John Bush, as you can see, is not a man who enjoys the spotlight. He agreed to be photographed for this page only if he could wear what he liked. Little did we know this would mean hiding under a hat and behind some ridiculous spectacles and a false moustache. The soft toy snake doubling as an exotic hat band is named Crush, after the python in The Warthog’s Tail, and is John’s constant companion when writing stories.
“If Crush isn’t happy with a story, I’m not happy,” says John.
“Nobody’s going to take you seriously if we put in a pic like that,” we told him.
”Precisely. It’s the stories that are important,” he answered.
Apart from the fact that he loves African animals, we can tell you that John was born in Durban, South Africa, a pretty long time ago and was once a teacher.
(Bet he didn’t dress like this then!) After several years in classrooms he decided to change to boardrooms.
He became a copywriter and has worked in advertising for over 25 years. He even started his own advertising agency with a bunch of friends along the way. (Ah, so that’s why he’s wearing a disguise.) He enjoys swimming and has swum the chilly, formidable stretch of water from Cape Town’s Three Anchor Bay to Robben Island in record time. It’s amazing how fast the thought of sharks can make you swim!
It was while John’s kids were young that he discovered Dr. Seuss, who coincidentally also once worked in advertising, and became an instant fan.
John soon started writing his own stories and that, folks, is where it all began.
To date he has had 9 books published, four of which are featured on the Storytime Africa three-volume set of CDs. And, YES, we do plan to publish some of the other great stories as Storytime Africa books.
