Back in the mid 20th century, Brian was born. There were probably many Brians born, but this one is still going, still active, still looking for love in places as far afield as The Philippines, Thailand and Crawley.

Based on Facebook entries and haphazard emails, this is an attempt to document an unusual life based on wit, wisdom, energy, intelligence and chance.

If you get nothing else from perusing this memoir, you might at least acknowledge that there are survival techniques for living a long life that don't involve pensions, mortgages, stable jobs and soul sapping routines - some of the time.

The book is presented almost unedited to convey Brian's language, thought processes and gregarious nature.

Asking him to edit it was like asking Mount Everest to shift over a couple of centimetres.

It's insightful, amusing and unusual. It doesn't claim to be a new Samuel Pepys, but it does convey a rare sense of individuality in a world with systems often designed to mould us against our natures.