GRAHAM GARDNER is an academic researcher and author, specializing in social and political geography, at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Prior to this he has had many jobs, including shop assistant, civil servant, research officer, waiter, and factory worker. He is also a keen musician, playing rock and classical piano. He is the second eldest of ten children, and was born and brought up in Worcestershire. He divides his time between his flat in Aberystwyth and his parents' house in the Malvern Hills.