After a career spanning almost 40 years and including an appointment to the embassy in Cambodia shortly after it had been sacked by a violent mob, you get the feeling nothing much fazes Sir Leslie Fielding.

Whether it’s being declared the country’s number one twister by the king of Cambodia or spilling tomato juice down his white waistcoat while dressed as Dracula at a party hosted by Winston Churchill’s daughter, he has seen action and come through unscathed.

He now lives in Elton, near Ludlow, with his wife, Shropshire lass Sally Harvey, and views himself as an adopted Shropshire lad since their wedding in Diddlebury Church in 1978.

He will be 77 next month and is making good use of his time by writing books.

His first was “Before the Killing Fields: Witness to Cambodia and the Vietnam War” and he has just published his autobiography, “Kindly Call Me God: The Misadventures of Fielding of the FO, Eurocrat Extraordinaire and Vice-Chancellor Semipotentiary.”

It contains three sections which deal with the three main periods of his professional life, as well as some essays and appendices.

Diplomat

Sir Leslie began his working life as a diplomat, starting in the Foreign Office in 1956 before moving to the European Commission at the request of Prime Minister Edward Heath in 1973.

He later spent five years as vice-chancellor of Sussex University before retiring in 1992.

The “Kindly Call Me God” of the title refers to his knighthood, the KCMG, which actually stands for Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George.

It was an honour he received after his time in Europe, but in referring to it in the title he, quite deliberately it turns out, is holding himself up to ridicule.

He says: “There’s a photo of me on the back of the book looking very arrogant and swaggering.”

Referring to the book’s subtitle, he adds: “In all three respects, it’s a jab at myself.”

Placed in effective command of the British Embassy in Cambodia when he was just 31, much to everyone’s surprise he prospered.

His departure to the European Commission was initially intended to be a secondment, but as time went by he never went back.

He remains a strong supporter of Europe despite his initial scepticism, but besides that, claims no strong political loyalties.

He says: “I’m neutral myself. If you’ve seen as much of our politicians as I have, you wouldn’t think it’s the answer.”

As a diplomat, he supports straight dealing. He says: “You can’t be an effective diplomat without being clear and straightforward. You don’t have to say everything, but I have found that plain dealing is best. Deviousness always backfires.”

When he finally returned to the UK, it was to a completely different challenge – university management.

He says: “It was tough, but I loved it,” adding “I saw a lot of the students, which was quite unusual for a vice-chancellor. We had them round for curry and beer to talk to them and find out what their problems were.”

He could have stayed at Sussex until 1997, but finished in five years what he had been given a 10-year contract in order to achieve. He says: “I thought the honourable thing was to give them a firm handshake and say goodbye.”

Since his time in the FO, he thinks there has been a swing towards the use of multilateral diplomatic agencies – institutions like the United Nations and the European Union are the way forward, but good diplomacy is as important as ever.

He says: “You need good diplomats and you need good policies. Out there, the world is quite a cold place.”

But he does want to counter the myth of diplomacy as a fusty, dusty career.

“The point about the book is that it shows that diplomacy can be fun. It shows the human side of representing our country around the world. It’s supposed to be funny, but the joke is at my expense.”

Published by Boermans Books, Sir Leslie’s book costs £9.99.

By Hannah Costigan