Name: Alasdair Smith
Profession: Vice Chancellor of the University of Sussex. I was Professor of Economics at Sussex, before I drifted into management and administration, and I still do a little bit of teaching.
Are you local? I was born in the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. My wife Sherry was born in St Louis in the USA, so I think we were fated to end up here. I’ve lived in the area for 25 years and Lewes itself for 12 years.
Favourite pub? I’m not really a pub person nowadays: I used to frequent the Black Horse.
What’s your poison? Red wine. Any drinkable one will do. Especially a nice New Zealand Pinot Noir.
Waitrose or Tesco (or neither)? Waitrose. I hate Tescos. I don’t like the way it seems to be trying to take over the world. I like the quality of what Waitrose sells. I also try and use the farmers’ market and the local shops as much as I can.
What do you think about traffic wardens? At 11 o’clock on November 6th 2005, a Sunday morning after Bonfire Night, I saw a traffic warden ticketing cars parked on a yellow line on Bradford Road and that was the moment I realised the scheme was completely over the top. I’m also not madly enthusiastic about paying the council for a resident’s permit when the only parking problem in our street (in Wallands) was created by council employees.
Which Bonfire Society do you go to? We can see four bonfires from our house - the nearest is Waterloo - so we take advantage of that.
Which newspaper do you read? The Guardian. I sometimes look at the Independent but I don’t like its current campaigning style.
What did you have for breakfast? Orange juice, Weetabix, yoghurt and a cup of tea. Milk, no sugar.