Kester Aspden Biography
Kester Aspden is a writer known for his book, The Hounding of David Oluwale. He is also the husband of Sarah Rainsford, BBC’s former Moscow correspondent.
Kester Aspden Age
He is 53 years old. He was born in Toronto in 1968.
Kester Aspden Height
He is tall in stature however his height is undisclosed.
Kester Aspden Education
Aspden has a doctorate in history from Cambridge University.
Kester Aspden Family
He was born in Toronto and raised in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, and York. However, there is no information about his parents and siblings. It is therefore not known whether he has siblings or not.
Kester Aspden Sarah Rainsford
Kester is married to Sarah Rainsford, the former BBC’s Moscow correspondent. She was forced to leave Russia at the end of August 2021 when her visa expired.
Russian authorities made it clear that her visa would not be renewed. The Russian state media also said the move was in retaliation for the refusal of the UK to grant visas to Russian journalists.
Sarah spoke to the BBC Today programme about her sorrow at leaving a country she loves.
“I am being expelled – it’s not a failure to renew my visa, although technically that’s what it is. I’m being expelled and I’ve been told that I can’t come back, ever.”
“To be honest, it’s devastating personally but it’s also shocking. Russia has never been a posting for me: it’s not just any old place. It is a country that I’ve devoted a huge amount of my life to trying to understand…”
“I calculated just now that it’s almost a third of my life I’ve lived in Russia, so one way or another: learning the language, studying the culture, the history, living here, trying to understand the people, and of course as a journalist, over many years for the BBC, on and off, working in Russia.”
“I’ve really loved trying to tell the story of Russia to the world but it is increasingly a difficult story to tell. I have to say, though, I wasn’t expecting this to happen. There were clear signs for Russian media: there have been really serious problems recently, for Russian independent journalists, but until now, for the foreign press, we’d somehow been shielded from all of that.”
“But this, I think, is a clear sign that things have changed. It’s another really bad sign about the state of affairs in Russia and another downward turn in the relationship between Russia and the world – a sign that Russia is increasingly closing in on itself.”
The couple met in Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge where both were studying. Kester was doing a PhD while Rainsford was studying Languages; Russia and French. While there, Rainsford also played football and was nick named Crusher after breaking a girl’s collarbone.
Aspden does not have children.
Kester Aspden Books
Aspden is a writer. He has written a number of books including;
- Fortress Church: The English Roman Catholic Bishops and Politics, 1903-63 (2002).
- Nationality – Wog: The Hounding of David Oluwale (2007).
- The Hounding of David Oluwale (2008). He wrote the book while in Istanbul and it won a Gold Dagger award for crime non-fiction.
- Broken English (2012).
Kester Aspden Salsa
Aspden was burnt out and lost, but salsa saved him.
“When I started dancing in Havana, it felt as if the world was judging and laughing. Now, salsa helps me feel more confident – and less isolated.”
“To change is tough, and for me self-doubt and depression are always lurking. People try to mend themselves in different ways, but the introspection of my memoir project had burned me out. It had been a brutal form of self-therapy, with no professional for protection. Still, I never expected that dance, rather than words, would be my cure. It has helped me out of my isolation, and my own head, connecting me with worlds far from my own.”
Kester Aspden Net Worth
His net worth is under review.
Kester Aspden Instagram
He does not have an Instagram account.
Kester Aspden Twitter
He does not have a Twitter account.
Also Read; Sarah Rainsford
