Gandhi, Brian Cox, and Fred Ogden … Me? … That’s Fred … Almost Famous!

This is my Bio … I’m ‘JUST A LAD FROM OLDHAM’

Reader reviews: “I read and loved your inspiring & creative bio”: Dr Mehmet Yildiz “A very interesting life you have led, Fred. I think that perhaps you are Famous as you have touched many lives by opening many doors to different enlightenment through your experiences in life”: Jay Javurek

Hello , my name is Fred, and this is my Full bio:

Brian Cox, is another of my favorite scientists He’s a famous astrophysicist. Me … I’m almost famous! Who am I? This is who I am: …

***** I’m Fred Ogden … Just a Lad from Oldham *****

Born in a small terraced house in Oldham; then one of Lancashire’s highly-polluted Cotton Mill Towns in England’s North West, Near Manchester.

Oldham has produced quite a few celebrities over the years, including Louise Brown, the world’s first ‘test-tube baby’, born in the same Oldham Hospital as my own daughter.

Brian Cox the astrophysicist is also a Lad from Oldham.

In 2010, The Kelvin Medal was awarded to Professor Cox by The Institute of Physics for ‘Communicating the Appeal and Excitement of Science to the General Public’.

Other famous people have interesting associations with Oldham too, like Winston Churchill, who was first elected as a member of the British Parliament in October 1900, as MP for Oldham.

Brian Cox and I have quite a few things in-common:

· We both have very similar accents when we speak

· Both became scientists: Brian a Physicist; Me a Biologist

· We both graduated with a BSc (Hons) degree from Manchester University

· Both of us are practiced International Science Communicators.

· Both of us received Gold Medals for ‘Communicating the Appeal and Excitement of Science’: Fred in 1992; Brian in 2010 (Brian’s medal is shown in the previous section, above).

· We were both born, raised, and educated in Oldham, hence our accent-in-common! And also, to our special credit:

· We are both fans of Oldham Athletic, the football team that ‘some’ say is also: ‘almost famous’!

There is perhaps one significant difference between me and Brian: In later life I became a Licenced Real Estate Agent! I guess that Brian (a younger man) still has the time!!

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It’s said: “You can take the lad out of Oldham, but you can’t take Oldham out of the lad!”

And there’s a song that I often sing (accompanied by guitar) when I’m speaking to, and introducing myself to, a new audience.

It’s called “I WENT UP TO HEAVEN”

Here are the words:

I went up to heaven one morning in May.

The angels said: “Where d’ya come from?

And where do ya stay”?

When I told’m “from Old’m”, well they all did stare!

They said: “Come in lad, you’re welcome.

You’re the first one from there!”

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MORE HEAVENLY BITS:

In addition to my academic career in science and education, I also have an interest in Theology …

Growing up in a Christian household led me to becoming a follower of Jesus, and later, a Preacher (Methodist Church in England) and (The Uniting Church of Australia). I’ve lived in Australia since 1990.

Today, whilst I still label myself, firmly, as a follower of Jesus, I have a much broader attitude to all things religious, and in particular, to other religions, other Gods, and … to atheism. Allow me to introduce two influencers* that I admire:

* Mahatma Gandhi:

One of the most instantly recognizable figures of the 20th century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, better known to many as the Mahatma or Great Soul, was a Hindu who made a deep study of all things religious. A man I very much respect.

Below, are two Gandhi quotes that resonate with me:

The first is directed at modern Christians; the second surely applies to Atheists as well:

1. “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians: Your Christians are so unlike your Christ”

2. “There is no religion higher than Truth & Righteousness. Suppose one man admits the existence of God, but lives a life of falsehood and immorality, while another knows not the name of God but lives a life of truth and virtue. Can there be any doubt as to which should be regarded truly religious as well as moral?”

* Karen Armstrong:

Awarded the Franklin J Roosevelt Four Freedoms Medal in 2008 for her work on religious liberty, Armstrong is a leading commentator on comparative religion, and the author of many books on that topic. I highly recommend her writings to you.

Here are two quotes from her 2010 book: “The Case for God”, that for me, get to the very heart of the search for religious truth in today’s world, without the desire to convert anyone:

1. “We are seeing a great deal of strident dogmatism today, religious and secular. But there is also a growing appreciation of the value of ‘unknowing’.

2. One of the conditions of enlightenment has always been a willingness to let go of what we thought we knew in order to appreciate truths we had never dreamed of. We may need to ‘unlearn’ a great deal about religion before we can move on to new understanding.

This surely applies to the religious as well as the atheist.

Let’s keep searching; let’s keep thinking … together! …

Let’s accept our limitations and be willing to let go of old certainties if we meet new truths.

Amen to that!

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MY SERMONS:

“Don’t leave your brains at the door” … that’s my call to all church-goers. I’ve written and delivered hundreds of sermons, but choose not to list any of my sermon titles here. Instead, I offer another Gandhi quote:

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching”

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MY MINI PROFILE:

Former International Educator, Teacher and Senior Lecturer, Darwinian Evolutionist, Writer, Preacher, Story-teller & Occasional Speaker. I am based in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia and can be reached via this email link: [email protected]) if you’d like use me.

I’m a Life Member of The Royal Society of Biology.

My interests: Philosophy, Science, Theology, and all things Biological.

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MY PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND (in chronological order):

ENGLAND: · BSc (Hons) (Manchester) & Tech Teacher’s Cert (London C&G).

