This is the third time Jean has spoken to us and it is always a treat.

Jean went straight from school to the Foreign Office, after passing a series of exams for selection. Her appointment to Indonesia needed approval from both the Queen and the Indonesian President, which she had to use to exert her rites to enter the courts – a strictly male domain. Jean spoke of the history of Indonesia and described its vast differences in cultures and ethnicity. Whilst predominantly Muslim, Bali remains strongly Hindu and Java houses the largest Buddhist temple in the world.

Jean’s duties were to attend the needs of British citizens and, as crime was often involved, that both the police and the jails treated them fairly. This often involved travel into remote parts of Indonesia and she spoke of various dangers, Komodo dragons, shark infested waters, Sumatran tigers, head-hunters and terrorists. All in a day’s work for Jean.

To finish we were delighted to learn that there is to be a fourth and final book in the Deadly Diplomacy series as well as a ghost story based on a North Yorkshire legend, and another based in Whitby. They will certainly be on my reading list.