What's your greatest fear?
Being burnt or crushed to death
Which living person do you most admire?
Gareth Peirce, the human rights lawyer
What trait do you most deplore in yourself?
Worrying too much, timidity, brusqueness
What was your most embarrassing moment?
Too many to name - saying something inappropriate, being lost for words, letting someone down
What's the dearest thing you've bought (other than a house)?
Various cars
What's your most treasured possession?
An abstract by an artist I knew in the sixties
What's your favourite smell?
Newly mown grass, coffee, freshly laundered bed linen
What's your favourite word?
Inebriated, impecunious, soporific
Which book changed your life?
Gestalt Therapy Verbatim by Fritz Perls
What in your life would you have done differently?
I would have moved to Australia
What or who is your greatest love?
Jenny, obviously
What do you owe your parents?
Self-discipline, persistence, a crazy sense of humour
What did you want to be when grown-up?
A journalist - which I was for a few years
To whom would you like to say sorry, and why?
Jenny, for careless hurtful remarks
Who would come to your dream dinner party?
Patti Smith, Paris Lees*, Tina Fey
Which word or phrase do you overuse?
Who knows? Why bother? Does it matter?
What's the worst job you've done?
Admin work for a chaotic London council
What was your biggest disappointment?
I'd rather not say
What would improve your quality of life?
More close friends, a better memory
What is your greatest achievement?
Several trips to Australia, going vegetarian
*transgender activist
(questions shamelessly pinched from the Guardian magazine)
