The true extent of the reversal of his fortunes dawned on him when he was standing in a London branch of Waitrose, buying lunch for a visiting lawyer. Carefully, he chose a piece of cheese that would not cost more than 70p. The 2p change he received at the checkout was all he had left in the world. He was not just a pauper. He owed £200,000. He had no way of paying it back and nowhere to live - apart from a tiny, run-down Chelsea flat where he was in arrears with the rent. He didn't have a job or even a purpose. And he was still recovering from major heart surgery - the price, he accepts, of a youth of spectacular indulgence.