I AM so fortunate in this sad, war-torn, unequal world. At 65, after more than 40 varied and enjoyable years earning my living doing what I love, I’m writing and composing more than ever and my experiences beyond that remain rich and full of surprises and serendipitous moments. One such has just occurred.

The life and work of the Sussex poet, writer, controversialist and roaring ale-drinker Hilaire Belloc has been an inspiration to me ever since my father started reading me his Cautionary Tales when I was about four years old. And the work of John Cale, the iconoclastic classically trained Welsh composer, songwriter and avant-garde musician, has been the same in a musical sense ever since I heard his droning viola on the first Velvet Underground album aged 14.

I have every album Cale has done, and Belloc, with all his contradictions, has been a constant companion through my life. At the age of 80, Cale has just released a brilliant, haunting new album, Mercy. And Sussex historian Chris Hare has recently published a wonderful, emotionally satisfying new book, Hilaire Belloc: The Politics of Living where he connects with the essence, the lust for life, and the spirit of this contradictory, confrontational, roaring genius in a way only a true devotee can.