Lemn Sissay was writer in residence on The Living Museum, Robben Island with some of South Africa's best jazz musicians.

Lemn Sissay had his first ever birthday party at The Rossetti in Manchester organised by DJ Dave Haslam. He was thirty five years old.

Lemn did a weekly slot called The World according to Chairman Lemn on Emma Freud's doomed Radio One show.

Prince Charles once said to Lemn Sissay at the Commonwealth Heads of State Conference in Edinburgh ‘The poem Architecture touched me and I know what you mean’.

Queens Theatre London. Lemn read his work with Paul McCartney at the launch of his book. On coming off the stage after reading a piece about being on a cliff edge and falling only to discover Magnificent Wings. Sir Paul was watching from the side of the stage. As lemn came off stage Sir Paul held out his hand and said 'You got Wings mate!'

Bob Marley is quoted in Lemns second book which was published previous to Lemn finding out who his father was! Lemn found his late father in 1995 and discovered he had been a pilot for Ethiopian Airlines. As a co pilot he once carried Emperor Haile Selassie for which he was given an onyx ring embossed with The Golden Lion of The tribe of Judah. The ring is an exact replica of the ring worn by Bob Marley. Marley was given the ring by the Emperor through his son Prince Wossen. Lemn now has the self same ring!

Lemn made a short film with Pomegranate Pictures. The two leads were Asher D from So Solid Crew and Gary Lewis who rose to fame as Billy Elliot's Father.

Lemn spent his early career performing with Henry Normal, Caroline Aherne, Steve Coogan and the like. Henry Normal is a poet and one of television's most successful comedy writers.

Lemn once read poetry for Richard Pankhurst, son of Sylvia Pankhurst to an invited audience at Addis Ababa University in the reception of the Palace of the late Emperor Haile Selassie.

Lemn's Mother works for the UN and his late Father was a pilot for Ethiopian Airlines.

In 1995 BBC Television made a documentary on Lemn's life. Internal Flight was about Lemn's search for his late father and his family. It followed Lemn from his home in Manchester to the heart of the Simeon mountains where the plane his father co-piloted crashed. Lemn found remains of the plane on the hillside more than twenty years after the event.

In the nineties Lemn presented a jazz series called Jazz 606 on BBC2. It was so bad that he would go to the Chelsea Hotel after each recording night and cry his eyes out. The oddness of the event was that the driver of one of the cabs was the adoptive father of a young black man who used to present on That’s Life, who committed suicide – his picture was actually in the cab that took lemn to the first programme!

Lemn Sissay has had a lifelong and unexplainable crush on TV presenter Jenny Powell. Jenny Powell broke Lemn's heart when she married and had a child recently.

Lemn Sissay had his first ever Christmas with a member of his family when he was thirty two years old.

Once a member of The Cobden Club, Lemn wants to be a member of two places – Soho House and Chelsea Arts Club. Lemn is in London once a week on average.

Lemns mother married at Trinity Church in Addis Ababa Her Husband was a minister under Haile Selassie and who's daughter, the Princess, attended the wedding. Most of the ministers who also attended the wedding were slaughtered by Mengistu who took power from Haile Selassie a few years later.

The Ethiopian Embassy invited Lemn to write and read a poem on the 100th anniversary of The Battle Of Adwa. During this battle the Ethiopians drove Italians out. The night before, The Embassy put on a Cocktail Party. Lemn got so drunk that he was unable to turn up to the highly prestigious event the next day. This was six years ago – The Ethiopian Embassy have not spoken to Mr Sissay since!

Actor Christopher Eccelston tried to get hold of Lemn's books but couldn’t so requested his presence in the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester where they chatted and had a laugh in Mr Eccleston’s changing room.

Patricia Routeledge once came up to Lemn at a BBC recording at The Ritz in London and told him how much she enjoyed his work. Jokingly Sissay said ‘can I quote you on that’ at which point she swiftly and stylishly turned away.

At the Chelsea Arts Club, one of London's most exclusive artists clubs Lemn Sissay was asked if he was a taxi driver no less than three times within one hour.

At The Mermaid Theatre in London Lemn shared a dressing room with Sir Ian McKellan. Lemn mentioned to Sir Ian that he didn’t have a suit and Sir Ian replied ‘Don’t worry – it’s radio’. Finding this amusing Sir Ian relayed the story on stage. The packed audience found it funny. The audience was 30 million, the event recorded for the World Service.

Lemn made a decision that he would not marry until he found his family. He found all of his family and his last sister when he was 33 years old.

Lemn wrote the track 21st Century Poem on Leftfields multi-million selling album Leftism. After finding his family Lemn relayed the story to his sister who told him to sort it out. He took them to court and Leftfield relented and paid him. At the album's launch party there were three supermodels amongst many other A list schlebs – Lemn gave the tickets away.

Backstage in Manchester. Lemn and actors Anthony Sher and Ben Kingsley back stage at the bridgewater hall watching a minister give a speech while propping up the bar.

Backstage in Sheffield Alice Walker, with her husband and daughter. Alice Walker said ‘Lemn, think about it. You could stop smoking today and this could be the moment you have to remember as THE day’. Lemn carried on smoking.

On the principal that ‘life is not worth living if there is nothing you wouldn’t die for’ Lemn held the belief that he would not live past thirty.

Mick Hucknall has seen more of Lemn Sissay live on stage than Lemn has seen Mick Hucknall alive on stage.

Lemn Sissay never had a family, or a surrogate family, until he was thirty years old.

The BBC Studio was locked and there were two burly looking geezers outside. At the height of the threats Lemn found himself sat next to Salman Rushdie across from Stephen Spender.

As a northerner Lemn loves London! Many people in Manchester ask why. The simple answer is that in London there are more people who look like Lemn!

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