1 What is your earliest memory of Edinburgh? I remember moving to Edinburgh in the summer of 1968. As I was due to start boarding school in the September, I arrived with my family so that I could get used to the city.
2 What are your memories of s
chool? As a boarder at St Margaret's School, I remember spending much of my time being homesick.
3 Where is your favourite place in Edinburgh and why? I love Arthur's Seat – it's an Edinburgh landmark and where else would you find a hill like it bang in the middle of the city?
4 What are the best things about Edinburgh? It's great that it's so compact. Also, the architecture is fantastic and every time I walk past a particular building I discover something new.
5 What would you change about the city? We have the worst roads in all of Scotland. I'm just waiting for the day that I get a burst tyre courtesy of a pothole.
6 Describe a perfect Edinburgh day/night out? I'd start by having a picnic at Arthur's Seat with my friends. Then I'd have a wander round a historic house, followed by a spot of fine dining at one a top Scottish/ French restaurants before a trip to the theatre.
7 Which sports interest you? Having signed up for golf lessons a number of years ago, I realised it wasn't for me, so I decided to give falconry a try. Twenty minutes later I was hooked and I eventually bought my own Harris hawk.
8 What was your most embarrassing moment? When I was learning to play golf, having got the ball in the hole first, I thought I had the lead. However, it took me about 25 shots. I was so embarrassed when I was told that's not how it works.
9 What is your greatest achievement? Having not been able to work out why an employee would never write anything down, I found out he couldn't read or write, so we stayed back after work and I taught him. Soon he was reading books as if they were going out of fashion.
10 Sum up Edinburgh in three words? Clean, elegant, cosmopolitan.
The full article contains 398 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
