The chief executive of East Belfast Enterprise fills us in on his favourites
Favourite book?
I’m not much of a reader, to be honest, but when I was younger my Dad gave me some P G Wodehouse books, stories about Jeeves and Wooster and characters such as Lord Emsworth and his treasured pig, the Empress of Blandings. Brilliant books. In a similar vein there is the Irish writer and humorist Patrick Campbell. I have a book, which is an anthology of his short stories with marvellous titles such as Noulded into The Shake of a Goat and A Goss on the Potted Meat. Richard Osman is the modern day version and I enjoyed reading his Thursday Murder Club series. Other than these I generally like a good thriller, like the Dan Brown books.
Favourite song?
Too many to mention. I’ve a broad taste from ACDC’s Thunderstruck to Donna Summer’s I Feel Love and all in between. I love a bit of Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, The Charlatans and then there’s the Ska genre with The Specials, The Selector and The Beat. So many, but last mentions go to Depeche Mode, The Doors, Stiff Little Fingers and Erasure — for all the Crues fans out there, if you know, you know!
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Favourite film?
A scene from Pulp Fiction
I love The Godfather trilogy and Quentin Tarantino films, particularly Pulp Fiction. One of my favourite all time films is not that at all. It’s a warm, feel-good and seasonal film and in our house I insist that it gets watched every year – It’s a Wonderful Life. James Stewart is brilliant in it and the ethos of the film speaks to my “social enterprise” outlook on life.
Favourite place?
I was fortunate in my younger days to have had the opportunity to travel a lot, visiting South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South America. I’ve also been to the USA and travelled widely across Europe, but out of all of that it has to be South East Asia — amazing food, culture, people, climate and scenery. I just loved the vibe there and would go back tomorrow if I could. Closer to home, there’s nowhere that I feel happier than in Portballintrae. I spend a lot of leisure time there these days with my wife, children and great friends and just enjoying the sea air.
Favourite food?
I love Asian food, whether it be a spicy Thai dish, Vietnamese noodle soup or summer rolls, Indian curries or Japanese sushi, I love it all!
The social enterprise provides business services to start-ups in East Belfast and has recently installed two community-led murals depicting life in East Belfast at its City East headquarters. eastbelfast.org