MICHAEL Burdekin was born in Hawarden, North Wales, on February 5, 1938. He is father to Jonathan Burdekin, 40, a former captain of King’s School cricket team, and Neil Burdekin, 42, a policeman.
The grandfather of four has been married to wife Jennifer for 43 years and has lived in Bollington for the last 31 years.
Attending King’s School in Chester, he played cricket for the 1st XI and was captain of the school. He also played cricket for Flintshire, aged 16, before going on to study engineering at Cambridge University. In 1977, Michael became head of civil and structural engineering at UMIST Manchester, meaning a move to Macclesfield occured.
In November, Michael is set to appear at Buckingham Palace to collect an OBE for contributions to nuclear safety, following the release of the Queen’s birthday honours list in June.
With a heavy involvement in both the Parish Plan and Bollington Town Plan, Michael is also chairman of the governors at Kings School and president of Macclesfield Cricket Club – a role he has held since 1996.
The best thing about Macclesfield is ... it is close to Bollington in the foothills of the Peak District! Bollington is a lovely place to live and it is nice to have Macclesfield nearby.
The worst thing about Macclesfield is... too much litter and graffiti. This is a general problem in towns and I wish people would pick up litter and keep the town clean.
My favourite place in Macclesfield is... the King’s School. The view of the King’s School through the Memorial Gates with cricket being played there is beautiful.
Ideally I would spend every day... solving problems. I think it is most important for retired people to keep their brains active and not allow themselves to become couch potatoes.
My favourite night out is... a meal and concert in Manchester. I think we are lucky to have superb music and arts facilities in Manchester and I enjoy concerts at the Bridgewater Hall and shows/plays at the various theatres. Of course we are lucky in Bollington to have excellent local arts groups for both music and theatre.
The best holiday I’ve been on was... Jersey with three generations of my family. I think Jersey is a lovely island and my wife and I took our two sons and their families there in the year of my 60th birthday.
If money was no object I would... provide Macclesfield Cricket Club with first class facilities. Cricket has been one of the main sports interests in my life and since retiring from playing I have tried to put something back by supporting Macc as the premier club in the area. They have had problems for some time and need a large cash injection to restore their facilities to provide opportunities for young and old to participate.
My one piece of advice would be ... always try to be constructive and positive. I see no point in looking backwards and being negative. Yes – learn lessons from experience but build from where you are and move forwards.
My first job was... research to improve safety of structures. When I left University and was looking for a job, the place that inspired me most was a small research association which was buzzing with people really interested in what they were doing. The director took the trouble to find out my final exam results and wrote a personal letter of congratulations, urging me to join the firm. I did, and never regretted it!
If I could do one thing again it would be... spend more time with my family. I worked in London for eight years, leaving home early and getting home late, during the period my two sons were at primary school so that when I got home they were ready for bed.
What I am reading now is... Inspector Morse. I don’t read a lot of fiction as I still do quite a lot of technical reading associated with consultancy work. However, for relaxation I enjoy the occasional crime novel.
On my CD player is... Mozart’s requiem. I love choral music and I find Mozart a particularly stimulating and moving composer.
My favourite TV show is ... any kind of sport. I like all sport and we do subscribe to Sky Sports to ensure that we can watch cricket, football, rugby and athletics.
My biggest inspiration has been... Isaac Newton. I am fascinated by the contributions made by Newton to physics, mathematics, mechanics and astronomy. His unravelling of the laws of gravity applied to the solar system were an amazing step forward. Despite the subsequent contributions of Einstein and development of quantum mechanics no-one has yet explained satisfactorily the basis of the different fundamental force systems in nature.
If I could invite anyone round for tea it would be... Stephen Hawking. I would love to have a discussion with him about my own ideas on the forces of nature and about black holes.
