Anonymous asked: Do you smoke or drink? Or, much more interestingly - what's your vice?

I don’t smoke; never have, never understood why anybody would (though I understand why people smoke pot/weed/marijuana, and think it should be legalised). Even in old films I recoil a little when some dashing lead actor, puffing away, grabs the girl and… can that really be that pleasant for her? My best friend smokes. We’ve made a deal: we call it Giving Up The Premiership. After the Olympics he’s going to stop smoking, and I’m quitting watching sport, mainly football (it takes up too much of my time).

Do I drink? Yes, I do. Not excessively, but I do enjoy a social drink. I like to have solitary wine nights too: a bottle of red, shiraz or pinot noir; then I’ll make a playlist for an hour, then go through favourite passages from novels I’ve read, or poetry. I like to re-read these favourites in a different state of mind, without sounding too zen: they reveal themselves differently to you when you’ve had a little to drink. These nights normally end with me heading out at 1 in the morning to a bar in town that’s open until 3. There’s always someone to chat to, or have a game of pool with, and the music’s good too.

As for the vices: that’ll cost you your anonymity.