I’m 76 and was born in Kolkata, India (I’m Anglo-Indian by birth), and moved to Britain in 1955 to train as a musician. I am a self-employed, semi-retired pianoforte tuner, living in the Reading area with my wife Marisa. This December we will be celebrating our 54th wedding anniversary. We have four grandchildren: Jorge, Jaime, Archie and Maisie-Ann, and have helped to look after them since birth. I often find myself watching SpongeBob SquarePants because they have changed the settings on the television.
I’m an amiable sort, fairly placid and able to get on with people. I used to play tenor saxophone and clarinet in a dance band in a semi-professional capacity after completing nine years as a military band musician. I’m a great radio aficionado, listening to everything from the classics to modern jazz. Music has been all-encompassing throughout my life.
I started reading the Guardian in the early 1970s after trying other broadsheets. I also enjoy Private Eye and the Oldie on a regular basis. What attracted me to the Guardian is the journalists – I like their no-nonsense approach and reporting of hard facts. I buy the paper as I can’t handle modern technology. On Saturday, I start with the Family section, then read the Review, Sport, Weekend magazine and the Guide, which sees me through the week as far as my TV viewing is concerned.
I love Cerys Matthews’ Dr Crotchety column, as well as the work of Tim Dowling, Stuart Heritage, Zoe Williams and Tim Lott. I don’t so much enjoy the pages and pages of fashion nonsense. Leo Benedictus’s August piece on the Brighton tower was terrific and I liked Rupert Jones on funerals. The Guardian is and has always been a family newspaper in our house, and is an old friend and we enjoy the company it gives us.
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