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historian, travel writer and television personality. He is the author of histories of Norman Sicily, the Republic of Venice, the Byzantine Empire and 'The Popes: A History'. [Listener: Christopher Sykes] TRANSCRIPT: School was Canada because my father was determined that I should go to Eton in a couple of years and the Canadian curriculum was much closer to the British curriculum than the American one was. So at the beginning of every term, I would take... The first time I did it with my nanny, after that I did it alone. I would take the night sleeper from Toronto... from New York to Toronto where I would be met and taken to Upper Canada College Prep School where I was educated. And I enjoyed Upper Canada College, really I think very much. One thing I liked about it in particular was that instead of playing football in the winter, we played ice hockey, which I infinitely preferred. I'd always hated football but ice hockey was terrific fun. And the education, looking back on it, I don't think it was all that good but I don't know, it's hard to judge at this stage. Only a couple of years ago I was in Canada and went back there and was given the real red carpet treatment. They looked after us and showed us around. The whole thing is so completely transformed now that there was absolutely nothing to be seen of the old Upper Canada College Prep School that I remembered at all.