Developing the mathematical feel: The 2000 Presidential Address

Extract

I came to the Mathematical Association through our local branch and being involved in the Plymouth Annual Conference. After three years as Chair of Branches Committee I thought that it was time to setde back to the lazy golfing life of the south-west! Thus it came as a surprise and an honour to be invited to be President of our Association. I believe that one of the important features of the Mathematical Association is the branch structure and I am saddened to see the decline in active branches (including the West Devon and Cornwall Branch). Thus one of my wishes as your President was to visit as many branches as possible to support and thank the active members who keep their branch alive. Now I realise the reality of the travelling salesman problem and the challenge of travelling from Plymouth to the far flung corners of the UK (and Ireland) by public transport. But it has been possible and I have enjoyed visits to Dublin, Belfast, Exeter, Liverpool, Cheltenham, Leeds, Cardiff, London, Norwich, Sheffield and Hull as well as temporarily resurrecting our local branch in the south-west. I had the pleasure of visiting Glasgow two years ago and I look forward to Newcastle in May.