Bernard O'Keeffe

I have few claims to fame, but count having lunch with George Best, playing football with Nick Hornby, teaching members of Mumford and Sons and Noah and The Whale, embarrassing myself on TV with a very stupid quiz show answer, giving Clare Balding interview practice, and nearly being recruited as a spy as amongst my most significant.

I'm an English teacher at St Pauls' School, London, where I was Head of Sixth Form for many years. I graduated from Balliol College Oxford with a First in English and worked in advertising before becoming a teacher; I was Head of English at Radley College before I moved to St Paul's. I have reviewed for The Oxford Times and Literary Review and am an editor of The English Review.

The idea for 'No Regrets' came from my realisation that I had started staying in much more than I was going out.I had reached a stage where my first response to an invitation was not to work out how to get there but how to get out of it. I asked myself what would happen if I had no choice in the matter. From there it was easy to construct Rick's mid-life crisis, one in which he has to live according to a fixed rule. I like the idea of people living according to rules, the idea that, even though you know the rules are difficult to follow, and that some of them might be questionable, you're going to give it your best shot. Rick gives it his best shot, but it's not an easy ride.