I Have Never Had Too Much Trouble

At The Age Of 12 I Won The School Prize For Best English Essay. The Prize Was A Copy Of Somerset Maugham's 'introduction To Modern English And American Literature.' To This Day I Keep It On The Shelf Between My Collection Of Forester's Works And The Little Urn That Contains My Mother's Ashes.

A Cynic Had Defined Aid As Simply The System By Which Poor White People In Rich Countries Gave Money To Rich Black People In Poor Countries To Put Into Swiss Bank Accounts.

You Know That Feeling When You Finish A Final Exam And You Think, 'i Never Want To Do That Again'? Well I Have The Same Feeling When I Finish A Novel. Each Time I Say, 'i Think I May Retire Now' And Then After Six Months The Ideas Start To Churn Again. I Could Never Stop.

You Don't Turn Out As Many Books As I Did Then By Sitting Around, Being Cozy With The Family.

I Go On A Hunting Safari At Least Once A Year To Botswana, Which Is Fantastic Because We Have A Huge Area Of Wilderness Entirely To Ourselves. My Island Covers Roughly 55 Acres, Which Again I Have To Myself, With Nearly Half A Kilometre Of Private Beach With My Own Jetties And Boats.