Book excerpt: I write my memoirs beginning with sadness. I faced my wife's death from coronavirus; I'm following the hearse to the graveyard in a limousine, observed by sympathetic neighbours from behind net curtains. I alone would attend her funeral in these uncertain times. I returned to an empty house, disillusioned, remembering a book I'd written many years ago. I decided to take one last adventure from Long Marston to the Scottish Highlands to discover what I wanted out of life in my remaining years. I set off by following the route I initially took, enjoying my own company until destiny decided otherwise. Life suddenly became strange; I'm involved in a murder and confronted by a young woman from my past determined to organise my life. If that isn't weird enough, what transpires over the next few months can only be described as bizarre unless you are a Knight Templar in the Royal circle of friends and a pirate!