Les Bill Gates

Biography

I am now in my sixties, but have only taken up writing fiction in the last seven or eight years. I consider myself fortunate that I am able to draw on a rich source of life experiences to enhance my fiction writing.

I was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, U.K. in 1949. I benefited from a first class education at Aylesbury Grammar School, and then attended one of the best universities in the world, Oxford University. In 1972, I graduated from Keble College, Oxford with an Honours degree in Mathematics. The following year, I completed a Post-graduate Certificate in Education at Exeter University.

My first teaching position in 1973 was in New Zealand, and this marked the start of a career in which I travelled extensively and taught in four different countries. In 1976, I spent a short time teaching in Australia before beginning an adventure. I sailed from Perth to Singapore, and then travelled the length of the Malaysian peninsula to Thailand. This was followed by an overland trip from Kathmandu, Nepal to London in an ex-army truck with a group of like-minded adventurers. We were lucky enough to pass through many interesting, beautiful and culturally diverse places on the way. This included some countries that are very difficult to visit today, such as Afghanistan and Iran.

I then spent nine years teaching in the U.K. before I could not resist the urge to travel once again. In 1985, I took up a position as a teacher of mathematics at King George VI National Secondary School, Honiara, Solomon Islands. Soon after arriving in the country, I met my wife, Sarah, who is from the island of Vella Lavella in the Western Province. We have now been married for 27 years, and have three children and five grandchildren. I consider myself privileged to have had the experience of living and working in a developing country and to be married to a woman from a different culture. In 1998, I was appointed Principal of King George, but we were forced to leave the islands during the ethnic conflict of 2000 and have lived in New Zealand since the beginning of 2001. However, I still regard the Solomon Islands, with its friendly people, rich culture, tropical climate and beautiful islands and lagoons as my home.

I obviously have a great interest in mathematics, and have written several articles on the History of Mathematics. As examples of the diversity of my life experiences, my other passions when I was younger were cricket and skiing.

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