Travel I tend to have three or four shorter breaks a year. I've been to Hong Kong and I'm hoping to go to New York soon. Right now I'm booking a cheap deal to Amsterdam on the internet, but they always work out more expensive than you expect. I've been to Amsterdam three times before. I find the museums and architecture fascinating, but I don't bother my backside with the red-light district or the wacky baccy. Car I've just got myself a wee runaround because I've moved out to the suburbs from the centre of Edinburgh. I'm quite tense right now because it's about eight years since I've driven so I've got an Escort to bring me up to speed, pardon the pun. I'm going to get rid of it after a year and buy something a bit more flashy, maybe work up to the Ferrari. Eating out I'm a big fan of Indian, Chinese and Italian food. My father was a miner and my mother worked in a grocer's shop so I was brought up on the standard fare. It stood us in great stead, but I've adopted some more exotic tastes as I've got older. Newspapers and books I've always been a reader and it's something that my grandad encouraged me to do. I buy three or four newspapers a day and six on a Sunday. I mix and match with the dailies as I'm left-of-centre, but I don't mind reading the opposition's point of view. I can rarely pass a bookshop. I feel like an invisible hand is drawing me in. Football I follow Hibs and have done since I was dragged along by my dad aged five. I'll be going to the semi-final against St Johnstone at the end of the month. There has been a considerable amount of money spent on heartbreak watching Hibs, but it's not just about the games. It's the ritual of meeting mates and going for a few pints. Billy McElhaney plays Jimmy in River City on BBC1 Scotland. As told to JO KERR