The poem "Wanted" in the first part of "From Exile to Excision" is dedicated to Moses in the Bible and also to the loving memory of the late Rebbe Schneerson of the Lubavitch New York, who was kind enough to offer me a place to stay when no-one else would, or could. As my sister laughingly jokes with me that I remain "...mad, bad, and dangerous to know..."

I have been homeless in my time, and I learned to "take my hatred of homelessness out on the ball" by serving the London Borough of Camden until I could serve them no more. in my day we took a wreck of an old building understaffed and overworked unit into an elite and well resourced Homeless Person's Unit , the jewel in the crown of the Council of the year in 1998. I received nothing other than decency and respect in my time there and will always look back on my days with happiness. I was rewarded with a family including two beautiful children, and as they grow I only ever get prouder of them including to this day. My nephew Benjamin Dixon (whose facebook awaits somewhere)! is now helping me with critiques of poetry I write from time to time as he has a VERY busy agenda.

my agenda was for one of change in the NHS, I was not popular but the job wasn't one where you were paid to be popular. I was seduced away from the thought of living and dying unpopular (a) to myself and then (b) to other people, by falling in love with the care of adults with learning difficulties and challenging behaviour as well as the knowledge that it doesn't matter how clever we are, we have an equal capacity to be equally as stupid!

I used to have a two hour commute into work/ an d a two hour commute out of work every day. and then I would have a second job on that. Now I have a seven minute commute and a job that is far more rewrding for the soul.