· Teacher: Three schools in Northern England

· Senior Lecturer: Biology (Evolution/Genetics Specialism): Durham College

LESOTHO Southern Africa: · Science Education Specialist to experimental schools in Lesotho

ENGLAND: · Education & Science Adviser: UK Education Authority

· CBiol MRSB: Life-Member Royal Society of Biology

KIRIBATI Central Pacific: · Head of Education &Teaching-Practice: Tarawa Teachers’ College, Kiribati

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: · Head of Health Department: Community College

ENGLAND: Senior Lecturer: Manchester Polytechnic. Temporary position whilst awaiting visa for migration to Australia

AUSTRALIA: · Senior Teacher: Chemistry: Nth Queensland College (BTC)

· Gold Medal Award: Excellence in Science Teaching: Australia

AUSTRALIA contd: · PGCE: James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland

· Vice-President Townsville Multiculture Support Group

· Assistant Director National Education Office. Author of first Procedure’s Manual for IESIP: The Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Program

· Coordinator: Queensland Open Learning Network, based in Townsville

· After academic retirement I studied Real Estate Agency law, and after qualifying I opened my own Real Estate Agency in Townsville, QLD, Australia as a Licensed Real Estate Agent.

I continued in this ‘new venture’ until my final retirement some 15 years later.

I am now retired, but active as Writer, Thinker, Philosopher and Speaker. Available for speaking appointments and story-telling (via this link).

I now live in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia.

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I’m still NOT VERY FAMOUS! (Hence ‘Fred-Almost-Famous’)

But I have written hundreds of lectures, sermons, lots & lots of stories (mostly unpublished until I joined Medium in 2020), several songs (words & music), plus documents for educational establishments and Government Departments in several countries.

My writer’s nom-de-plume is Fred: Almost-Famous. Almost famous by nom-de-plume, but not there yet in real life living!!

MY STORIES:

Over the years I’ve written many short stories, but I didn’t publish any until late 2020 (via Medium)… just before my 80th birthday! I’ve always been known as a storyteller, and when I retired from academic life the following was said at my farewell:

“Fred will also be remembered for his amazing story-telling abilities. On numerous occasions we have sat here entranced as Fred wove tales within tales. We often wondered if there was a point and if he would ever get to it. There always was and he always did, but it was never given on a plate. He always made us think” ***** Jack Worsfold

I’ve published many stories since my late publishing ‘start’… they are an eclectic mix. You will see details of how to find them in the end Navigation Panel. My Navigation Panel is found at the end of every story I publish. If you do read one of my stories and like it, do please let me know by clapping and leaving a comment. (details on how to do this are in the navigation panel)

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MY SONGS:

My Gospel songs include:

• ** Trust the Savior. *** Did You Know? *** One Day More Than Forever. *** **** Are You Willing? **** I’ll Wait ’til Tomorrow. **** The Clock of Life **** *** Tell the World. *** The Doorway to The Answer. *** There Am I ***
• If you’d like to see the full wording of any of my songs, use this link to my email: [email protected] and I’ll liaise with you.

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A Love song:

· Princess Khatija (written for my wife). Here below, is the full wording:

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A Protest song:

· Mr P (Blind Eyes Do Not See)

Below: a copy of my original manuscript (with full wording overlaid)

To receive a copy of the words and music, together with permission to use them, you can email me with this link: [email protected]

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SELF-PUBLISHED:

Under this subtitle, there’s only one that merits any attention. A simple pre-computer-age booklet that was written to demonstrate Home Vegetable Production on the atolls of Kiribati , something almost impossible to do on a tropical coral atoll.

In the 1980s, my wife and I managed to ‘master’ it, and produced a little booklet using only the tools of management that were then available to us in that remote location (typewriter; hand-drawings; roll-film photos). Here’s the booklet cover:

Titled “Home-Grown in Kiribati”, it was funded by the Australian High Commission in Kiribati, and produced using Tarawa Teachers College’s offset-lithograph.

Colour versions (with colour photo-prints glued onto the pages!) were supplied to the National Library, and black & white booklets were distributed to island villages by ‘Save-the-Children’.

Nothing special , but quite unique, so I choose to show it here.

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MY JOURNEY AS A WRITER:

As mentioned above (in ‘My stories’), it was quite a while before I first published any ! I was quite old! But now, I’m ‘Well on the Way’. I published over 70 this year!

At the start of this Bio, I said: “I am Fred Ogden … Almost Famous!”

But as both me and Brian Cox know only too well:

*** “You can take the lad out of Oldham, but you can’t take Oldham out of the lad!” ***

And I’m still just that lad!:

Fred Ogden … Almost Famous … ‘JUST A LAD FROM OLDHAM’

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End-of-2023 Bio Update

As you already know, Fred didn’t take up writing until the end of 2020 … shortly before his 80th birthday … and at the end of 2023 he will have written and published (on line via the Medium platform) some 200 or so readable short stories and articles.

“Does this man never rest?”

Lastly … “At last”, I hear you say !!!

A final quote: … from William Sparrow (1801–74)

A MOTTO FOR LIFE’S JOURNEY:

“Seek the truth, come whence it may, cost what it will”

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“Gandhi, Cox & Fred Ogden” Written by Fred: Almost Famous * * * * * © Fred Ogden * * * * * (this bio is edited from time-to-time).

* * * (Feel free to share it on social media if that’s your scene) * * *

You can also Clap & Comment (via icons at top or bottom of this article)

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NAVIGATION PANEL: TO EVERYTHING FRED: (clickable links)

• All You Need to Know About Fred (including an Index to Fred’s Stories)
• New Index to ALL Fred’s Story Collections
• Get Fred’s new stories delivered to your email inbox … There’s no charge
• Fred’s Email: [email protected]

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• Follow Fred on Medium: 👉 Fred’s Follow-button (top of all his stories), and he’ll click YOUR ‘follow’ button if he finds your stories appealing.

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