ES Lifestyle newsletter The latest lifestyle, fashion and travel trends Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive trends and interviews from fashion, lifestyle to travel every week, by email Update newsletter preferences

Home is…

A house in Hackney with my son James, 25, a civil servant. I’ve now lived in Hackney for 30 years but I’m an immigrant to Hackney from west London.

Last play you saw?

Barber Shop Chronicles at the National Theatre (below) — it is set in a black barber’s. It was funny but also had some quite profound things to say about male identity. I enjoyed it.

Where would you go for a first date?

You want to go somewhere the other person can hear you talk, so I would probably recommend a coffee shop. Stoke Newington Church Street has lots of good cafés but The Spence is my favourite because they bake their own bread.

What do you collect?

Books. I have hundreds — even in the era of the Kindle I can’t stop myself buying books. My theory is spending money on a book is never wasted, but the problem is I keep having to build new shelves to put them on. At the moment I’m reading Hackney, That Rose-Red Empire by Iain Sinclair — it’s kind of reportage, I would definitely recommend it.

Where do you work out?

I’ve got the StepsApp that tells me how many steps I do and I do 10,000 a day. That’s my main thing.

What shops do you rely on?

There’s an amazing West Indian takeaway called Peppers & Spice in Islington on Balls Pond Road — the jerk chicken, rice and peas is my favourite. I get a take-out from there once every couple of weeks. Also, there’s a really good family owned woodworking supply shop across the street from me on Kingsland Road called KTS — you can get everything there.

What makes someone a Londoner?

I think that Londoners are generally more tolerant.

Best thing a London cabbie has said to you?

After the 7 /7 terrorist atrocity, I got in a cab and the driver just said very firmly: ‘These terrorists, they think they can frighten us but Londoners don’t frighten that easily.’ It was very reassuring to hear him say that.

If you were Mayor for the day, what would you do?

I’d make public transport free for the day, put maps through everyone’s letter box and encourage people to go to parts of London they wouldn’t normally go to.

Favourite restaurant?

Rudie’s, a West Indian restaurant in Stoke Newington. It’s very convenient and it does really great Jamaican food (above) and great drinks — my favourite is rum and Coke. I’ve been going since it opened.

Where would you most like to be buried?

I don’t know if there’s space because it’s very old, but in an ideal world I would be buried in Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington. It’s really historic and is a very pleasant place to walk around. Some of the people buried there include the founders of The Salvation Army, William and Catherine Booth, and Joanna Vassa, who was the daughter of an anti-slavery campaigner.

Biggest extravagance?

Flowers — one of my favourite places is Columbia Road, Flower Market (above). I like lilies and tulips in the spring, and whatever they’ve got that catches my eye. They are great quality flowers and it’s a great atmosphere.

Who is your hero?

Tony Benn (below) because he never stopped learning new things, he was extremely principled and had beautiful manners. He was an MP when I first became an MP and I knew him quite well.