I am a food author, ink illustrator and designer. I believe that books are the soul of civilization, and I am at my happiest in the Bushveld, where the wind whispers through ancient branches; or being close to the sea, listening to the hushed, swells of the timeless ocean.

I love natural things and am an avid and constant collector of bones, shells, seeds, pods, driftwood, pebbles - whatever nature has cast away.

**Every time I walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs me, so that I find myself shedding shoes and garments or scavenging among seaweed and whitened timbers like the homesick refugee of a long war.** (Loren Eiseley)

I have a deep and abiding respect for wildlife and nature. I love plants and trees, and I strongly believe in the right of all animals to live in peace and without fear. I abhor cruelty, of any kind. I watch with dismay as our Rhino, Shark, Wild Dog and frog populations decline, and wonder where it will end. It hardly bears saying - our wildlife must be preserved.

I am also, last but not least, an eternal student of the ancient world. The ancient Near East and Fertile Crescent hold an endless supply of wonder and fascination for me, and I dearly hope to visit these beautiful and timeless places some day.