I’m never sure where to take writers who are new to these shores. A part of me wants to introduce them to the delights of the Thurland and see how they cope with the pissed locals strutting it on the dance floor circa 5pm. On this occasion my ambassadorial role kicked-in and I plucked for Bar De Nada in Nottingham’s more bohemian side.

Author Tommy Wieringa is a gigantic guy who took just three seconds to beat me in an arm wrestle. This was my opening gambit based on the character in his book Joe Speedboat. He is part of a group of eight Dutch writers who have made it into translation and our touring various festivals across the country under the safe guardianship of Jonathan Davidson. I didn’t realise it until we met, but I’ve never read a Dutch author before – so it was interesting to hear what he had to say and try to discover if there is such thing as a definitive Dutch characteristic. We’ll be running a LeftLion interview online soon as well as another podcast, so I won’t confess all now.

What I will say is that he has the most curious writing routine I have yet come across, visiting a local monastery on a daily basis to write in rhythm with the chanting. But best of all was finding out how he got inspiration for his current project. He was on a train going to Ethiopia and started to chew a natural stimulant called ‘khat’. Within a few hours, that lonely carriage suddenly filled with ideas and the first lines of his next book were scribbled down on scraps of paper.

I’m thinking of putting this forward as a proposal on Dragons Den as a miracle cure for writers’ block. The large majority of authors out there who pay thousands to rent out remote cottages in lush green surroundings end up producing insipid novels because they are writing in such beautiful surroundings. All they need is a rail pass and some natural drugs. What do you say Theo?