On the spot with Graham Lyons

Graham Lyons runs Nuvo Instrumental in Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire.

What was your first job?

Selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door. It lasted three days. I hate selling.

If you were not in your present job, what would you do?

I’ll never be short of things to do. I’d campaign for the release of prisoners wrongly convicted of murder who are kept in jail long past their ‘tariff’ merely because they refuse to admit to a crime they didn’t commit, or I’d write a symphony or learn Esperanto.

What was your worst mistake?

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No absolute disasters. I know I spend too much time on the minutiae of the business instead of delegating but I’m getting better at concentrating on the bigger picture.

What would be your ideal day away from the office?

Leisurely skiing in perfect weather. Light lunch on a mountain-side terrace. In the evening, playing jazz with a musically like-minded group.

Name one person you would like to have dinner with and why?

Bertrand Russell, just to listen to an independent, perceptive thinker who expresses himself with humour and clarity.

What are your hobbies?

Music, growing things you can eat, insects and reading science.

What would you do if you won the Lotto?

I’d have to buy a ticket first. It’s a mug’s game.

What is your favourite time of day and why?

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My days don’t follow a regular pattern, so my favourite time coincides with the sun coming out.

What is the best thing about being in business in Yorkshire?

The willingness of most business people in Yorkshire to help without first even thinking, “Will he be a customer?”.

What would you like your epitaph to be?

A choice between, “This epitaph is set in stone” or, “Truth in is the hedgerows, not in the fields they encompass.”