David Milsted, a typically mongrel Englishman (in his case, one-quarter Scots with trace elements of Viking), was born in the south and subsequently drifted northward, eventually spending 15 years on various Scottish islands before relocating, more of less accidentally, to Dorset, where he, his partner, his four sons and two step-sons constitute a 0.75% typical English family.
A former teacher, fireman and postman, he is now a full-time writer, researcher and editor who makes occasional forays into broadcasting, the theatre, and the strangely beautiful world of corporate malt whisky tasting. He has published four novels and a number of reference books, such as Brewer's Anthology of England and the English and The Cassell Dictionary of Regrettable Quotations.