I left school in 1952 and joined a firm of Chartered Accountants, qualifying in 1958. I subsequently joined PriceWaterhouse and worked for them in London and Paris before starting my own investment banking operation in 1967. In 1974 I was appointed a Justice of the Peace and served on the bench for 31 years, retiring in 2005. During my working life I have held a number of appointments, both on and off the bench, such as a member of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Justices of the Peace, as a Director of the Securities and Futures Authority, as London Regional Chairman of the Legal Services Commission Duty Solicitors' Committee and a variety of Company Directorships. I am also a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of The Worshipful Company of Gardeners. I am a regular watcher of cricket at Lords and an active tennis player. I have two children, both of whom have been called to the Bar, and they have five children between them, which keeps my wife and I very busy with grandparent duties.