ST JOHN, HANS ZIMMER AND FIVE BODYGUARDS

TAKING LEAVE was my first novel and I wanted it to be the best. Actually, I just wanted it to be read by people who would at best say how brilliant I was, and at worse not burst out in contemptuous laughter. To aid me in my quest, I traveled to a well-known Greek island – a major source of inspiration for others. If it had been an okay location for St John to write the Revelation in the Bible, it was going to be okay for me. 

THREE FILMS AND ONLY ONE FUNERAL

The Oscars are over and the two films I thought worthy of the top prizes have won – Argo and Amour. Both films have been rightly acknowledged for their exceptional scripts and directors. However, I thought it worth mentioning three other films and particularly the actors performing in them.

KNIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN

JT relives a poignant scene from his early days as a record plugger at Decca, when the boss of Threshold, the Moody Blues record label, posed a thought-provoking question.

In the long and distant past, I used to plug records for Justin and John from the Moody Blues when they were a band called the Blue Jays. Their label Threshold was managed by a dark glasses wearing American with a deep voice called Gerry Hoff.