I was born and raised in Hackney east London. And I left school with no qualifications. I first trained in 1968 to be a motor mechanic, but I found I was not as interested in that as I thought I would be. After several jobs of different descriptions in the same year, I finally settled with selling and making pies in a pie and mash shop until the premises closed in February 1980 (pie and mash is a traditional cockney meal). I then discovered that I enjoyed working with the public, and I became a salesman and an account rep for the local electricity supplier. I have also been a chairman for my local residents association. When I was diagnosed with Parkinsons in 2007, I had to find something I could do to compensate for the activities I could no longer take part in. I knew I enjoyed writing poems for friends to celebrate birthdays, wedding anniversaries, etc. I also wrote humour poems too, and I was told that I need to write and publish, as people need to read this type of stuff. Well, five books later here I am. Hope you enjoy.