Whilst my day job as a physician pays the bills, I have been writing in one form or another since I left school and used my first earnings to buy a writing table.

I am chairman of the Anthony Powell Society and have written several books and articles for it. My strengths are literary and historical fiction, as well as poetry but I am also quite adept at meeting deadlines in other formats. In some senses I work best when there is a deadline.

I’ve been personal physician to the Queen (for a weekend) so there’s not much that fazes me now.