The author performed clerical work in London during the Blitz, immigrated to Kenya after the war, and worked as a hide and skin buyer, surveyor and as a labour manager. He enlisted in the British Army, served in Egypt and, upon release, returned to East Africa. There he was employed on a coffee estate, in the desert locust control, the police, became an itinerant trader and worked for the veterinary department, and as a farm manager. He then immigrated to South Africa where he opened a delicatessen and eventually retired as a director of an insurance company. He now lives in Ireland where his beloved wife passed away and keeps himself busy by writing the memoir of his chequered career.