Sir Paul Nicholson, Lord Lieutenant of County Durham

Dec 14 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal

He will forever be associated with Vaux but there is much more to Sir Paul Nicholson's life than the Sunderland brewery group. Karen Dent hears about the thrills and spills in both business and pleasure that have marked his career.

The Questionnaire

What car do you drive?
Jaguar.

What’s your favourite restaurant?
Boodle’s Club in London.

Who or what makes you laugh?
My four-year-old granddaughter.

What’s your favourite book?
Churchill by Roy Jenkins.

What was the last album you bought?
Cannot remember.

What’s your ideal job, other than the one you’ve got?
Was running a big company.

If you had a talking parrot, what’s the first thing you would teach it to say?
Shut up!

What’s your greatest fear?
Serious injury in an accident.

What’s the best piece of business advice you have ever received?
To stick to your word.

And the worst?
To trust a corporate financier.

What’s your poison?
Wine.

What newspapers do you read, other than The Journal?
Times, Telegraph, Financial Times.

How much was your first pay packet and what was it for?
£3 per week as an articled clerk after graduating from university.

How do you keep fit?
Try to do 40 minutes aerobic exercise five times per week.

What’s your most irritating habit?
Snoring!

What’s your biggest extravagance?
Good wine.

Which historical or fictional character do you most identify with or admire?
Admire – Winston Churchill.

Which four famous people would you most like to dine with?
Lady Thatcher, Sir Menzies Campbell, George Bush Snr, Tony Blair.

Now would you like to be remembered?
That I helped the North East.