Welcome
Hopefully, you’ve stopped by to find out more about me and what I do – or maybe you’ve happened upon the site quite by accident. Either way, I’ll try and give you a little introduction as best I can.
My work broadly encompasses three areas, writing and presenting, teaching and learning and digital media. In my day-to-day role, I’m the Digital Education Developer for the College of Arts at the University of Lincoln, supporting academic staff with embedding digital technologies into their teaching and learning practice. In 2018 I gained fellowship of the HEA (Higher Education Academy) and the following year I graduated with a PGCHE from Falmouth University, Cornwall. I have a strong research interest in the history and culture of the Southern United States and the genres of country music and Americana and in 2020 I’ll be starting a PhD study in the field of ethnomusicology with the University of Lincoln’s School of Fine and Performing Arts.
My passion for America began when I started presenting a country music radio programme on a small community radio station back in 2008. Ben’s Country Music Show is a two-hour programme showcasing the best of country, roots, Americana and bluegrass from the USA and UK and it’s now broadcast on a broad cross-section of stations across the UK and Ireland, each week. I’ve had a passion for radio for well over a decade and continue to write, present and produce radio documentaries, drama and music programmes. In that time I’ve worked with numerous BBC local radio stations, commercial and community radio as both a presenter and producer. As a developer in digital media, I’ve been designing websites since the early 2000s and in 2014, after graduating with a BA(Hons) in Media Production and an MA in Digital Media, I founded Tall Lime LTD, a creative digital agency based in the heart of the city of Lincoln – a place I’m proud to call home. Since then I’ve worked with SMEs and not-for-profits across the UK and internationally to produce a range of bespoke websites, mobile apps, and graphic design pieces.
In 2008 I independently published my first novel, The Kraken’s Curse, with support from my then school, King Edward VII in Melton Mowbray. A second novel followed in 2010 called Walking on Cinders – a dystopian yarn set in a much beleaguered London, sometime in the near future. I’m pleased to say that after almost ten years, I’m now working on a new novel which I hope will be finished sometime in 2019. So that’s me. If you’d like to find out any more to explore the site. I’ve tried to include as much interesting content as I can – but if there’s something missing, or you have a burning question for me, don’t hesitate to use the contact form to drop me a line.
Thanks for stopping by,
In 2020, Ben’s second novel, Walking on Cinders, turns 10 years old. This is the story of which Ben remains most proud, bringing together as it did so many of his interests and ideas in one story. The novel is a dystopian tale set in a future London on the brink of war and it follows three soldiers from the United army and the Forces Sweetheart, Miss Marmalade, as they find themselves at the centre of the closing days of the conflict.
