Pieces of me: Brian Paddick

Brian Paddick, London mayoral candidate Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

"This reflects my Christian faith. I bought it after successfully suing the Mail on Sunday over their kiss-and-tell story. I gave the rest of the money to charity, or used it to help friends out" Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

"I was behind a shield in the 1981 Brixton riots, which was terrifying. Twenty years later, this headline appeared in the Voice newspaper after I'd been relieved of my command in Lambeth. I had gone from being an object of the community's wrath to becoming a hero" Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

"I used to go out with a guy who worked at Gucci, and he got me hooked. A very expensive habit, as this tie reminds me" Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

"Elton and David's civil ceremony was a two-part event: a stag do in Soho, with only 200 invited, and the main event in the grounds of their home. The guest list was extraordinary" Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

"I hate running but I felt I had to do the London marathon once before I was 50, and this year is my last chance" Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

"You haven't lived till you've been to the Oasis open-air swimming pool in London's Covent Garden and swum when it snows" Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

"My parents used to take me to Devon, and I promised to take them back there to reminisce, but my dad had a stroke and never made it. I went with my mum and we bought this painting in a gallery in Dartmouth" Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

"I've got to know George and his partner Kenny through Elton and David, and this DVD, besides great songs, has the Parkinson interview after he was arrested. A lesson in how to deal with a potential PR disaster" Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

"The reason I'm so determined to sort public transport out if I get elected mayor is because I rely on it completely" Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

"I was given this as a deputy assistant commissioner. Most police posts are civil appointments, but this one is from the monarch as a sign of rank and status" Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

"My grandfather was the only other police officer in the family, although he died 30 years before I was born. He bought this ring for my grandmother, who was employed as a matron looking after female prisoners at old Scotland Yard. It even came from Toy Kenning, the jewellers who make medals for the police. I wear it all the time" Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian