Jassi, who also works in Fintech. They have a daughter Ella (aged 10) and a son Hugo (aged 8).
Brian Randell, 3 September 2020