Crispin Mills
What is your idea of earthly paradise?
Lots of peace and love. Not too much reality television.
What is your idea of living hell?
Anywhere there is an abundance of motorcars. I think the culture of cars has created a lot of the world's problems.
Under what circumstances do you lie?
When I have a gun pointed at my head.
What is your most endearing feature?
Total and utter stupidity.
What is your most annoying habit?
Being self-centred. It is the worst way to be. Perhaps if I had children it would be a good lesson for me in thinking about other people first.
Which historical figure do you most admire?
George Harrison. He was such an interesting person and consistently looked cool, no matter what the decade. He was a big influence on me, musically and on many other levels.
With which living person do you most identify?
Anyone who is trying to express themselves through music or writing.
What have you loved and lost?
My father. He died two years ago. I first lost him when I was two and my family split up; then we re-established a relationship when I was in my twenties. We had about ten years together working things out. I am glad we managed to
reconnect; I learned a lot in a short space of time.
Who or what is the love of your life?
My wife, Joe. For me, love and affection is all about honesty. It is nice to know that, in a world of uncertainty, you have at least one relationship where you are absolutely straight. And she's gorgeous too.
Where would you most like to call home?
When I was travelling around India, I met a wandering mendicant. In the evenings we would sit around the fire, which he called the ''dhooni'', and he would say: ''Where there is dhooni, there is home.'' I think wherever you feel safe and settled, that is home. My real home is in Bath, but I'm not there that often.
Who is your favourite writer?
Bruce Robinson. He wrote The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman and the film Withnail and I. He has a great sense of tragedy and comedy.
What CDs have you been listening to lately?
Calexico, a really cool band from Arizona; and Justin Timberlake, because my wife listens to his album all the time.
What makes you most happy?
Vegetarian cooking. I love a jacket potato with salad.
What makes you most unhappy?
Animal slaughter. I think we should all put more effort into practising peace and compassion.
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?
George Harrison and Bruce Robinson. That would be a nice little evening.
What can't you do without?
Ventolin inhalers and my mobile phone.
Who can't you live without?
My wife. Ultimately, though, you have to be able to survive on your own.
What are your favourite names?
Aristophanes, Govinda and Shard.
What is the most stupid thing you have done?
I have a new one every week. I once had a long conversation with Amanda De Cadenet thinking she was Dani Behr.
What is the most admirable thing you have done?
I have yet to perform a truly admirable act. I'll keep you posted.
The Jeevas play King Tut's, Glasgow, on October 12; the Liquid Room, Edinburgh, on October 14; and Lava, Aberdeen, on October 15. The album Cowboys and Indians is out on Monday.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article