I Have Never Had Too

I Go On A Hunting Safari At Least Once A Year To Botswana, Which Is Fantastic Because We Have A Huge Area Of Wilderness Entirely To Ourselves. My Island Covers Roughly 55 Acres, Which Again I Have To Myself, With Nearly Half A Kilometre Of Private Beach With My Own Jetties And Boats.

I Wanted To Be A Great White Hunter, A Prospector For Gold, Or A Slave Trader. But Then, When I Was Eight, My Parents Sent Me To A Boarding School In South Africa. It Was The Equivalent Of A British Public School With Cold Showers, Beatings And Rotten Food. But What It Also Had Was A Library Full Of Books.

When I Vacate This Sack Of Old Bones I Won't Care What You Do With It. Bury Or Burn It But Don't Make Much Fuss.

Usually Halfway Through A Book I Have A Serious Depression, So I Go On Safari On My Ranch In South Africa, Or Fishing Off My Island In The Seychelles. When I Come Back And Re-read It, I Think: 'what Was All That About, Smith? It's Fine, Just Get On With It.'

I Have Never Had Too Much Trouble For Creative Ideas To Spring Up In My Mind.