I Don't Want Children. Why Should I

Herbert, My Father, Was Born In Britain But Went Out To Africa In His Teens To Join His Father And Built Up An 18,000-acre Ranch In What Was Then Northern Rhodesia, Providing Work For The Locals. He Was My Hero When I Was A Boy.

I Shot My First Lion At The Age Of 14 When A Pride Threatened My Father's Livestock While He Was Away On Holiday.

I Grew Up In Rhodesia On My Father's Ranch And Every Year He Used To Take Us On Safari In Some Remote Area Of The Wilderness.

I Go On A Hunting Safari At Least Once A Year To Botswana, Which Is Fantastic Because We Have A Huge Area Of Wilderness Entirely To Ourselves. My Island Covers Roughly 55 Acres, Which Again I Have To Myself, With Nearly Half A Kilometre Of Private Beach With My Own Jetties And Boats.

Usually Halfway Through A Book I Have A Serious Depression, So I Go On Safari On My Ranch In South Africa, Or Fishing Off My Island In The Seychelles. When I Come Back And Re-read It, I Think: 'what Was All That About, Smith? It's Fine, Just Get On With It.'