32 August 19, 2016 watfordobserver.co.uk FREETIME OBE academic pens baby book Former Watford Grammar pupil Peter Taylor-Gooby wonders what it would be like if children were currency in his dystopian novel The Baby Auction. Jyoti Rambhai reports

very transaction has to be between buyer and seller - Eno exploitation, no charity, no discrimination, no gifting, no slavery and no compassion. That is the strict lines of the market world in which Peter Taylor-Gooby has set his very first novel, The Baby Auction. The 69-year-old, who grew up in Bushey Heath where he loved riding his bike and chasing his older brother around Aldenham Reservoir, explains that his novel, dubbed as a dystopian thriller, explores a world where there is a lack of trust between people and the only way they can relate to one another is on market principles. He says: “I spent a lot of time thinking about how this society would work. Peter Taylor-Gooby is a professor at the University of Kent Peter has written his first novel The Baby Auction “One of the problems it faces is that it is very difficult to get people get to 18.” “It is completely different from way of expanding the way people and there are really only two kinds to have children and bring them up, Peter, who is a professor at the academic writing - writing a novel deal with things. of reasons,” he explains. “One is because it is a huge investment. So University of Kent in social policy is twice as hard but it is so much “You can treat utopia as if it were you trust the doctor because you the government pays a bounty for and has received an OBE for his more engaging and exciting, taking a laboratory experiment on ideas think they are on your side and each child you produce up to the age academic work, admits that it was up 110 per cent of your attention. about society,” he adds. wants to do the best for you and of 18. So babies are worth money his research that inspired him to “One of things I found is when I Speaking about his academic there’s a commitment there and the and that produces the population write the novel. started is I had mapped it all out, work, he says: “Most of my work is other is you trust them from what and enables society to keep going. “I have written a lot of academic and thought of characters and then on contemporary society and a lot is you know about their market “Of course though, once you have work that is great at depicting you find that the characters don’t do on how people deal with risk and position. a product that is worth money, you society, the aggregate and doing what you expect them to do. It’s very uncertainty in their lives. “What you find when you talk to can have a futures market in it… surveys,” the former Watford strange. You write a scene and “The ideas about trust and society people, is that actually it is the old exactly like all the futures market Grammar School pupil tells me, suddenly they start saying things have been the main focus of my style of trust, the warm trust that that have developed in the City of “but it doesn’t really let you deal and doing things you didn’t expect work for the past six years and matters not this intellectual idea of London. Therefore one thing you with how people feel and think and the direction of the whole thing really these issues came out when I how markets work and how people can do is auction babies as there is a about issues in their own lives and changes.” was thinking about the reforms of might behave in a market. And this very good chance they would get a how they behave - that was my big Peter enjoys dystopian and the National Health Service. formed the basis of my novel.” very good return by the time they reason for writing the novel. utopian fiction and believes it is a “The NHS is very highly trusted Details: theconradpress.com Q& Headline Maniac

aving been members ofA the records in July. It has 11 original punk legends, Eddie and the songs that are all based on my life, HHot Rods, for the best part the road, lying, loving and lusting. of 20 years, Ian Dean aka Dipster, The common theme is desire and Simon Bowley and Chris Taylor deceit, reward and regret. have now come together to form the What have you got lined up for three-piece band Headline Maniac. the band? The trio from Essex, who will be We’ve got a tour in Europe in performing at The Horns in September and a tour of the US Watford, say that forming the band planned in November was a “natural progression” and Are there any musicians who allowed them to pursue a their own inspired you all to become a project. With Dipster, 45, on lead musicians? vocals and bass, Simon, 46, on We all have a mixed love of music drums and Chris, 43, on guitar, the and to be on the road, probably group have gone on to release their impossible to pin down a specific very first album and already have a influence. tour lined up. To find out more we How do you write your songs? caught up with the main man I wrote all the songs, though the Dipster. whole band contributed heavily to How would you describe your the production. I sometimes hear a music? song on the radio and discover a Hard rock with punk and blues harmony infusion, likened to The Cult, Foo that works and then I work with Fighters, Green Day etc. that or I’ll have a riff idea in mind Headline Maniac is drawn from former members of Can you tell me about your and start to compose from that. latest album? Sometimes I’ll delve back into song That its hard work and there are a ruin the rock’n’roll dream. in Rochford and Chris in Southend. The album is just called Headline ideas that I tried way back lot of liars out there, but that’s not Can you tell me some The Horns, Hempstead Road, Maniac although sometimes its and use bits to write new songs. to say it isn’t rewarding. background information about Watford, Thursday, August 25, 8pm. referred to as Rock’n’Roll Thuggery What have you learnt most Do you all have day jobs? yourselves? Details: 01923 225020, and it was released on RodHot about being a musician? We all do something but that’d I grew up on , Simon thehornswatford.co.uk