Barry Cornell was born at a very early age in a mining village in northern England where he grew up in the normal way, eventually graduating to long pants, long hair and aspirations of rock stardom. His early career in accountancy came to an abrupt end when he inadvertently dropped Lady Borg Ropner (deceased)'s Fourth Children's Settlement file down a toilet. He almost had a normal teaching career until he discovered learning difficulties and became the Head of a special school. He and his wife have lived in France since 2002, latterly in Haute Vienne which they describe to prospective visitors as the French Midlands, to put them off. Make Mine a Kilowatt is his first book. He is working on a sequel.