I'm terrified of being poor, I always have been. It's growing up as a Methodist. I'll spend that bit of extra money to get a better seat on a train sometimes, because it's quieter and calmer, but I refuse to spend money on clothes.

Building your own house is a primal urge, one of those universal genetic drives like the need to provide for your family.

Building your own home is about desire, fantasy. But it's achievable; anyone can do it.

Building a house from scratch in the middle of a field is a bit like building a prototype car. As with all prototypes, if you're building a car you usually have the luxury of producing several prototypes before you arrive at the production line version - so the opportunity for changing things is quite rich.

My dad has been my coach since I was seven years old - from 7 to 18 is when he coached my club team - and so it was always in the family. He introduced me to soccer at a young age and also kind of molded me into a good player at a young age, too. Which then I grew to love the game and be as passionate as he was.

When the Internet really first started to hit, people felt this would be the death blow: after suburbs and long commutes and television and the death of the family dinner, this would be the last straw that would totally break society.

The Greek side of my family are actually all really fair.

The idea of having proper qualifications had been very much ingrained in me. My father had a steady job for the Potato Marketing Board, and the family emphasis was on getting to university.