I was born in 1956 in Cambridge and am a civil engineer, working as a divisional director for a firm of development and infrastructure consultants. I rarely discuss politics with my friends or colleagues, so many will be surprised to learn that I read the Guardian and have never voted Tory! Neither of my parents went to university and both were staunch Labour voters. I suppose some of this has resonated with me; I started reading the Guardian 40 years ago at Bath University where I aligned to the Roy Jenkins/Shirley Williams approach, which is where I remain (pun intended!). Over the years, I have worked in Sheffield, Middlesbrough, Doncaster, Cambridge and, for the last 16 years, Oxford. We have two sons, both of whom went to the local comprehensive school and then to Durham University. I read the online version during the week and we have the paper delivered on Saturday.
The sections that appeal to me most are news, business and sport. Musically, I am stuck in the 1970s so I must pay tribute to my poor wife who I have dragged off to see countless dinosaur rock gigs. I align quite closely with the overall political thrust of the paper and I particularly like Jonathan Freedland’s column, in which he generally sets out the case for a liberal philosophy. I find Marina Hyde’s articles amusing and some of the other columnists are regularly quoted in our family! Reading the Guardian gives me a sense of balance against the political climate that prevails both in business and in my area (David Cameron is my MP).
This is a special year; we celebrate our silver wedding anniversary in September and this Saturday is my 60th birthday – cheers!
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