… to practise the full teaching of the Church as enshrined in the Book of Common Prayer
If you could pick any fictional animal to be your lifelong companion (like a Pokémon or fantasy pet), what would it be?
Garfield from Garfield and Friends. Our energies are comparable. I like lasagna. I am like Garfield owner, Jon Arbuckle, in so many ways (especially when it comes to relationship and being mocked).
If you had to switch lives with a fictional character for a week, who would you choose?
Can I change the prompt to a historical person who may be considered to be on the periphery?! And I am not saying this person was perfect but rather this particular person was “close to” someone famous.
Can you read my handwriting? I am writing like a pig.
Letter to Franz Overbeck, 24th March 1883
I would like to switch with Peter Gast (born Heinrich Köselitz). He was a friend of Nietzsche who created the pseudonym ‘Peter Gast’ for Köselitz. Nietzsche’s hand writing, due to his failing eyesight, was extremely hard to read. Gast was one of the few people who could read it and transcribe it. Yes, he may have edited some but it would be so interesting to be able to read Nietzsche in the original original. A return to the sources.
Have you ever liked a villain more than the hero? Who and why?
I like anti-heros in TV shows and movies, like Tony Soprano. But they are actually the main actor who happens to be engaged in things that we consider to be “bad”. Like Walter White or Dexter. All good characters but they are not villains in the TV show kind of way. They are the main character in a dark show.
My favourite villain, and I acknowledge that what he did was wrong, is Ted Kaczynski. He lived alone in the woods which is a big tick from me. He may have been made a villain from outside, another tick. And he had a purpose to his madness! All good reasons. If he were alive, I doubt I would like him as a person – he sounded a little (ok, a lot) weird. But his fear of technology, and the effect on humanity, seems more reasonable every day.
What’s the longest book you’ve ever read?
A little while ago, maybe 25 years or so, I read Gregory Dix’s The Shape of the Liturgy. Huge book, very heavy. Completely too big to read “on the road”. Yes, I think I finished it. An interesting take which has had lots of influence. So there …
What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?
I cannot recall ever giving advice to anyone. But if I were speaking to someone right now, this would be it:
There are no institutional answers to an individual’s problem.
Tbh, I think answers are highly overrated (and always extremely contextual).
What’s one thing that would instantly improve your city?
I am not a city planner so I do not know about the economic repercussions. And I will acknowledge that it might be misused. But …
Free public transport. It would take the pressure off using cars. And, hopefully, lower the use of petrol. It would increase peoples ability to move around the city.
Again, I have no clue but …
Who is your favorite cartoon character?
Fearless Fly who was part of The Milton the Monster Show (1965-1968). Fearless Fly’s sole weakness is losing his glasses, which happens in most of the episodes. When he lost his glasses, he would say, “Where are my glasses?”. I say that when I am looking for my glasses.
How does your mindset affect your financial success?
So, tbh, I have no financial sense at all. Have money, spend money.!
While I budget well enough to not run out (and put myself on the street), I have a serious addiction to books.
Maybe my mindset is “books” and that means no success at all?
If your pet could talk, what would be the first thing it says?
Most likely, “what is this noise coming from me”. Or “why am I talking?”.
Again, sorry to disappoint, I have no pet. So maybe my coffee can talk and it would say, “please don’t drink me”! But I would hear, “drink me! Drink me!”.
Have you ever regretted reading a book — which one and why?
I can honestly say that I have never regretted reading a book. But I have had a negative emotional response to some books. That does not mean I regret reading them. Any book, any interaction, brings with it a call to respond, to be transformed. Sometimes it is a bad example of how not to be!
