No chapter headings in this one – I could’ve put in some maths puzzles and freaked everyone out but they would have freaked me out too. Despite the fact that I worked in a bank, I’m not very good at maths. (Mind you, given the banking crisis, it doesn’t look like anyone who worked in banks was good at maths!)

All the same I’m fascinated by people who have a good grasp of mathematical concepts. I’m not too bad at the basics – adding/subtracting/dividing/multiplying – but I’m hopeless at theorems and stuff like that. All the same, maths is an important part of our lives. It’s good to know how to do things in your head and not always rely on a calculator.

I read Fermat’s Last Theorem by Simon Singh, which is a really interesting book, not for the maths but for the lives of the mathematicians who weren’t really as fusty and nerdy as you might think. It also led me onto reading books about secret codes which were equally interesting.

http://www.simonsingh.net/Fermat_Corner.html

Maybe more relevant to people is Darcey’s ability with languages. I love languages myself and whenever I go to a new country I try to learn a few words so that I can at least greet the people I meet. English is a wonderful language because it’s so rich and expressive and has so many different words that mean almost, but not quite, the same thing. It’s these nuances that make it such a fantastic language to write in although translations can be problematic.

My books are translated into lots of different languages but one of the most difficult, for the translators, is German. This isn’t because the words aren’t there but because German seems to use two or three words, or a variety of compound words, when just one English word will do. So generally, the German translations of my books are abridged. I can understand the reasons for it but I do hope that my German readers aren’t missing out on the stories!

Darcey also speaks French and Italian as well as some Spanish. I loved French in school and I still think it’s one of the most elegant languages in the world. I recently went to the French Open tennis in Paris and I was very proud that I managed to have a conversation with the hotel owner in French. It wasn’t until halfway through the conversation I learned that he didn’t actually come from France so maybe that’s why he understood me!

I love Italian too but I’m limited to only a few words there. But my Spanish isn’t bad and I can even complain a bit which is handy when someone has barged in front of me in a queue. I love the laid back nature of Spain which is why I have a holiday house there. I do think that when you have a place in another country you really need to learn the language and a little bit about the culture.

There’s a great blog and site about life in Spain that I log on to from time to time:

http://www.notesfromspain.com/

They also have some really good Spanish language resources if you want to try your hand at learning another language.