Perspective:Reflections on a career in synthetic organic chemistry, 1970 to 2020

This article gives a personal overview of a research career lasting from 1970 at the University of Sheffield to 2020 at the University of York with stops at Syntex California, University College London, The Open University and The University of East Anglia in between. Selected research group highlights are summarised and placed in context. The Perspective concludes with some reminiscences and reflections about an academic research career in the UK over the past 50 or so years.