About Tom and Darcy

Hello! Darcy and I moved from London to Belfast in 2017, where I was born and grew up. We moved so that I could study for my Master’s and PHD degrees, and Darcy was my ever present-distraction, helping to ensure I avoided overworking (mostly). Before moving home, I worked for the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) as an advertising Copy Advisor (for the ASA’s sister organisation, the Committees of Advertising Practice) and an Investigation Executive. Before the ASA, I worked for various qualitative market research companies. In 1991 (now I’m giving away my age), I passed my General Nursing exams and went on to work in Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, in the neurosurgical and neuro-radiological departments. Taking a career break in the mid-1990s, I worked with a small youth and healthcare project in Bengaluru (then Bangalore), living with a local family. Living in Bangalore was the beginning of my love of being in India spending time with the many friends that I have made there during my years as a postgraduate student. Over the past few years, I have been fortunate enough to travel back to India to visit friends and give lectures and workshops for several university departments on the topic of well-being - a personal and academic interest close to my heart.

I graduated with a PhD in Anthropology from Queen’s University, Belfast in 2024. Before my PhD, I completed my Master’s degree in Anthropology at Queen’s, with a distinction. My Master’s research explored place-making with Hindu devotees in a temple (mandir) in Belfast. My PhD explored postgraduate social science students in the UK and Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic, a stressful and uncertain time for many of us. During the COVID-19 pandemic, my PhD research was ‘on hold’, which meant I was able to use my past nursing skills to work in an NHS care home for several months.

I have published in the journals, Anthropology and Humanism, Critique of Anthropology and the Irish Journal of Arts Management and Cultural Policy. I have co-edited two Special Issues for the Irish Journal of Anthropology, and I am one of its Assistant Editors. My speaking engagements have been at local and international conferences. I was an invited speaker for several Indian Universities - Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Motihari, University of Delhi, the University of Allahabad and Bodoland University, Kokrajhar. Pop over to my ORCiD profile if you want to read more details of my publications and presentations.

Why am I telling you about my past academic, healthcare and commercial careers? Simply to show you that I have a range of experiences beyond my academic skills.

I haven’t forgotten to tell you about the other member of the T&D Team, Darcy. She was often an interruption during my Master’s and PhD years, ensuring I left the house to take her for her walks. Darcy’s need for attention, including her walks, benefited me mentally and physically, ensuring I took healthy breaks from my studies. During my PhD fieldwork, which was online due to COVID-19 restrictions, Darcy would bark when I began speaking with an interlocutor. Her need for attention was resolved only when I lifted her up so that she could ‘assess’ where the strange voice was coming from - that usually broke the ice, setting a friendly and informal tone for my research interviews. And during supervision video calls, my supervisor would expect Darcy to attend. Darcy’s ‘need’ to take part in conference calls was noticed by the organisers of an international online conference, partly convened by one of my supervisors, resulting in Darcy became part of ‘the team’ as its mascot. Darcy has never been a cuddly dog, preferring her independence, yet letting me know that we need one another. Now, at 14 and a half years, Darcy is slowing down, but she pretends to other people that she’s still young at heart. Darcy has a favourite treat - Stilton cheese (don’t tell her vet), and she’s a sock thief!

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