Since then I've set up my own translation company here in Hungary, EDMF Language Services, the family has grown with the addition of 3 kids, two boys and a girl, not to forget two tortoises. We live not far outside Budapest in Etyek.

I'm also a member of the Robert Burns International Foundation Curatorium and Chairman of the Burns Supper Organising Committee.

1. When did you arrive in Hungary and what brought you here?
I first came in 1993 but settled here in 1998: cherchez la femme.

2. Have you ever been an expatriate elsewhere?
No

3. What surprised you most about Hungary?
I had had a fairly good introduction to life in Hungary over the several years I visited before living here, but even still the bureaucracy (especially in the late 90s and pre-EU) took some getting used to.

4. Friends are in Budapest for a weekend - what must they absolutely see and do?
A walk around the castle area is a must for the stunning views you get of the city.

5. What is your favourite Hungarian food?
Pretty much anything my mother-in-law makes.

6. What is never missing from your refrigerator?
A nicely chilled beer.

7. What is your favourite Hungarian word?
Okafogyott, one of these words we just don't have in English.

8. What do you miss the most from home?
Links golf

9. What career other than yours would you love to pursue?
Living in Etyek there's a certain appeal about wine-making.

10. What's a job you would definitely never want?
One where I just don't get on with my boss.

11. Where did you spend your last vacation?
Highlands and islands of Scotland

12. Where do you hope to spend your next one?
Burgundy, France

13. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen?
Was a big U2 fan, had all the albums, countless concerts, etc…

14. What can't you resist?
Good food.

15. Red wine or white?
Hmm, need to sit on the fence there, all depends on the weather, can't forget a good rose in the summer too…

16. Book or movie?
Book, then movie.

17. Morning person or night person?
Definitely a night person, mornings always come too soon.

18. Which social issue do you feel most strongly about?
There's been a lot in the UK news recently about child abuse, nothing I find more abhorrent.

19. Buda side or Pest side?
Buda nicer, Pest more dynamic.

20. What would you say is your personal motto?
Not a motto as such, but as long as I can put my head down at the end of the day with a clear conscience, everything else takes care of itself.