If I am interested in any hobby, sport or interest I will always (sometimes to the annoyance of those I am talking to) encourage others to try similar ideas, ideals and activities. I don’t do this because I feel everyone should do the same things as I do; that would make for a very boring world. I do it because I am passionate about these things and want to share some of that passion with others; hopefully I might also inspire some passion in them. In my time I have encouraged people towards (in no particular order) photography, cricket, climbing, Scotland, reading, hill walking, video games, arguing, cooking (especially recently `molecular gastronomy’), eating, politics, cinema, badminton and many many more. There is nothing here I would ever dissuade anyone from, nor is there anything, bar possibly bigotry and incest, that I would ever try to talk anyone out of.  However, I am also aware that my passion itself can sometimes be off putting in its own right, giving too much information, diving too fast into details utterly beyond necessity and being generally slightly overbearing. I am, however, deeply confused when people seek my decision on either the right ideas to pursue, the best plan to follow any activity, or the correct way to enjoy something. If I can inspire interest then I am happy, but I would not want to dictate the way to enjoy oneself.

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