If Harry Potter had been born fifty years earlier, I sometimes wonder if he might have looked a little like me.

As a boy, I was forever getting into mischief. I wasn’t naughty on purpose — it just seemed that adventure had a habit of finding me wherever I went. One minute I’d have everyone laughing, and the next I’d have them tearing their hair out wondering what I was going to do next.

Curiosity was my superpower… and occasionally my downfall.

One of my earliest memories takes me back to Mrs Leggiest’s nursery, where I experienced my first childhood crush. This same day I ended up getting my head banged by an indoor swing! I also remember proudly wearing a tiny gold bracelet that Emily had given me. After returning from A&E I thought I was terribly grown up and spent the rest of the day trying to keep my arm raised so nobody would notice it. Funny the things we remember.

School and I never became the best of friends. I wasn’t the cleverest in the classroom, and exams certainly weren’t my favourite pastime. Somehow, though, I muddled through, helped enormously by spending my final two years at a private school. Looking back, those wonderfully wacky years taught me far more about life than any textbook ever could.

As I grew older, life became one big adventure.

As I grew older, girlfriends came and went, while my passion for the vibrant world of the 1980s opened unexpected doors. I found myself immersed in the exciting industries of yachting, windsurfing journalism, advertising and copywriting. It was a thrilling time, introducing me to some of the most fascinating characters and unforgettable personalities I could ever have hoped to meet. And some famous too.

Then came the biggest adventure of them all…

Armed with little more than a backpack and an unhealthy amount of optimism, I travelled around the world, living and working in some of the most beautiful places imaginable. Every country gave me another story, another lesson and another reason to believe that people, wherever they come from, are far more alike than they are different.

Mind you, my girlfriend at the time deserved a medal for putting up with me for three years — especially during that year of travelling! Sadly, she decided she’d had quite enough of me by the time we got home.

Life moved on.

I was lucky enough to spend ten wonderful years married to my wife, and although our marriage eventually ended, we remain good friends. She probably deserved a Knighthood. Together we have my amazing daughter, Phoebe, who has always made me incredibly proud. And one of my fondest memories was reading her bedtime stories with my own interpretation, changing and adding my own voices and special effects.

Today, I also have three wonderful grandchildren through my stepdaughter, and they fill my life with just as much laughter, energy and imagination as I had when I was their age. I love them dearly and they have given me the inspiration to develop my story writing, with my youngest helping me create and write a book together. This will be available December 2026 called ‘Pooligan’ the horse in my bedroom, followed by the next instalment in the ‘Herman in my pocket’ series early 2027.

For more than twenty years, my greatest supporter has been my partner, Carol. If you’ve ever wondered where Herman in My Pocket came from, she’s the answer. She has always believed in me — even when I wasn’t entirely sure I believed in myself. Quite honestly, if medals were handed out for patience, kindness and encouragement, she’d be wearing enough to make a five-star general jealous.

Writing has always been quietly waiting for me.

As a teenager I filled notebooks with poems, wrote countless song lyrics and dreamed up stories that were tucked safely away in drawers for years. Those stories stayed there until one day I realised they deserved the chance to be read.

That’s how Herman in My Pocket was born.

The books are filled with adventure, imagination, humour and a little bit of magic, but underneath every story is something I believe matters even more—kindness, courage, respect, good manners and helping others. They are old-fashioned values showing good moral behaviours, emphasising politeness, courtesy, understanding and basic manners, keeping life simple at a young age.

The best is saved till last. My Mum & Dad, whom all of this would not have been possible. The most wonderful parents you could ever ask for. These hard-working decent lovely people gave me the best thing in life anyone can have. Time, followed by patience, encouragement and old-fashioned values. My fond memories are countless and will never be forgotten.

Looking back, I realise how fortunate I have been. My life has been full of laughter, friendship, adventure, wonderful people and memories I wouldn’t swap for anything.

There are far too many people to thank individually, but every one of them helped shape the person—and the storyteller—I became.

I hope that somewhere along the way, I managed to bring a little happiness into their lives too.

And if my stories now do the same for a new generation of children…
…then every adventure was worth it.