Why the need for a new autobiography?
Simple.
With the advent of the internet, a lot has been said about me and my life by people with an agenda to discredit me.
Whilst it was interesting to see what lengths people would go to in the early days, a close friend suggested that I take on board all of the comments and answer the critics - who better than me to tell you about my life?
A lot of readers said they felt there were important parts of my life missing from my two previous autobiographical volumes, so here, for the very first time, is a complete, concise account of my life from the beginning right up until the events of '74 when I found myself facing a long prison sentence.

Rather than take an all too easy way out, I have been pushed by close friends who have told me to leave no stone unturned as truth is sometimes far stranger than fiction.

Volume II, which I am currently working on, will pick up the story from the last page of Volume I and include never before seen court transcripts of my trial and the aftermath.

At 275 pages, it has been a daunting task to go over the events of my life whilst picking at old wounds to scribe new blood in the story.
I hope you, as the reader, will have a better understanding of the truth as it actually happened.

The book has been a labour of love that many people have tried to stop me from completing whilst going to extraordinary lengths in the process.
For me, the final volume looks as good as it reads, with a cover that I hope does some justice to the pages within.

I do hope you enjoy the read!

David

 

 

"In retrospect, perhaps such scenes only served to increase some unaccountable longing towards the unknown -  to childish eyes, viewing things which, although ‘real’,  seemed almost ‘magical’ and distantly removed from the world of everyday reality.  I was too young to give such matters any immediate analysis; although it is a fact, that any ‘innermost quest’ remained locked up inside of me and for many years during my early childhood, I preferred to be alone.
Yet I was not entirely ‘alone’.  From an age as early as I can remember, I kept numerous animals: not only the usual domestic ones such as mice, rabbits, budgerigars and guinea pigs, but wild ones I’d found on visits to the country which had either been injured or neglected by their parents and too young to fend for themselves."

 

"The eyes in this face were so diabolic, so full of unprecedented evil, that it was only with difficulty that I tore my eyes away from its gaze.  But even then, I could feel its terrible eyes upon me; it seemed to be compelling me to look at it once more. I fought against this instinct with fanatical determination.  For some reason, I knew that if I looked into those eyes once again, I would become possessed by its being, merged forever with its evil.  Yet the more I resisted, the more my strength seemed to be draining away.  I could hear the two priests laughing, and I realised then that they were servitors of the demonic creature."

 

"I arrived in Sicily about two weeks later.  I had hitch-hiked all the way, wanting to meet people along the way, which also broke up the long journey.  Some thoughtful driver took me into the popular resort of Taormina suggesting that, if anywhere, I might be able to find work there.  It was fairly late, so I slept in some sandy alcove that night and wandered into the town proper the next day.  It was a beautiful old town and seemed to lie high above the sea, glimpses of which still be caught between its ancient buildings as it lay deep blue in the distance.  Its colour certainly matched the climate, which still allowed open sandals and white cotton shirts; and I could only imagine how much hotter it would get in Summer!
I wandered around the hilly streets making various enquiries about possible work. Hardly anyone spoke English, but trial and perseverance led me to Hotel Europa, a fairly large hotel which lay half empty in the slack off-tourist season.  But it was still open for guests, and I located the manager – or a man I presumed was the manager.  He said that apart from the permanent staff they usually only employed casual local labour each day, but as he could see I had come a long way, he could offer me a  job with a room at the hotel helping out in the kitchen.  The wages were not high, he emphasised, but these also included meals and the accommodation and if I wanted to, I could start the next day.  I gladly agreed.  I was still quite tired from the long trip, and couldn’t wait to get some proper sleep between clean sheets again."