Gathering No Moss is the autobiography of a possibly autistic child, born in 1925, who, idiosyncratically educated, grew up to see out, as a member of the Colonial Service, the end of the British Empire in East Africa. In later service with the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation, he witnessed novice states exulting in new-found independence. His last appointment, as deputy director of the Centre for International Briefing, at Farnham Castle in Surrey, was in an organisation devoted to inculcating, in those going ‘abroad’, better understanding of cross-cultural relations. Post-retirement, he keeps an eye, Pooter-like, on our changing world.