Cyprian Fernandes Article Talk Read Edit View history Appearance hide Text Small Standard Large Width Standard Wide Color Automatic Light Dark From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Cyprian " Skip " Fernandes (born September 1943) is a retired journalist and author. Having started life and his career in Kenya, he is now based in Sydney , Australia. Early life and education Cyprian Fernandes was born in September 1943 into a Goan family in Nairobi , Kenya, which was still a British colony . He was raised, along with five siblings, by a single mother, after his alcoholic father had left the family. [ 1 ] He left school at 13 years old after the headmaster falsely accused him of stealing altar wine , but continued to read widely. [ 2 ] He grew up in the Asian suburb of Eastleigh in Nairobi. [ 1 ] Career Fernandes worked first in a warehouse, followed by a bank, the civil service , and then as an acting juvenile probation officer . After lying about his age, claiming to b...