Five things...

...you didn't yet know about me.

1. I once had an on-off fling over several years with a very famous Fleet Street hack* when I was a teenage apprentice journo. And no, before you ask, it did not advance my career. Probably quite the opposite.

2. I never completed my indentures as the mag I trained on went bust 6 months before I would have qualified. This was in the days before you could study hackery at university, so I don't have a degree in journalism. Or any NCTJs.

3. I don't have any shorthand either and I type with 1 and 1/2 fingers. Why? Because the mag I trained at was run on a shoestring and couldn't afford to send me to day release college. I manage.

4. My favourite meal is roast chicken with all the trimmings and when I'm not slaving over a keyboard I am slaving over a hob. I have twice been a professional cook (between hacking jobs) and am damn good at it.

5. I sometimes pick fights with colleagues. But only over professional issues I feel passionate about. These might include the NUJ, the correct use of English and whether one ought to fiddle one's expenses. Well, you might think that, but I couldn't possibly comment.**

* Ask all you like but my lips are sealed. I don't kiss and tell.
** Disclaimer: I have never fiddled my expenses. I hate it when others do.