I was born as Robert Moffat on the 25th March 1954 at Springburn Hospital, Glasgow. My first few years were unsettled but when my family moved to Pollokshaws  when I was four, life really took off. Nestled between the city and the open country of Renfrewshire, I was an outdoors lad with an aptitude for being good at school work. I was in everything from Sunday school to the primary school football team, I never seemed to be at home.
At twelve I went to Shawlands Academy and pursued much the same life I’d had a primary school - football team, chess team, a mixture of the outdoor and the indoor. I was also in the Boys Brigade which instructed me in first aid and a host of other things, but it was the wayfaring I enjoyed most (see picture opposite).
I passed my Duke of Edinburgh award grades and managed to graduate from high school at the end  of my fifth year. In my gap year I worked in a bank, then travelled in Europe for four months before taking up my place at Newcastle University to study Engineering Geology. I soon realised it wasn’t for me and after one year I dropped out to become a writer and go travelling. For some years I wandered - Asia, Africa, South America, North America - and wrote five novels and  lots of poems.
In 1983 I went back to Newcastle University and took a degree in English Language and Literature, and this time, wiser and more sure of what I wanted.
After graduating, I set up in business as a writer / arts producer and haven’t really looked back since. There have been some less successful years than others since then, but I have found that sometimes, by taking one step back, it can prepare you better for that next leap.

BIOGRAPHY

(an extract from my first biography)