TEN QUESTIONS: Published, Evening News, 20 November, 2008
1 What is your earliest memory of Edinburgh?
My first visit was to Murrayfield as a young schoolboy of about ten years of age to watch Scotland play England.
2 What are your memories of school?
I attended Merchiston Castle. I had a ball in what was a fairly strict regime. However, before Health and Safety kicked in we had tremendous freedom also. As a headmaster, I would have a heart attack if I allowed kids to do what we were allowed to do back then.
3 Where is your favourite place in Edinburgh and why?
Has to be Princes Street Gardens in the summer. Busy, energised, full of folk and in a setting that’s quite remarkable. My nephew, from Spain, summed it up on a visit when he was quite young. He said that it was like being in the middle of a fairytale.
4 What are the best things about Edinburgh?
Like all major cities, the best thing about Edinburgh is its cosmopolitan nature.
5 What would you change about the city?
Well, I know it’s not very PC in this day of green environmentalism, but there is a fundamental problem in getting in to the city by car. Nowhere to park, difficult to negotiate the almost unfathomable one-way system and restricted access all over the place. Far too many traffic wardens for my liking!
6 Describe a perfect Edinburgh day/night out?
I think it would be easier to say that if you can’t have a perfect day out in Edinburgh, then you are unable to have a perfect day out anywhere.
7 Which sports interest you?
All of them, with the possible exceptions of synchronised swimming and elephant polo.
8 What was your most embarrassing moment?
Mistaking someone for my best friend in a bar in Edinburgh. I approached this man in a suit, knocked the back of his knee with my foot to give him a fright but the guy completely buckled, dropped his pint, smashed his glass and soaked his trousers. He turned to me and I garbled some pathetic explanation and his response was to simply look at me as you might a certified lunatic.
9 What is your greatest achievement?
Marrying the girl of my dreams and having a young son who takes my breath away.
TEN QUESTIONS: Published, Evening News, 20 November, 2008
1 What is your earliest memory of Edinburgh?
My first visit was to Murrayfield as a young schoolboy of about ten years of age to watch Scotland play England.
2 What are your memories of school?
I attended Merchiston Castle. I had a ball in what was a fairly strict regime. However, before Health and Safety kicked in we had tremendous freedom also. As a headmaster, I would have a heart attack if I allowed kids to do what we were allowed to do back then.
3 Where is your favourite place in Edinburgh and why?
Has to be Princes Street Gardens in the summer. Busy, energised, full of folk and in a setting that’s quite remarkable. My nephew, from Spain, summed it up on a visit when he was quite young. He said that it was like being in the middle of a fairytale.
4 What are the best things about Edinburgh?
Like all major cities, the best thing about Edinburgh is its cosmopolitan nature.
5 What would you change about the city?
Well, I know it’s not very PC in this day of green environmentalism, but there is a fundamental problem in getting in to the city by car. Nowhere to park, difficult to negotiate the almost unfathomable one-way system and restricted access all over the place. Far too many traffic wardens for my liking!
6 Describe a perfect Edinburgh day/night out?
I think it would be easier to say that if you can’t have a perfect day out in Edinburgh, then you are unable to have a perfect day out anywhere.
7 Which sports interest you?
All of them, with the possible exceptions of synchronised swimming and elephant polo.
8 What was your most embarrassing moment?
Mistaking someone for my best friend in a bar in Edinburgh. I approached this man in a suit, knocked the back of his knee with my foot to give him a fright but the guy completely buckled, dropped his pint, smashed his glass and soaked his trousers. He turned to me and I garbled some pathetic explanation and his response was to simply look at me as you might a certified lunatic.
9 What is your greatest achievement?
Marrying the girl of my dreams and having a young son who takes my breath away.
10 Sum up Edinburgh in three words.
Cosmopolitan, vibrant, young