My Story
At 18, I left education as a public school toff and, once married with children, managed to end up in a council house on the dole in St Ives, Cornwall. The profit motive never inspired me, and the wine and restaurant businesses I started soon folded. I wanted to be a writer, but I had no idea of how to make a living from doing so. It is only since retiring, coupled with the encouragement of my second wife, that I have been able, finally, to pursue this ambition.
In between, my rewards have been three loving children with my first wife and, then, the four constantly intriguing grandchildren they gave us. Also, university in Leicester in my mid-30s led to an escape from poverty through work, initially as an English teacher and, after further training, as a university student counsellor. I grew up by the river in Maidenhead and by the sea in St Ives, and I now live with my wife in Plymouth, happy to be by the water’s edge once again.
