It all started at 3pm on 29th June 1959 at the European hospital in Mombasa, Kenya, the seventh baby to be born in twenty-four hours, a hospital record. Many more records would be broken in the future.

At the time of my birth, both my British parents were living in Mombasa, Kenya, my father was working for a company called Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) and my mother looked after myself and my older sister with the help of our beloved housekeepers and gardeners. Importantly to point out that from a very early age we were taught that none of our “staff” were ever to be treated as servants and we were taught how to sew, cook, clean and encouraged to learn how to take care of ourselves. The key word here – INDEPENDENCE!

As I was born in Africa from British parents, I have always considered myself as someone with an African heart and a British culture and therefore classified as a White African.

So off we went, my sister and I, to Mombasa Primary School and we used to wait in the car park for my father to pick us up in his old Peugeot which had a hole in the floor, I was mesmerized by this hole and all the way home I would watch the road whizz by through the hole, lost in my own little world.

Growing up in Kenya as a child was a lifestyle to die for, spending time with friends and family, alternating weekends at the beaches along the north and south coast of Mombasa and going on “safari” trips to the neighbouring game parks of Tsavo East and West with friends, Deep-sea fishing trips on a Sunday catching mainly Marlin, Tuna and Sailfish and Creek fishing catching mainly Stingray. Weekdays were spent at both the Nyali Golf Club where I played golf, went swimming, played squash and hung out with friends. Quite often I would go onto the island of Mombasa and play golf at the Mombasa Golf Club. I also loved water skiing in the creek and spent many family evenings playing card games, board games, chess and bridge and when I was older and I was given permission to “go”, I went with friends to the discos held at the beach hotels along the North Coast of Mombasa. The travelling DJ would always start the disco with his signature tune: “Down on the Corner” by Creedence Clearwater Revival.