Committee member of The Society of Authors and their Events Manager in Scotland.
I came to Dumfries in 1992 as the Principal Reporter to the Children’s panels. I became the Regional reporter for Dumfries & Galloway and its first Authority reporter. I took ill in 2013 and retired at the age of 53. I have been an author ever since and have published nineteen books.
I knew the area as my uncle was a vet in Thornhill and had often visited him there. However being the regional reporter meant I had to take hearings in Kirkconnel, Kirkcudbright, Stranraer, Annan and Langholm as well as Dumfries. I therefore had the luxury of having summer lunches on the back road from Langholm to Lockerbie observing sand martins on the bank of the river Esk, seaside views in Stranraer at the sea front walk, lay-by views galore and Kirkcudbright harbour too.
Dumfries and Galloway has a rich selection of birds and after working in Kilmarnock and Ayr, I had found a place where all my ornithological joys could be found. I am fond of birds and have owned an African Grey Parrot. The novel The Parrot’s Tale starts and ends in Dumfries with incidents in Gretna, Wanlockhead, the M74, Stranraer and the Crichton in Dumfries. This 400 page novel has become very popular. The protagonist is of course Kofi the parrot but Harry Dynes is its octogenarian owner.
Meanwhile Chaz the Friendly Crocodile is a poem about an unhappy crocodile who receives an invitation to come to Dumfries. Once there, he dredges the Nith and clears it of debris; rescues sheep falling through broken fences and removes graffiti and chewing gum from the town centre. But above all he has a message for every boy and girl, to make their communities clean and free from litter, chewing gum and graffiti. To do this, a Contract is found at the end of the book. It is usually the very first time a child signs a document. This one is also signed by the class teacher and the parent, thus giving the child a reason to comply. The inspiration for this book is described on page one when I inform the reader that it was when I was walking my dog by the river Nith, the sighting of a log made it a crocodile in my mind. The pace of the walk set the rhythm.
My autobiography Untied Laces also features Dumfries & Galloway and includes humorous moments at hearings and in the sheriff courts, how I met a policemen leading me to spend three months as the camp manager at Mundihar in the NWFP of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan caring for 24K victims of the Pakistan Earthquake in 2005. I have brought to tears former President JJ Rawlings in Accra, after bringing him photos of his Castle Douglas father. His wife and children have visited the area twice as a result.
