Profile: Worth the Waite

Terry Waite. The name says it all. The face too. Etched with lines far deeper than a man of 62 deserves, Terry was, and still is, the man who inspired a nation to forgive, even if they could not forget.

When he emerged from his Beirut cell, his 6' 7" frame stooped and stiff, he did so with a dignity that humbled us all.

Terry Waite Terry - for the few of those who don't, or won't, remember - was working as the special envoy for the Archbishop of Canterbury, negotiating the release of hostages in the Lebanon in 1987, when he himself was taken captive for almost five years, four of which were spent alone.

Now, as I interview him on the phone, I have to remind myself that this softly-spoken, witty man is the same Mr Waite I spoke to ten years ago, shortly after his release.

I tell him of our meeting. It is etched on my mind. It was on my very first day as a reporter. His book Taken On Trust had been thrust into my hand and I was sent off to interview the author.

To every question I asked, Terry Waite replied the same. "If you'd read the book you'd know the answer to that." Fair enough, but I was suitably quashed.

At the time, he was still recovering from his ordeal. It wasn't helped by the likes of me, the crowds of fans and the other media that followed him everywhere, transfixed by his plight and story.

Today he laughs when I repeat the story. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea it was your first day. But I used to get asked the same questions all the time and I was rather impatient..."

No wonder. It was as if he was shocked by the superficiality of the western world and was looking for meaning in the life he had returned to.

By a cruel twist of fate, after his release Terry became claustrophobic among people and enclosed spaces and shunned society, including his own friends and family, having grown so used to his own company.

Much has changed in the past ten years and he says he has found a better balance in his life. For a start, he wouldn't have laughed as he does today about our first meeting.

But that is the past and he is keen now to talk about the future. One thing that hasn't changed is how serious and passionate he is about the things he believes in, namely the charities he supports.

He is in Oxford this weekend, at a private fundraising bash, to raise awareness and funding for Emmaus, a charity, of which he is president. It gets the homeless off the streets by providing them with somewhere to live and job within a community, and funds itself by repairing and restoring bikes, furniture and electrical goods. There are already six around the country and 15 more - including Oxford - are in the planning stage.

Organisers are raising £1m to buy and furnish a property for the scheme in the county. A suitable building has been found and planning permission has been applied for.

Homelessness is one of Terry Waite's 'special babies'. When he returned from captivity, one of the first things that struck him was how many homeless people were on the streets. He resolved immediately to do something about it.

His aim is to see an Emmaus community in every major city in the country, which is why so much of his time is spent trawling up the nation's motorways drumming up support.

And he is the prime candidate to do so. Wherever he goes he is still recognised and revered. These days he makes a living by giving talks and lectures around the world, and as a public speaker, he is hugely in demand.

But one look at the list of charities and organisations he supports gives you a realistic insight into how much of his time he commits freely.

Among the myriad of charities, Emmaus, The Butler Trust - which deals with rehabilitating prisoners and educating young offenders - and Y-Care, which helps street children around the world, are the ones he believes in most strongly and devotes most time to.

"I decided to earn a living lecturing and writing and give the rest of my time away," he says with modesty. "I have never been able to divide my life from my work and the idea of a nine-to-five job fills me with absolute dread."

It is incredible that he still manages to find the time to write, but the proof is in his latest offering, Travels With a Primate, a funny and anecdotal account of his travels around the world with Lord Runcie, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, who died last year.

But some things don't change. His craving for being alone has abated but it has not disappeared entirely. The father-of-four tries to clear his diary and go abroad for the first few months of the year to write. His next book is about solitude, something he doesn't think has been sufficiently covered to date.

"I've just read Robinson Crusoe and found it very dull. Defoe is great at describing details but not the feelings of solitude, but then he never experienced it, so why should he? I want to address that."

Terry, and his wife Frances, have a house in Blackheath, London, and a retreat in Suffolk. He knows it's time to start winding down his busy diary and concentrate on the good things in life.

"I do try to reduce my workload and I sit down with my secretary. But everything she suggests cancelling, I think 'I can't let them down' so it's not working very well at the moment," he admits.

Terry Waite has recently bought the 178 Bach CD collection and is steadily working his way through it, and he wants more time to read, travel and spend in the countryside.

One suspects that this idealised retirement may still be a long way off.

"Of course I'll still be working with the key charities for many years to come. It's so great to witness seeing people back on their feet again."

Funny, he could be talking about himself.

**Anyone wishing to make a donation to Emmaus should phone 01865 861922.