Mick Howarth

Mick was born in the North of England and now lives in the South of France. In between, he has lived, worked and studied in India, the USA and Barbados. He has dual French and British nationality and his current status is that of a retired French Civil Servant - which finally gives him the time to write the books he was always planning to write!

He grew up in working class districts of Manchester and Liverpool, attended a Lancashire Grammar School, then King's College London, where he studied English and was active in student drama and journalism. He went to India with Voluntary Service Overseas in 1967 and spent two years teaching at Sagar University - a remote institution in Madhya Pradesh. One of only two Europeans in the University, he went through a rapid process of Indianization. This is the subject of his memoir "Sagar Saga" of which volume 1 is available from 30 April 2016.

While Armstrong was landing on the moon, Mick took one short step from Sagar to Philadelphia, where he held a Fellowship in South Asian Studies and took part in student demonstrations against the Vietnam War. Having trained Peace Corps volunteers and travelled in Mexico, he returned to Europe and worked for several years at VSO headquarters in London.

Most of his career has been in teaching - a rough Comprehensive in North London, a rural High School in Barbados, secondary schools and University in France, freelance work as a language consultant...

With his wife Carole and a 15-month old daughter, he moved to France in 1986. They bought a semi-ruined stage-coach inn in a village and restored it to holiday gites and language school. This was very hard work and should make another book! They now live in Perpignan in a normal modern house.

In his spare time, Mick cycles and is learning to play saxophone at Perpignan Conservatoire.