Welcome
I'm glad you dropped by. Pull up a chair; fetch a cup of tea or a beer; make yourself at home. You'll find pages about my travelling, with photos of course; some of my writing and my thoughts about it; a bit about me; and links to my blog and email. That should be enough to fill your time while your tea gets cold.
And, of course, there are links to my book. Yes, I'd love you to buy it - if you are in a hurry you can click here for a print book in the UK and here for a UK ebook. You're in the US? Click here. But I hope you'll hang around and say hello first.
And please - let me know what you think - especially if there is anything else you'd hoped to find here. It might be my site, but that doesn't mean I'm its expert! You can send me a message via the 'contact me' page.
And the elephant - ah, the elephant. I rode her through a grove in Kerala, in Southern India, with my guide crushing coffee beans and cardomon seeds into the palms of my hands for me to smell them - when he wasn't taking pictures!
I only spent about an hour with her. It was, of course, a venture set up for tourists, but I did get the chance to peer into the elephant shelters. In some ways they were better off than the mahouts. They were hosed regularly (essential for elephants), and able to roam freely. I even watched as a mother elephant allowed a mahout to wash her baby - the trust between man and elephant was touching. So, as elephants go, mine has a reasonable life!
And she's become associated with me on a forum or few in recent years, and so it seemed fitting that she found her way onto the cover of my book.