Bit of blurb about me. I was born and raised in Scotland though I now live in London. I currently commission drug and alcohol treatment and rough sleeper outreach services. I have worked in homeless hostels and day centres, and residential rehabs.  I have two lovely daughters, one grandson, three cats (meet the cats below), and a lovely wife. Family means everything to me. 

I listen to most music (I have Chinese Classical music on my player), but punk and metal are probably my main things. Killing Joke and Napalm Death remain firm favourites.  

In terms of writers, I have always been an avid reader, my main likes are (in no particular order):

• Aldous Huxley

• George Orwell

• Alasdair Gray

• Jack Kerouac (though I don't think he particularly ages well, he was a good to read when I was 17).

• Emile Zola

• Honore de Balzac

• Knut Hamsun (Hunger remains one of my favourite books, though I was dismayed to find out Knut was a Nazi sympathiser. This is part of an ongoing conversation in my head, and with others about what to do when artists display behaviours/ thoughts that are abhorrent. I have come to the conclusion that, at some point, if it is good enough, the work transcends the creator.)

• Fyodor Dostoyevsky

• David Mitchell (The Bone Clocks one obviously)

• RR Haywood (Zombie book master)

• William Blake

• Victor Hugo

• Will Self (at one point Will was also a friend)

There are many others I've read and enjoyed but those are the main ones. 

Being in recovery from addiction issues has also been very character shaping for me. I cleaned up in 1998. This was of course a major turning point in my life. I would probably not have survived many more years of addiction (15 years was enough for me).