Blog
The day double agent Eddie Chapman handed himself in at a Littleport farm
I have been researching my next book which will have a WW2 background and this led me to meet Vivien Hawes, whose father George Convine was farm manager at Apes Hall, Littleport, Cambridgeshire when double agent Eddie Chapman turned up out of the blue in the middle of...
Alan Turing’s letter to a schoolboy defining linear algebra
Sorting through a box of papers recetly, "maths genius" Lionel March stumbled across a hidden treasure - a three page letter from Alan Turing written to him when he was a schoolboy. Lionel had created a new form of algebra which so impressed academics that it was...
Ovarian cancer and the ROCA Test
Angelina Jolie is the woman who can be credited for single-handedly doing more to raise awareness about ovarian cancer than anyone else; it never made national news headlines until she shared her personal experiences. As a carrier of a faulty version of BRCA1 gene,...
In memory of Michael Deaves and my IRA scoop
I was saddened to read that my former Cambridge News colleague Michael Deaves has died. When I first started at the News, Michael appeared rather a daunting and aloof figure, he was the paper's university correspondent. His sister sums him up nicely by saying: "He had...
A literary lunch with The Shop Girls and Sandra Howard
I never imagined ten years ago when I first met the gorgeous Sandra Howard during my role as the Conservative Party's Eastern Region Press Officer during the 2005 general election when her husband Micheal was the Tory party leader that I would one day be sharing a...
Where are the world’s best osteomyelitis experts?
Where are the world's best osteomyelitis experts? I ask this because my son David has suffered from chronic osteomyelitis in his left mandible, his jaw, for more than 11 years. It all started from an abscess in the root of a tooth, and has plagued him for half of his...
The Shop Girls makes Sunday Times 2014 “brilliant books” list
The year has got off on a terrific start with my book The Shop Girls being included in The Sunday Times selection of best reads for 2014. It is ranked second in the highlighted biography section, a total and unexpected shock, though a very pleasant one. As you can...
100 years on, tributes paid to Captain Scott’s friend Sir Edgar Speyer
One hundred years on, Sir Edgar Speyer has been commemorated for his support in helping to fund Captain Scott’s expeditions to the Antarctic, and for his major contribution to polar research. It follows the unveiling of a plaque at the Scott Polar Research Institute...
The Shop Girls launch at Heffers makes history
I have been on cloud nine since the launch of The Shop Girls in Heffers fabulous bookstore, Cambridge earlier this week. The launch was a sell-0ut, with tickets being snapped up six weeks before the event, even before I had secured some for my family, and my editor...