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wanttowrite it episodically,togive it that ■ continued from Page 27 experience of watching somethingand coming back to it. married to someone who understands what “It’slike watching somethinglike Sexand the you do. City,sowith this book you canleave a “As awriteritmitigates thesolitariness of bookmark in it and carry on the next day the experience, because you can chat to and you’ll know that therewill be an episode each other.And it’suseful to be able to say with oneself-contained storyaswell as ‘Do you think this is agood idea?’ following all the other strands of the story.” “He’sobviouslyaninspiration in terms of his Caseywas bornand brought up in England – workand his output and his workethic, her father,fromCoRoscommon, moved which is phenomenal.” thereinhis twenties. Casey dedicates the book to her husband As well as writingscripts for filmand and saysshe has good memories of their television in Britainand Ireland, Casey is two stints living in New . involved in the theatretoo. “As afamilywelived therefor one academic Her adaptation of Little Women was stagedat year and then we went back for another six The GateinDublinin2011, while her next months about two yearsago. It was during project is tackling Wuthering Heights –also that second period, living with small forThe Gate. children, that Igot absolutely under the skin She is alsoworking on her next novel and of what it’slike.It’sgreat but it was avery saysshe wrote her first one almostby different thing to being young free and accident. single. “I had been working and had been happily “Itjust started me thinking [about writing occupied. Iwas writing on aTVshow in about it].Thereare so many women’s fiction Dublin and Iwas about to do anew books about the experience of women and commission and then they wereboth kids and the school gates and everything, cancelled. So then Ihad the time to think but setting it in this completelydifferent about doing something else. landscape through the eyes of someone “Ifthey hadn’t both been cancelled, I who’sastranger allowed me to look at it in a wouldn’t have written the book. Iwrote a slightlydifferent way. play and then Istarted writing the book. “I didn’twant to write those stories set in ■ MEMORIES: Anne-Marie Casey’s novel An Englishwoman in New York is inspiredbyher happy “I reallyenjoyed writing it. Youcan starta London or Dublin because Iwanted the city memories of two stints spent in The Big Apple PICTURE: Mal McCann book, but the reallyhardthing is to finish it. I to be acharacter too. It does affect the didn’tknow how it was going to end, so I journeys of the four main characterstoo, cubed; it’sveryintense. Many of our friends stage of my life. When you have two boys kept going. because living in New York is suchan who live thereended up leaving for awhile, that keep getting bigger,it’snice to have “It’sbeen an amazing experience and in the extreme experience.” particularlywhen they had kids,because it space,which is hardtoget in New York. And book there’sthis powerful idea that the So what does she missabout New York? was justsointense.” Idon’t missthe endlessnoise.” middlepartofyour life can be asortof “I miss citylife,real city life in that very And now,living outsideDublinwith Joseph The novel is perfectly paced and full of wit beginning.” intenseconcentrated urban way —having andtheir two sons,what does she not miss and you could certainlyimagine it being lived most of my life in London about the city? adapted for filmorTV. ■ An Englishwoman in New York is out “But New York is reallycity life squared or “I’m veryhappy living whereIamatthis “I didn’t wantittobeshortstories but Idid now,published by JohnMurray. Reelinginahitshow

