About the author

Other interests

Music and Hi Fi

It is probably easiest to say what I do not listen to: only a little classical; very little dance; no soul; very little blues; very little jazz; a little heavy metal. So what do I listen to?

I still listen to a lot of the music from my youth (late sixties, early seventies). I feel very lucky to have been young when the Beatles were at their peak, buying each of their albums as they came out, watching their films and TV programs. I was then, and still am, a great fan of David Bowie, Elton John, Leonard Cohen, Queen, Steeleye Span, Simon and Garfunkel, Yes, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull. My wife introduced me to Country and Western - I'm so pleased that Dolly Parton has made such a great return to form with her recent albums. At University from 1973 - 1976 I had the good fortune to see many great touring bands who still played small venues in those days. I saw Queen, who had a young troubadour called Chris de Burgh as the support act! Steeleye Span (three times); Fairport Convention; Supertramp; Jethro Tull; Fleetwood Mac; Procul Harum ... and many more besides.

Artists I am particularly keen on at the moment include (in no particular order): Johnny Cash, REM, Loreena McKennit, The Eels, Madonna, Savage Garden, David Gray, Garbage, Kate Rusby and Film soundtracks.

I listen to music whilst cooking (I am an enthusiastic cook of modest abilities). I have one of the best kitchen audio systems of anyone I have ever met. The CD player and pre amplifier are by Tom Evans Audio Design (www.audiodesign.co.uk) and a power amplifier from Naim (www.naim-audio.com), and I have a pair of mini-monitors made by a Danish company called Dali.

I have a seriously expensive lounge system (you could buy a nice car for the amount of money it cost). CD player, pre-amp, and valve power amp are all from Tom Evans Audio Design and my loudspeakers are Tannoy Kensingtons (www.tannoy.com). I have a turntable and tonearm from a UK company called Roksan (www.roksan.co.uk), and what I think is the best phono cartridge ever made - an elderly Koetsu Rosewood Signature, hand made by the late, great Mr Sugano from Japan.

Very unusually for a very male-dominated hobby, Sue is every bit as keen on Hi Fi as I am. She enjoys going to Hi Fi dealers and Hi Fi shows as much as I do.

Cars

Sue and I are very keen on cars - again I am very lucky to have a wife who shares my passion. We have a Ford Mondeo estate (very practical), a Chrysler PT Cruiser (very stylish) and (until the Winter of 2002) a replica AC Cobra 289 (very fast and fun). The Cobra kit was made by Hawk Cars (www.hawkcars.co.uk) and had a Rover 3.9 V8 which we bought new from Morgan Motors (www.morgan-motor.co.uk).

Miscellaneous interests

Sue and I share a number of other interests - gardening, good wine, the theatre, swimming every day, and collecting modern art. I enjoy photography, which I learnt from my father who in his youth worked for his father taking photographs for Zeiss Ikon catalogues. We have no children.