Alan Brien going live

Alan’s entry will go ‘live’ on Thurs 5 January. You should be able to access it by entering a public library membership number at http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

its your birthday approaching darling man. there wil be hand raised pork pies, bayaldi, caper berries

Ronnie Payne's anecdote

"I'm really pleased to be asked. I should have be in touch ages ago. What I intended to tell you was about Alan's kindness to me when I was in a state after my first wife Isabel had run off while I was being a Hemingway type foreign correspondent in Paris. Alan came with me to my deserted London flat. Highly emotional and slightly pissed I burst out - "I can't stand it, the whole place has become a tear trap."
Most friends would have made sympathetic noises. Alan said "That's a great title for your novel"
"Yep. All I need now is another hundred thousand words" I replied and we both went out and got cheerfully drunk.
love ronnie"