If you could change something about your home, without worry about expense or mess, what would you do?
Easy. Replace all the windows. Our house was built in the 1940s, has a selection of original single glazed metal window frames, and an odd mixture of cheap double glazed PVCu window frames put in by the previous owners (who basically wrecked everything they touched).
What was the last thing you bought?
The last thing I bought was two big bottles of milk on Sunday morning from the corner shop, after getting up, washing up, tidying the kitchen up, and then discovering I had no milk to make a cup of tea.
Have you ever ridden on a motorbike?
When I was younger my brother competed in schoolboy motocross - I rode on that once or twice, but other than that, no - and I’ve not really got any interest in doing so either, which probably sounds weird - but there you go.
Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?
I’ve not done a bungee jump (and wouldn’t), but I have jumped out of a perfectly working aircraft - at 13,000ft over Lodi in California. We did a freefall for my cousin Charlotte’s 21st birthday. I wouldn’t do it now because I have a family.
Do you have a garden?
Yes - a huge one. It’s about 100ft long, and about 100ft wide at the far end (it’s wedge shaped - our house is in the corner of a green). There are chickens at the far end of the garden, a W House halfway down, nestled in trees, several small fruit trees, and a gigantic apple tree - a remnant of the orchard that the nearby houses were built upon.
Do you really know all the words to your national anthem?
Nope. I know the first line - as I know the first line of many, many songs (and no more of them than that). This cursory knowledge drives my other half round the bend.
What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?
It depends. On a weekday, thoughts generally surround how long I have left before I absolutely have to get up. On a weekend, the reverse seems to happen; I get up immediately with thoughts of what to get on with. Invariably it’s washing up and tidying up, but the sooner that’s done, the sooner I can have some of the weekend to myself (or play with the kids).
If you could eat lunch with one famous person, who would it be?
Hmmm - depends if it’s a living famous person, or not. If it can be anybody (perhaps with the use of a time machine), then Marilyn Monroe. If it’s somebody living, then perhaps the guy behind Ubuntu Linux (Mark Shuttleworth) - hopefully over lunch he would realise how entertaining I am, and give me a terribly important job working for the common good at Ubuntu. I could of course exchange him for any of the luminaries behind the projects I am interested in; be that WordPress, Tumblr, Twitter, or whatever…
Who sent the last text message you received?
No idea. I keep the in-box on my phone clear most of the time; I tend to follow the “Inbox Zero” idea promoted by Merlin Mann. I don’t tend to use SMS very much because it’s hilariously expensive (the most expensive form of communication on earth, if you’re interested).
Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
I wouldn’t do it - I’m not stupid enough to spend money I haven’t got.