Leslie's book takes flight after Hereford meeting.

Leslie Haywood could not have expected an offer to translate his book Last of the Mirror Birds into Arabic when he picked up a fare in Hereford.

But his customer was Moutassim Elharith, originally from the Sudan, whose uncle owns a publishing house. A fellow taxi driver told him about Leslie’s writing talent and a new readership was soon within his grasp.

“Moutassim got into my taxi and asked to see my book. He started reading it then he told me to forget where we were going and just drive while he read it,” said Leslie, who works for Blue Line Taxis and lives in Lower Eggleton, near Ledbury.

“He asked if he could translate it into Arabic with a view to publication. We made a few changes and it has turned a bit political.

“He said they had been looking for years for books from this country they could use.”

The book was re-titled Blood of the Magpie and is seen by Leslie, 56, as a parody of the war in Iraq. He likens it to George Orwell’s Animal Farm with the book using animals to tell how the conflict can come to a peaceful end.

“It’s mainly to get people talking about what is going on. The original book was not meant to be political but Moutassim seemed to read a lot into it,” Leslie said.

“It’s about a war between the foxes and the magpies and he said it was like what was going on in Iraq. It’s critical of the West but it’s also critical of the Arab world.”

The English translation is currently available in print and the Arabic version will shortly be released as an e-book. It is expected to be issued as a book in Arabic next year.

This should help the book reach a new audience but it could also find itself available to other markets.

“There are around 1.4 billion people worldwide who speak Arabic,” said Leslie. “There have also been enquires about translating it into Russian.”

A braille version has also been made and paid for by Blue Line Taxis. These are shortly to be presented to the Royal National College for the Blind.