ROBIN FOX (1934-?) is an anthropologist who, though born in the UK, teaches at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where he founded the department in 1967. He has written about American Indians, Irish crofters, and Macaque monkeys, in his nineteen books, including, with Lionel Tiger, The Imperial Animal. Between times he has fought bulls, run a research foundation, crewed a racing catboat and tried parachute jumping. His book of poems, essays, dialogue and satires, The Passionate Mind, was published in 2000, and his autobiography Participant Observer in 2004. His real passion is songwriting. www.robinfoxbooks.com

TONY CATTANEO (1927-2003) was a well-known artist, living in Twickenham, whose life was balanced between England and his native Italy (note that the Alpine Troops are more Italian than French!). He had an extraordinarily successful career as a commercial animator (the Typhoo Gnu, the Tetley Tea Folk, The Country Life Butter Men, Fred the Flour Grader) but also as a serious artist in oil and watercolor, and a maker of animated films. He won awards at Cannes, and exhibited at the Royal Academy. His real passion was playing soccer.

ALPINDIANS was born during a summer in the Alps (on the French-Italian border at Briançon), where Robin was writing about Indians, and Tony was sketching the locale. In the evenings they would produce impromptu silly verses and sketches to amuse the children. Kate, Ellie, Anne, Emma and Pete demanded more silly verses and more zany drawings, and from there, like Topsy, it just growed.

Kate Fox went on to write the bestseller Watching the English. Ellie has four sons and speaks fluent Arabic. Anne founded and directs the research firm of Galahad SMS Ltd. Pete Cattaneo directed the academy award nominee for best picture The Full Monty.