I was born in Lisbon, Portugal. I’m 45 and an architect. I’m a bit of a hoarder and my most pleasurable hobbies are related to collecting – various things ranging from vinyl records to cacti, clothes, ceramics and furniture. My daily and more time-consuming hobby is walking for miles on end with my dog PJ (Pedro Junior), mainly to the Manchester wastelands and brownfield sites.
I lived in London for 10 years and then gradually got tired of its crazy pace and moody Londoners (much like myself). I moved to sunny Manchester and I’m now settled into a “quieter” urban life.
I started reading the Guardian back in 1995 when I arrived in the UK, as I was going out with a Guardian reader. Then I was on and off, flirting with the Independent. The routine has more or less stayed the same for the past 20 years – buying the paper on a Saturday morning and munching on it over the entire weekend, and possibly even during the week. I do a sneaky preview online of the headlines in my office for about 10 minutes every weekday lunchtime, but when Saturday comes I simply can’t resist the traditional newspaper.
I was attracted to the paper first and foremost because it was the place to check all the listings of things to do in London. Back iIn the mid-90s information wasn’t that immediate and I always preferred the Guide to the vastness of Time Out. I mainly read the arts, finance and business sections, as well as the entertainment listings. Though my flatmate Joseph doesn’t read the paper, I will end up reading it to him whenever there’s something that might interest him. The GuardianIt feeds my desire for general knowledge and updates me on what’s going on around the world.
I don’t follow the Guardian on Twitter, however. I’m one of those people who is trying to avoid social networking sites for as long as I possibly can.
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