?It was through reading that I took a liking to the theatre,? recalls Jim. He remembers how when he was 11 years old everyone except him had a bad bout of flu in his class and he was the only one to ?survive the whole of Macbeth!? His love for Shakespearean plays led him to try out acting. His first role was ?a fairy in a Gilbert and Sullivan musical!? `

?I like acting because I enjoy the control the actor has over the audience.? But he also appreciates rising to the intellectual challenge of discovering and presenting the meaning of a play to an audience. In other words he has tried his hand at directing. Recently, he staged ?Top Girls?, a contemporary British play by Caryl Churchill, which was a great success. Does he have a preference for acting or for directing? ?I like a mix of both,? replies Jim, explaining that when he stages a play, he ?loves the rehearsals, but hates the performances because there?s nothing you can do except watch!?

What first attracted Jim to Mauritius when he came for a seven-week visit in 2001 was the good tax planning situation from a professional point of view. ?It makes my job very interesting.? But from a personal point of view, Jim appreciated the warmth of the people here. ?When we experienced a cyclone for the first time here, I was pleasantly surprised to see that people went out of their way to make sure we survived!? he recalls with a laugh. He also believes that ?the government cares for its people here.? He points out that policemen posted in front of schools here are to help children cross the road whereas in other countries ?they?d be there to make sure the traffic flows!?

He also appreciates the fact that the best beaches in Mauritius are public. ?In places like the Caribbean, the best places are reserved for the tourist.? Far from feeling like a foreigner here, Jim has learnt to adapt and likes his morning walks through the Port-Louis market. ?Dressed in my suit I am anonymous and enjoy observing everything around me.? Being a very open-minded person, the diversity and contrast in cultures is something that he appreciates a lot. ?Being able to see all the different festivities throughout the year is fantastic and has an exotic feel.?

Although he dislikes the traffic jams and the way that the government sometimes takes advantage of communalism and although he misses his English beer and listening to the radio, Jim admits with a touch of humour that ?it?s not a hardship to live here.?