So, you want to know about me. I'm 66. I live in west London near the River Thames. My three grown-ups - too old to call them children - are all making their way in life successfully and are all married. Through them I have seven grandchildren - five boys and two girls.

I believe in freedom of speech, scientific method, and the power of Occam's Razor. I am an atheist (irredeemable so don't try) who despairs at the attacks on human rights and civil liberties in Britain over the last decade. My interests include Victorian literature (yes, especially Wilkie Collins), buildings, technology, art, furniture, cosmology, history and wine. Things I hate include war, violence, working out, football, mortality, and I can't stand intolerance. Except of intolerance of course. Which is good. Things I quite like include cooking and jobs about the house. Recently, I have been known to garden reluctantly. Things I love include my family, my partner Emma, research in libraries, and my work. But you'll have to look at my professional biography to find out about that.

And what's that stuff on the front page about My head capitalist; my heart socialist; my soul anarchist? It's a phrase from my youth which I am sure was on a poster but which I can't track down. It captures a certain truth about me and about politics.