Dave Roberts

Dave Roberts grew up mostly in the Midlands and Manchester, where he received a privileged education which he mostly squandered, except for being grateful to be able to write English.After a year in an office counting bricks and building materials, he rejected quantity surveying as a career and gained a place at Trent Polytechnic art college, from which he was able to drop out of mainstream society with more of a flourish.He made a living driving various vans, trucks and taxis, finding time to...See more

Dave Roberts grew up mostly in the Midlands and Manchester, where he received a privileged education which he mostly squandered, except for being grateful to be able to write English.After a year in an office counting bricks and building materials, he rejected quantity surveying as a career and gained a place at Trent Polytechnic art college, from which he was able to drop out of mainstream society with more of a flourish.He made a living driving various vans, trucks and taxis, finding time to get a degree in psychology and a masters in information technology, before a period scratching around repairing various jalopies in unheated premises convinced him that a future life sitting in heated vehicles teaching people to drive would be a more comfortable environment.In 2002 he built a sports car from a kit, which he then took motor racing. His experiences in the following years formed the basis of his book The Blunt End of the Grid, first published in 2019, and in a second edition in 2023.He has travelled the world in his quest for gradual enlightenment, getting as far away as Mexico, San Francisco and Hull. He failed to throw a double six to get out of Hull, for many years, but he didn't mind. Dave now lives an idyllic existence in a leafy suburb in the north of England. See less