A product of Anglo Scottish parentage of literary and musical background, I was raised in London and Scotland and educated at boarding schools in southern England.

I attended Cleveland State and Case Western Reserve University’s, majoring in History and minoring in Music.
Before creating a bookshop with my wife, Chantal, I worked in a solicitor’s office, at a bank, and was a freelance book-keeper. Subsequent to this, we created The Bolingbroke Bookshop in 1982!

This was closed in 2013 after 31 exciting years. I always remember my first day in the shop – My wife, who had been an experienced bookseller in Paris, related a story where by she had a steady flow of people who came into her shop. One day, one of them said: “I want a bestseller which has a yellow cover and ‘that’ thick!” – People expected you to be clairvoyant – sometimes an impossible task . Imagine my surprise when after 30 minutes of opening the shop for the first time, a customer came in and asked for just a book! I looked at her narrowly and thought she was having me on… But she was serious. I could relate similar tales where lateral thinking is a requisite.

Apart from books, my main passions are flying vintage aircraft and playing the cello. A venerable trio!