After many years in a variety of occupations ranging from farrier to fast jet pilot for the Royal Air Force, I started writing humorous poetry by accident (some people say it shows!). I was 36 yrs old and had just moved to Australia and on a whim wrote Name Calling. Fifteeen years later that poem is still amongst the most popular - which tells me I haven't improved too much.

The main vehicle for my rhymes is a tubby panda bear called The Big Bamboo. I chose a panda because, being black and white, they represent both extremes of life and living. I wanted a character, a force, an entity that captured all races and creeds as well as all opinions. My mother was Chinese-Malay, my father, English-Irish, and I have lived variously in Malaysia, Germany, the UK and also Australia. This spread of loyalties and experiences left me a confirmed internationalist.

My childhood was shared with a myriad of wildlife as my father had a penchant for collecting exotic animals - mostly reptiles. But we also had foxes, a weasel, many types of wild birds living with us and most famously a pet Lar Gibbon, a type of tailless monkey, that shared my cot with me until I was almost two years old that would also bottle feed me and later spoon feed me.

Nature and the preservation of our environment is two of the themes I frequently bring into my poetry. But whether it is nature or simply observations about life I write about, it is important to me that my work educates as well as entertains. 

I don't know about literary achievements or awards - but at the age of 21 when I was learning to fly with the Royal Air Force, I did manage to touch wheels upon a passing Weetabix truck. My superior officers were not as impressed as I was (or as shocked as the driver of the vehicle) so consequently I left her Majesty's forces!

Getting my illustrated poetry published after a 15 yr wait is, I suppose, a form of achievement. And the sales of almost 90,000 copies confirms what I knew all along, that the vast majority of publishers know nothing about the commercial potential of what they assess. They all seem to carry the emasculating chloroform of conservatism.

I have recently returned from a trip in far north Queensland where I visited a number schools and taught the children (aged 7 to 12) how to write humorous rhyme and also how to illustrate. This is something I am hoping to do much more of once the books are officially launched early next year.

The Big Bamboo himself!
Contains a synopsis of my work with samples and activities for children and a short biography about me as well as the origins of The Big Bamboo.

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