The author was born in the west country but was educated in Norfolk. He spent the first twelve years of his working life in the British merchant navy working as a ship's radio officer but left the service due to its rapid decline. After working on several ‘foreign' flag vessels, he decided things were not so much fun as they use to be. So, after a brief stint at Portishead radio, he left the sea completely and started working for an office supply company as a field engineer until taking early retirement and relocating to a small village in central Brittany for a slower pace of life.