quite a hard time. you know, we had no money. but when you re young, you don t see those things, you know? everything s an adventure. you ve mentioned a couple of times you re interested in strong women. there s also a line in the book where you say that, at school, women were my special weakness . now, most people would use that phrase in a sexual sense and i don t think you were using it in that sense. what did you mean by that phrase? i realised from a young age that i didn t see women in a sexual way but i loved when they were outspoken, i loved when they dressed for themselves, i loved i loved everything about them. and i guess we will get into talking about being gay later but at that time, i knew i had a strong affiliation. i didn t i never hang out with boys. i always hung out with the girls. and i was never bullied because if you wanted to get to know the girls, you have to get to know me, so. laughs. you were the like ideal wingman, weren t you? basically, without knowin
hang out with boys. i always hung out with the girls. and i was never bullied because if you wanted to get to know the girls, you have to get to know me, so. laughs. you were the like ideal wingman, weren t you? basically, without knowing what a wingman was! perfect. you moved to ladbroke grove, which is the area just north of notting hill. what was it like back then as a young man, and especially as a young black man? i mean, ladbroke grove is a very interesting area, notting hill generally. it s one of the few areas where you can have sort of the wealthiest of the wealthiest aristocrats next to rastafarians next to immigrants, so i loved the energy. i loved the fact that, oh, my god, i really belonged. i started feeling like i belonged in england when we hit ladbroke grove. but i there was i remember the front line ladbroke grove itself was always the front line and the police were there every day, so you had to be so careful. you know, we were stopped so
think you were using it in that sense. what did you mean by that phrase? i realised from a young age that i didn t see women in a sexual way but i loved when they were outspoken, i loved when they dressed for themselves, i loved i loved everything about them. and i guess we will get into talking about being gay later but at that time, i knew i had a strong affiliation. i didn t i never hang out with boys. i always hung out with the girls. and i was never bullied because if you wanted to get to know the girls, you have to get to know me, so. laughs. you were the like ideal wingman, weren t you? basically, without knowing what a wingman was! perfect. you moved to ladbroke grove, which is the area just north of notting hill. what was it like back then as a young man, and especially as a young black man? i mean, ladbroke grove is a very interesting area, notting hill generally. it s one of the few areas where you can have sort of the wealthiest of the wealthiest aristocrats next to ras