This image is the cover for the book Why I Wrote wot I Wrote

Why I Wrote wot I Wrote

As Joanna Lumley notes in her preface, Bruce Denness has always trod a precarious path between serious science and philosophical frivolity. The science reached its peak at the British Geological Survey and Newcastle University in the 1970s but even then – and certainly since – he always looked for the funny side of whatever he was involved in, which may explain why his research has seldom been taken seriously. Bruce was born in 1942 on a farm in the Isle of Wight, where he grew up. His career then took him to the mainland (or England, as it is known on the Isle of Wight) and several countries in the Caribbean, South America and the Far East before he settled back on the Island again in 1984. Experiences gained during those years have contributed to the many letters that Bruce has since had published, mainly in The Telegraph and New Scientist. Admittedly, some of them may also have been influenced by regular visits to The White Horse Inn at Whitwell, Isle of Wight for invigorating Shiraz treatment.

Bruce Denness

Bruce Denness was born on the Isle of Wight, UK, where he grew up on a farm before graduating as a civil engineer and later becoming an engineering geologist. Subsequent periods at the British Geological Survey and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne enabled him to travel widely at home and throughout the developing world, working on projects ranging from landslip prevention and stabilisation, through coastal pollution prevention and climate forecasting, to optimising ecosystems. Since the early 1980s he has been an independent environmental consultant. After 50-odd years of publishing scientific papers, Bruce seized on the lockdown imposed by the covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity to bring order to his haphazard filing system. Therein he came upon the series of press cuttings of letters that he had written to newspapers and scientific and professional publications that provide the fodder for this mini opus. However, upon re-reading them, it became clear that, in order to still make sense, they required additional background explanation and context. Hence this book. Freed of the rigid strictures of scientific writing, here Bruce skips merrily through historical events, anecdotes, clichés, and cloudy memories, with scant regard for grammatical niceties. He enjoyed it and hoped you will too.

Austin Macauley Publishers