I was born on the 23rd of June, 1951, in Glasgow. It was a Monday which explains the "fairness of my face". My father wasn't present at the birth because he was in Haiti. (He was the only child of a French mother and an English father and was born in St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands). My mother was Scottish from a Scottish/Orcadian background. I then moved to Haiti to join my father, accompanied by my mother and my sister (who, earlier, had been born in the Dominican Republic). Returning to Scotland (Haiti's dictator, Papa Doc, was not a huge fan of foreigners), I ended up in Dalwhinnie in the Highlands after brief spells in Glasgow and Perthshire. All this by the time I was six. I was educated at Dalwhinnie Primary School and Inverness Royal Academy (where I starred in the football team, winning the North of Scotland league and cup in 1969). I can't say that I starred academically but passed the required exams to get to university. However, after deciding I was far too lazy to spend several years studying, I joined The Topper in Dundee and began writing stuff like Beryl the Peril. Then I met Andrew Christine, who was to become a lifelong friend and partner in the world of comic strips. We did stuff and are still doing stuff.
In my mid-thirties, I learned how to breed and, with the help of a wonderful woman that I've now known for 39 years, I became the father of two little beings who became the lights of my life. Not now, of course. They left home ages ago and are now just annoying. (Joking!)
I've seen the Eiffel Tower and the one that leans in Pisa. I've seen Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen. I've eaten snails in Nice and lobster in Boston, not to mention pies in Dundee. I've met Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Richard Branson, Brian May and the podgy one from the Likely Lads. (None of this is particularly impressive. The last four on the list were all at Daily Star Awards ceremonies I was invited to. It's not like they've been round my house for a booze-up.)
Since it's been quiet on here, I thought I'd tell you about my life. That's it.
