... there are 7 things you (probably) don't know about me.

So I see a number of people are doing the #7things – for your delectation, here are mine:

1. I usually think in threes.

Whenever anyone asks me a question I usually answer with 3 things. What three things they are, are never the same but I can almost always think of three. It’s such a habit that I often start by saying there are ‘three things’ even when I don’t get to three. Only today I ran out at two and that was to a question I can usually think of three things for.

You can normally spot my work because it is in three parts – occasionally it is a ‘four-parter’ but I spend lots of time typing to get it to three. I am OK with one part having two sub-parts. Strangely, I don’t think of that as four. I even broke this list into three parts: facts, desire and secrets. You can work out which is which.

By the way – the number that most repeats in my life is 113. Another use of the 3?

2. I was born in Nottingham.

For the Americans, that’s Nottingham, England – not Nottingham, PA (yes there is one). Specifically, I grew up in West Bridgeford just south of the city.

Nottingham is quite a big city for the UK with about 700,000 people – which makes it a small town in the US. It is about 120 miles north of London and is typically described as The East Midlands. After a rather rocky time at school (see next section) I studied at what is now called Nottingham Trent University – named after the River Trent that flows through the city. In those days we called it Trent Poly. At Trent, I got a High National Diploma in Business Studies.

My parents still live in Nottingham, a short walk from the statue of Robin Hood. They live near the Castle – the place where Charles 1st raised his Standard in our Civil War – and we all know how well that worked out for him.

3. I have Developmental Dyspraxia

When I was young I was lucky enough to be tested and was originally described as Dyslexic. My sister, who knows these things, thinks that today it would be called Developmental Dyspraxia. It is all about the two halves of the brain not working well together. The end result is that if I spell, write or type things wrong, unless someone points it out to me, I will not see it.

In some ways, I am what I am today because of it – not in-spite of it. God has given me different skills to help me and I tend to focus on the verbal not the written. I am very lucky that many people have helped me over the years - from the extra lessons I did at school to the people who help me proof-read things today. I owe them much.

I would love to write a book but each time I sit in front of the keyboard, my insecurities about my skills hit me. Or it could be laziness.

4. I am Jewish

By birth, if not by practice I am an Orthodox Jew. Given the challenge of learning English, Hebrew seemed a step too far for me. Being Jewish is different in the UK than in the US. Outside the very Jewish areas of London, Jewish people are more hidden and quiet. No one wants to draw attention to themselves. I went to Christian Schools and probably know more of the New Testament than the Old.

When it comes to Jewish laws and traditions – I am more into the traditions. My father and his immediate family escaped The Holocaust but most of his family did not. The few traditions I follow (an occasional fast and a Passover supper) I do to honor his family to make it a part of mine.

When I am asked if I believe in God, I tend to say that Pascal's wager was the right idea.

5. If I could be anything, I would be a film director

If I could be born again, I wonder if Steven Spielberg would mind me being him?

Failing that, I spend too much of our discretionary income on video and computer equipment. Not sure how many other families have the home video edited to broadcast-quality standards. For Christmas (should that be Hanukkah?) we got a Blu-ray writer and player and we can now finally watch the 1080i HD movies I have been making since I bought by Sony HD1 four years ago.

The closest I ever really got was a part time job at BBC Radio Nottingham as a student. I did some film reviews and helped produce a Saturday Morning show – one of the best jobs of my life. I think I saw 100 movies in 1984 – even today, the thought of going to the movies makes me happy.

6. My favorite city is Las Vegas

I know lots of people hate Vegas but I love it. Got married there and spend as much time as we can afford (in both ways).

The moment we leave McCarran airport and head to our hotel, I start to relax. We never stay on The Strip unless it’s for work. We tend to look for deals in the off-strip local places. We love the shows and we love the restaurants. Our holidays there are often the time we actually go shopping for clothes and personal stuff. Who has the time in real life?

Best shows are Ka and Love. Whatever you do – don’t go and see the Criss Angel show.

Best restaurant: The Bagel Cafe. Chopped liver on a toasted poppy seed bagel. Does life get better?

7. I have two fictional heroes: Tony Hancock and Zaphod Beeblebrox

I discovered Tony Hancock through a friend’s recording of ‘The Missing Page’. I didn’t know who he was but I fell in love with the writing (Galton and Simpson) and his comic timing. In his best times, before television, he could empty the pubs. People still can recite sections of ‘The Blood Donor’ today. His life story is not a happy one and ends when he committed suicide, by overdose, in Sydney on 24 June 1968. He felt unloved and misunderstood. According to the Wikipedia entry on him – “In a 2002 poll, BBC radio listeners voted Hancock their favorite British comedian.” Guess he never knew.

Hancock’s TV work is on YouTube – an example is this excerpt from his version of Twelve Angry Men. However, if you really want to hear him like I did, then you need to find the original radio series. The BBC still sell them and you can download them from Audible.

The same way Hancock is better on the radio, so is the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. If you have only ever seen the TV show (or God-help-us the movie) then you don’t know the series. Even if you have read all the books! Something about the radio series talked to me and still does. The Christmas Edition, typically viewed as today as episode 1 of series 2, is the best. I so much wanted to be as cool as Zaphod. Hey, and he was President of The Universe.

If you follow the last link you will also see where I stole the title of this blog from.

H2G2 was of course written by the late Douglas Adams. I met him a few times and was starting to work on a charity committee with him when I moved to the US. When he died on May 11th, 2001 (aged 49) in Santa Barbara I was 25 miles away. Still get tears in my eyes today if I think about it.