Chart topper,actor andextremefisherman making ExtremeFishing for the last fiveyears,heisalso keen to point ,who made his name in 1990s outthat he is still verymuch a hit televisiondramaSoldier,Soldier,talks to working actor. “Verysoon Iwill be working on a AP Maginness abouthis hit show Extreme newHBO showcalled StrikeBack.It Fishing is aboutacrackSAS squad and Iam their boss.Me? All 5ft 8” of me. OU wouldbeforgiven for sayslaughing. “Itisbased on the Chris Ryan book forgetting that Robson “Thereare somegreat rushesthat and the production values aretop Green was awell-known have never been broadcast and class–soitisveryexciting to be Y television actor. hopefullynever will be. On the working on it. We begin filming in The Northumbrianativeshot to other hand, Iamnow Newcastle’s Hungaryinthe next few weeks.” fame in the mid-1990s as partofthe answer to .” Green has recently released abook singing duo Robson and Jerome So far therehave been fiveseries of to accompany the series which who had three number one songs the show as wellasaspin-off gives fans of the show the inside [, IBelieve and entitled Robson’s ExtremeFishing line on his many adventures, What Becomes of theBroken Challenge with asixthset of shows including his memorabletrip to Hearted]and sold1.6 million due to air in autumn. Patagonia where he and his team albums. Alarge partofthe programme’s werealmost kidnapped. While he haslong since eschewed a popularity stems from Green’s Of all theexotic locations that singing career post ITVdrama perpetual enthusiasm. Whether he Green has visited, the Argentinian Soldier,Soldier,hehas continued to has justhooked atiddler on adamp region is right up therewith his act appearing in Wire in theBlood day in the middleofnowhereorhe favourites–despite the closeshave. (2002-08)and morerecently has finally landed amarlin “Patagonia takes the biscuit, it was Waterloo Road (2011)and Being sundrenched Cuban, he is always in an amazing place wherealot of Human (2011). astate of animated eagerness. verystrange things happened to us. However,since2008, his acting And his enthusiasm isn’t justfor the “You see therewas akind of crisis career has played second fiddleto cameras –hetalks faster than a in thecountryatthat time and we ■ HOOKED: Singer,actorand fisherman RobsonGreen has foundanunlikely hit with his ExtremeFishing with Robson tuna swims and flits from one ended up being held hostage. There his Channel 5show Extreme Fishing withRobson Green Green show on Channel Five. subject to another at speed. was ageneral strike, our car was The show sees the excitableactor “The great thing about the show is stolen –that tripwas averystrange 38lb salmon on that trip. Another project that Green has travelling around the world in that we arealways on themove and one and sticks in the memory. “Essentially thebook isn’t about been working on in the past year is search of the greatest fishing the great thing about fishisthat “At thetime it was terrible andwe fishing but is atravelogue about Howthe North WasBuilt,atwo part destinations. they reside in reallygood places so could hardly get any fishing done everything,”hesays. documentarylooking at the urban “I knew virtuallynothing about it is alot of fun –itishardtobe but we thought, ‘Why not filmthe Although typicallyself-deprecating landscape of northernEngland that fishing –apartfromfly fishing –at unhappy with it,”hesays. storyofwhat is happening’,and it about his fishing knowledge, Green will air on ITVlater this month. the start,” Robson saysofthe Although he has clearly had aball turned out great. Ialso caught a is akeen and skilled fly-fisherman If you haven’thad your fillofthis show’s beginnings. and he explains that his loveof enthusiasticGeordie by the end of “I don’t know why Ithought that I fishing goes back to his childhood the summer then thereisalways the could do afishingshow,itmust The greatthing about theshow is that we are in Northumbria. newseries of ExtremeFishing. have been blind ignorance. In the alwaysonthe move andthe greatthing “My uncle wouldalways take my “The new series will see us in beginning Iwas acting like a brotherand Ifishingand at the age Greenland, Iceland, Galapagos, fisherman and acting like a about fish is that they resideinreally good of seven Icaught my first fish, Vietnam and .Itisgonna presenter –Ihadn’t aclue. which was a4lb wild brown trout. be great,” he saysinhis signature, “I would think of wittyand erudite places,soits alot of fun –itishard to be “On that daywesaw akingfisher chirpy Geordie twang. things to say and then catch ahuge unhappy with it andall sorts of otheranimalsand ■ RobsonGreen Extreme Fishing fishand scream, ‘F*****g hell,look birds –that was when it started for is out now published by Simon at the size of that,” he –Robson Green me.” Schusterand is priced £16.99.