Rat on the Wheel

Art Black was born in London in 1962. In 1972, he moved to the first of two neighbouring south coast seaside towns, each of which in turn he called home until shortly after his twenty-third birthday. Black was radicalised by the Thatcher years, and its devastating effect on his family, and become deeply engrossed in political activism. By the spring of 1985, disillusion and profound disappointment with the direction of his life prompted him to leave Britain, and to spend the next 18 years living abroad, chiefly in the Far East. He began cohabiting with "Mrs Rat" and her two daughters in 1998. A punishing work schedule, and misplaced feelings of nostalgia caused Black to hanker after his old hometown, and a more laid-back lifestyle. He moved the family back to the UK early in 2003 for two years that he describes as "definitely not the most intelligent thing he ever did." Black quit the UK for the second time in January 2005, and has since then been living on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan with his wife and younger stepdaughter. He lists his hobbies as writing, working out in the gym, drinking with a select group of friends, and preparing his next book, "Uncle Tommy's Diary," for publication later this year with Trafford Publishing.