Reading (well, obviously): apart from history of science and popular science I particularly enjoy fiction, memoir and travel.

Theatre: As well as being a frequent and enthusiastic theatre-goer I have acted and directed with Oxford’s local non-professional company the Oxford Theatre Guild. The highlight was co-directing (with Peter Malin) Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia in the Oxford Playhouse in 1999. See here for reviews etc. More recently I directed Margaret Edson's Wit at the North Wall Arts Centre in Oxford. See here for reviews and pictures.

I am also a long-standing member of the Abbey Shakespeare Players, who perform each summer in the ruins of St Dogmaels Abbey, Pembrokeshire, and directed Henry V in 2003, Much Ado About Nothing in 2006 and my own edition of Henry IV in 2008.

Sailing: On Sunday afternoons I race my Topper dinghy on the Upper Thames at Medley Sailing Club, a perfect antidote to sitting at a screen all week.