“I left Wyedean in 1983 and went to the University of Exeter, on the south coast of England. My parents wanted me to take a vocational course, or study 'useful' modern languages.
They thought that English Literature (my preference) was a ‘where-will-it-lead?' option, so, I studied French – which was a mistake. I really should have stood my ground. On the plus side, studying French meant living in Paris for a year as part of my course.”