The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Where in the world are you happiest?
AIn a beautiful village in Majorca called Deia.
QFavourite part of Scotland to explore?
AI grew up in Kirriemuir and still like to explore the Angus Glens.
Q
What was your Plan B, in terms of a career?
APlan B was to work in radio. Plan A was a career in the civil service and I was fortunate to do both.
Q
Which musicians, alive or dead, inspire you?
ADead – Louis Armstrong. Living – a Brazilian jazz pianist/singer called Eliane Elias.
Q
Your house is on fire, what one item do you save?
AMy piano – difficult given my age and the stairs!
Q
A Not seeing the family was hard. But I made scones and pancakes for the first time.
How has lockdown affected you?
Q
A Green Onions by Booker T and the MGs. I first heard it in 1962 and it has been with me ever since. It’s even my ringtone.
Theme song for your life?
Q
A A good fish supper (from Peppo’s in Arbroath).
Q
Last meal on earth? Dream dinner party guests?
AGyles Brandreth, Ian Hislop, Jennifer Aniston, with Rick Stein in the kitchen.
Q
First thing you’d do if you won £1 million?
AQ
If you could rule for a day, what would be the first thing you would do?
ATry to do more to regulate social media – cutting down on misinformation and those people who hide behind social media when forcing their views on others.
Q
Sit down.
Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know?
A My jazz show on local radio was the longest-running in the UK with the same presenter throughout.
Q A Majorca.
Favourite holiday destination?
Q
A Humankind – a hopeful history – by Rutger Bregman. A thought-provoking book.
Q
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
AQ
Describe yourself as if you were a fine wine?
AWhat was the last book you read?
Mince, tatties and white pudding.
A chilled dry Rose from Provence.
Q
A Good music, good company and good food.
Q What makes you sad?
AWhat makes you happy?
Sickness and malnutrition in children.
Q
A No: but I may have met a few!
Q
Have you ever had a paranormal encounter?
AYes, I once saw a ghost on a hill called Seamab in Glendevon.
Q
What was the first album you ever bought?
AQ
If you could go back to any point in history, what would it be?
AQ
What is the best advice you have ever received, and who did it come from?
ADo you believe in aliens?
The Glenn Miller Story. 1920s New York.
The man who doesn’t change his mind doesn’t think – Sir Freddie Laker.
Q
A Play blues piano (not very well).
What do you do to unwind?
Q
A The births of both my sons.
Happiest memory?
Q
A Having been granted an interview with a jazz great, I noticed that the batteries on the tape machine had run just as I had started. I carried on knowing that there was nothing there.
And most embarrassing?
Q
A Giving up playing the clarinet when in my teens.
Biggest regret?
Q
A Being the first Scot to be the Voice of The Speaking Clock which I have been since November 2016.
What are you proudest of?