John Humphrys’ perfect weekend? Watching blackbirds and eating toast

The former Today presenter, 76, on chasing squirrels, loving Co-op jam and running with his eyes shut

5.30am When I worked on Today, I had to be up at 3am. I used to have three alarms but now I set one for 6am, though I still have this irrational fear of oversleeping. 6am Every morning

I go for a 30-minute run around my local park in west London. I run with my eyes closed – it’s a rather nice feeling of freedom. I’ve been running there for many years now, so I know when I’ve reached a corner. My trainers are 10 years old – I’ve tried fancy shoes, but they made no difference. 7am I have two pieces of

Vogel’s toast – one with blackcurrant jam and one with Marmite – and fruit. My local Co-op does the best blackcurrant jam, although when we filmed Mastermind in Salford there was a lady who would come to every recording and bring me her homemade jam. Now we film in Belfast, so I miss that. 8am The radio is never off in my house – it’s usually playing Radio 4 while I check my emails.

8.30am I used to read every single newspaper, every day and even now I find it pretty impossible to resist. I sit on my reclining leather chair with a footstool, looking out into the garden, poised to chase off the blasted squirrels and hoping that my lovely blackbirds will emerge. 11am If my 19-year-old son Owen were around – he’s gone off to university, so that’s left a hole in my life – we might cut the lawn. We reached a deal that he would do the gardening and I would pay him. I think that’s only fair. 2pm For lunch, it might be homemade leek and potato soup. My guilty pleasure is crisps. I used to have at least two bags a day. I like salt and vinegar, not Walker’s though. 3pm My partner [Sarah Butler-sloss, an environmental campaigner] and I spend a large part of the weekend walking, either along the river or in the woods. 6pm We go for supper at the Kathmandu, a very good curry house nearby. I used to like very hot curries, but now I’m more interested in the taste than the heat. 8pm If Sarah is away, I read. I’ve just finished a magnificent book called The Overstory by Richard Powers. 10pm

I never read in bed, or meditate – I wouldn’t know how!