I was born at the height of the Battle of Britain (thanks to Adolf Hitler), read mathematics at Oxford (thanks to Cookie Cookson), became a specialist in artificial intelligence at the University of Edinburgh (thanks to Donald Michie and, indirectly, Alan Turing) and am now a Professor here in the Computer Science Department at Essex (thanks to Tony Brooker). Throughout my career I have also applied statistical and computer methods in archaeology and anthropology. My publications and past projects reflect this mix of interests (Doran 2012).