also tough. When it comes to actresses, I tend to prefer those from the golden era of cinema. Someone like Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Ingrid Bergman or Audrey Hepburn. There again Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Aniston or Jodie Foster would be great choices too. I do admit to having a massive crush on Emma Watson, though, so she would have to be one of the three. If I were to include a sportswoman, I would go for someone like Chris Evert, Sharon Davies or Olga Korbut. As for a woman from ancient history, there’s only one choice. I would have to invite Mary Magdelene because, well, I would need to know if Jesus existed or not! Name three things that people reading this magazine don’t know about you. 1. This is not exactly about me, but my grandfather was the youngest person in England to be arrested for illegal gambling. He was a ‘bookie’s runner,’ in the early 1900s. He used to relay bets and cash between bookmakers and punters in Birmingham. He was just 12 when he was arrested. 2. My name is stenciled onto a microchip attached to the NASA space probe ‘Europa Clipper’ due to be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in October 2024. The mission is to Jupiter and is scheduled to arrive in Jupiter’s orbit in April 2030. Sadly, the deadline has now passed so you can’t be included but you can learn more about the mission here. 3. I used to work for the Russian mafia. I helped to set up several casinos (real ones) in Moscow in the early ’90s. Whilst there I inadvertently got caught up in a Russian constitutional crisis. On the 4th of October 1993, a coup was attempted to oust Soviet Leader Boris Yeltsin. The plotters were holed up in the ‘White House,’ which is the Russian Parliament building in the center of Moscow. Yeltsin sent tanks to surround the building and when it became clear that the plotters would not come quietly, he gave the order to storm the building. It just so happened that I was on board a ship moored just 500 meters away from the Parliament building and watched the entire coup play out from the ship’s deck while sipping on gin and tonic. Other than that, I enjoy photography. I specialize in street photography. Basically, I stalk people in the streets and take photos of them when they’re not looking. I enjoy taking street portraits of people with an interesting look, there’s a lot of those in Brighton, but I always ask them first. I find images of people much more interesting than architecture or trees. Occasionally my wife and I travel to London and she models for me. We try to find somewhere with good light and do a photoshoot. Afterwards we generally end up in Borough Market for lunch and a glass of wine. If someone were visiting you for 24 hours and had never been to where you live, where would you bring them and why? If I was still in Birmingham and the Villa were playing, I would take them to the hospitality section at Villa Park. I once sat next to David Bradley, (Walder Frey in Game of Thrones) a massive Villa fan, he would love that they have qualified for the Champions League. I’ve never seen Prince William though. If in Brighton, that would be more challenging. I certainly wouldn’t take them to a Brighton FC game; why would you? To be honest there is absolutely nothing of any interest in Brighton. It’s a real hellhole! If pushed, and it was in the Summer then Devil’s Dyke, or Seven Sisters, on the South Downs would make a good day out. The scenery is beautiful, there are some amazing hiking trails, and you could sit and have a picnic, or visit one of the local pubs. If you could invite any five people, living or dead, to dinner, who would they be? In order to even things up at a dinner party it would need to be three ladies and two gentlemen. However, narrowing it down to only two guys would be a real challenge. My initial thoughts were to opt for Lord Byron and Caravaggio. Quite apart from having lived incredible lives, they were also known to enjoy a drink. That said, Ernest Hemingway is my favorite author and it would be amazing to spend an evening in his company. Inviting a top British comedian such as Les Dawson, Jimmy Carr or Kenneth Williams would be a hoot, although they may try to monopolize the conversation. Choosing three ladies that would add both glamour and an entertainment factor is Ken 55 GPWAtimes.org
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