Article: He was the British adventurer who became Idi Amin's most trusted aide. But even now, he says he yearns to serve 'His Excellence'.

Byline: JANE KELLY

THIS is a gentle if eccentric scene. Two dingy rooms occupied by a white-haired pensioner are given over entirely to his pets. Ginger, a former stray cat, sprawls on a sofa, while Scruffy, a tame magpie, hops about the furniture, stealing car keys and hiding his meat inside Wimbledon Borough Library books.

A cage in the centre of the room is empty. Chalky the cockatoo, rescued from a disreputable pet shop, is enjoying an aviary in the garden.

At first sight, 'Major' Bob Astles, 79, in turn-ups, stiff collar and drooping moustache, looks like the sort of old buffer who stayed on too long in the colonies after the British had ...

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