14 Nov 2025
We ask a different figure from the local community to choose 10 questions to answer from a list of 50. This week: Alex Duggan, a former police officer turned writer, whose new novel Fortunes Fools is the story of two people who win the lottery in 2015, one from St Albans, the other from Harpenden, and the story of the next ten years of their lives. His previous novel, We Appy Few, was a comedy based on a group of men who move to St Albans to train before going off to fight the Battle of Agincourt. Copies from: https://amzn.eu/d/1Fhw9A4
Where do you walk when you want to think?
Verulamium Park. It’s got a pub and a Cathedral, so it caters for every spirit.
If you could travel back in time and offer your younger self some advice, what would it be?
Take the risk, you really have nothing to lose.
What’s your favourite meal?
I was going to say steak and chips. Plenty of restaurants to get that in St Albans. So instead, I will go with anything from L’Italiana. I love cooking, so this is a great place to get some ideas.
Do you play any musical instruments?
The guitar (badly).
Odyssey or Netflix?
The Odyssey. It’s just a shame the parking can be a bit of a problem.
What’s your favourite St Albans pub?
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks and The Garibaldi.
What is your most-missed St Albans shop, pub, café or restaurant?
Fleur de Lys Pub.
What’s your favourite hidden gem in the district?
The Wick. It’s one of those strange parks that just exists for no apparent reason.
How long would you survive a zombie apocalypse?
Not long. I’m fat and I look like I won a kebab shop. I would be bait for every zombie on the Hatfield Road.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A great writer. Hopefully, there is still time.
