DavidFarmbrough

English/American Real Estate and media person based in Wisconsin, USA, formerly a London real estate lawyer.

I enjoy creativity and my family. I have been a writer, radio broadcaster, photographer, and a newspaper editor. I was co-chairman of the Betty Boop Festival from 2010 to 2018, dedicated to helping boost my home town of Wisconsin Rapids by bringing in visitors, celebrating the work of one of its sons (Grim Natwick, original top animator of Betty Boop), and educating children and adults in animation, art, and cartoon history. I have been on various non-profit boards including Wisconsin Rapids Children's Museum Inc., the Central Wisconsin Literacy Council, the city's ADA Advisory Board, the Board Of Trustees of McMillan Memorial Library (past President), my ELCA church's Worship Board, and Friends Of Rapids Music. I am currently on the board of Wisconsin Rapids Community Theatre (President), Central Networking (past President), and serve on the Wisconsin Realtors' Association's committee for Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion. I am a member of Mid-State Poetry Towers, and River Cities 'Riters, and the Rotary Club.

Writing

I started writing book reviews for my youth club's magazine Explorers Bulletin, when I was a boy. My first paid writing was in around 1983, when I started writing music reviews and articles for Musicnet, the music magazine of Prestel. I edited the Trent Players' magazine Trent News, and wrote many articles for this. I have had reviews published by Celestial Toyroom, Cybermag, Outpost Gallifrey (an excerpt from which was featured in the Daily Express) and the BBC's own website. While studying for my MA, I edited the Birkbeck College magazine, Lamp And Owl, wrote some articles and contributed photographs. I have written many reviews for Amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, and the Internet Movie Database. I have contributed many hours of writing and editing to Wikipedia, and several articles for Axis magazine between 2004-2008, and had an article on the dreaded 'Home Information Packs' published by Solicitors Journal in 2008. I have written many articles for various news organisations and journalists, including political opinion, "how-to" guides, and reviews. I had a regular column "A Different View" in 100 issues of the Voice Of Wisconsin Rapids newspaper for four years and occasionally provided arts reviews and interviews for that paper. I also wrote political and other articles to order. I wrote scripts and directed video's made by Hearts Media and interviews for a Central Wisconsin news site Life At The Center. I was founding and managing Editor of the Wisconsin Rapids City-Times from 2013-2014.

Photography

I worked as a portrait photographer, and have had pictures published in the local newspaper, maps, and over 3,500 on Google Earth, with over 50 million views. I have had many photographs in my city's weekly papers. My pictures have been used in nine election campaigns, company and church newsletters, real estate agents, the website for Fleischer Studios, radio stations Y106.5 and Mix 96.7 and bands' Myspace and facebook pages. My pictures have been used by a London newspaper and a London radio station. I have also taken pictures on both a paid and voluntary basis for many local organisations and charities. In 2012 I came second in the "Best Photographer/Videographer" category in the People's Choice Of South Wood County awards. I taught photography for two terms at the outreach department of the University Of Wisconsin (at Stevens Point).

I started taking photographs when I was a child, and during a photography course aged 11 became fascinated with the photography of my London surroundings. I took a set of transparencies of North West London in 1978 of which I am very proud, including some of the Trellick Tower and Kensal Green Cemetery.

I developed the digital process which produces 'reflectograms', a digital art made by capturing textures and colours and then reflecting them. My art is available on Redbubble.

Broadcasting

In the 1980s, I ran and DJd on a pirate radio station "Radio Enfield" with a friend, playing mainly old music but also contemporary songs. I have also DJd for parties and clubs. From 2010 to 2013, I worked for Mix 96.7 in Central Wisconsin where I had two shows at the weekends (Saturday 2-8 p.m. and Sunday 11a.m.-3p.m.) until December 2012 when the station closed.

Qualifications

First degree in English Literature from Birkbeck College, University of London where I studied black British writing, post-colonial writing, Shakespeare, classical epic and science-fiction under (among others) Professors Isobel Armstrong and Roger Luckhurst, and an M.A. in History Of Film & Visual Media, also from Birkbeck, where I studied under Professors Laura Mulvey and Ian Christie. My research report was on recovering our lost television heritage and my dissertation was on deaf people's access to television and film. My M.A. was presented to me by the late Eric Hobsbawm. I am a member of Convocation of the University, and was on my college's University Challenge team in 2001. I obtained my Wisconsin real estate licence in 2018 and my broker's licence in 2022, followed by the NAR's At Home With Diversity and Commitment To Excellence certifications (both 2022). I obtained my ABR (Accredited Buyer's Representative) designation, my LGBTQ+ Ally Certificate and my Dave Ramsey RamseyTrusted designation in 2024.

Personal

Married, living in Wisconsin, USA with my wife, son, and four step-children. I enjoy singing well and playing instruments badly. My brother is the "Wizard Of Wikipedia" User:Rich_Farmbrough, one of the few humans to make over a million edits to Wikipedia. Distant cousin to Detroit Spinners member Henry Fambrough, photographer/writer Florence Farmborough, photographer William L. Fambrough and American foopball coach Don Fambrough. Descendant of James Flawn.

Wikipedia contributions

While not being as prolific as my brother, I have made over 7,000 edits to Wikipedia since 2005. I wanted to contribute photographs, but unfortunately, Wikipedia's requirement for me to lose ownership of my pictures and the way that policy is enforced dissuade my wholehearted participation.

I have created the following articles: