What is your nickname?
Hard to tell – the cleaners come in early and always sort out the toilet walls as a priority these days
Why did you get into printing?
By accident. Having left the licensed trade, I was wondering what to do next, when I saw an advertisement for a “guillotine operator” and fancied having a go; despite not being French. I got the job and then discovered the disappointing truth
Who would play you in a movie about your life?
Mark Addy, or James Corden. Or James Corden with a voiceover by Mark Addy
Who do you admire most in print?
Frank Romano, Professor Emeritus at Rochester Institute of Technology. His energy and enthusiasm are boundless; he is perhaps the greatest evangelist of print as a communication medium. If you don’t know Frank’s work, go find it; I guarantee it will be time well spent
What is your favourite saying?
“Sometimes it is not enough to do our best. We must do what is required,” Winston Churchill
What is your favourite album?
It changes all the time; I’m mad keen on Bruce Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball – which I reckon is the best protest album in 20 years – and it’s either that or the Carolina Chocolate Drops’ Genuine Negro Jig that’s playing in the car most days just now
What is your favourite book?
I do keep going back to George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman series. I’ve read these since I was about 12 and still laugh out loud at many points in them now
What is your greatest luxury in life?
Oysters Catalan, lobster spaghetti and a decent Viognier in my favourite fish restaurant – despite what the Sommelier may have to say
What’s your greatest fear?
Damage or injury to knees. No idea why, but I absolutely cringe at the idea of knee injuries and just can’t watch if there’s a sports interruption that’s leg related – time to make tea at that point
Who or what makes you laugh?
I’m a massive Count Arthur Strong fan – really shouldn’t be allowed on car radios; way too dangerous. I also giggle at people misusing language, particularly when someone uses a word they clearly don’t understand, just to try and make themselves appear a bit more photosynthesis
What’s your worst fashion disaster?
Don’t even go there. Basically, whatever I wear, I just look like a dead gardener
Life is…?
Pretty darned good, all things considered. I am part of a generation that’s never known global or continental warfare, not many of us have ever been truly hungry or cold and we’ve seen our personal technologies change from a ‘phone box at the end of the street, all the way through telex, fax, mobile, email and social media, to a point where we can now ‘picture call’ our relatives on the other side of the world while stood on the corner where the ‘phone box used to be … that was the stuff of sci-fi just a few years ago – not bad eh?
