My favourite authors include Trollope and Dickens.

My favourite authors include Trollope and Dickens.

I'm not too fond of really cool design. I've got quite kitsch taste really, in things like tableware. I'm quite a sucker for 1930s pressed glass.

Every decently-made object, from a house to a lamp post to a bridge, spoon or egg cup, is not just a piece of 'stuff' but a physical embodiment of human energy, testimony to the magical ability of our species to take raw materials and turn them into things of use, value and beauty.

I'm driven by issues, not driven to be political.

Building your own house is a primal urge, one of those universal genetic drives like the need to provide for your family.

The thing that I champion is sustainability. My terror is that suddenly we see it as a luxury, not an essential. That's a danger.