ABOUT ME

I am lucky enough to be able to regularly do the things I really love - to drive around amazing places, to travel, to eat great food and to meet many interesting people, so it's fair to say that I get a lot of pleasure from my life. But it's true also that I'm from Scotland and have endured many long and depressing winters, so this love for life must always battle my innate cynicism and grumpiness. Some people find this amusing.

Interests

What I really really love is anything to do with cars or motorbikes. Driving is my favourite thing, and I love anything with an engine.
On an almost equal footing is eating great food. The whole point of travelling is to eat new food. Never mind seeing things or doing things, I often 'waste' whole holidays going from breakfast to brunch to lunch to snack to dinner to drinks.
Of course, I also believe that there is at least ONE thing in any museum or gallery that will interest you or enrich your life in some way. But I'm just as happy riding my bicycle around a city looking up at buildings - I used to work for an architect so I suppose you could consider this another passion.

• birds
• architecture
• dining
• breakfast
• running
• drinking
• flying
• traveling
• cars
• paragliding

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Very recently, I did a paragliding flight above Interlaken, in the Swiss Alps. Standing on the side of a mountain, getting ready to run as hard as I could downhill, my mind couldn't let go of how ridiculous it is. Humans can't fly. We tumble, we fall, and we break. But against all odds, I felt a sharp pull upwards and then my legs were running in mid-air. Then we rose and floated with the birds. As it turns out, the only way to see Switzerland is from the air. Such a stunning place, and an incredible, addictive feeling.

Aside from this, it's got to be driving through the Scottish Highlands or riding a motorbike across Tasmania (both very similar). The feeling of being out there alone is invigorating, there is so much space, and following the road, trying to be fast and smooth, is hypnotic. I regularly spend hours of my life doing this, and will never stop.