'I just don't feel ready to live in a house paved with travertine. I know it's quality stuff, but I feel it'd be like living in a giant toilet in the Vatican'.(LIVING)

From: Sunday Independent (Dublin, Republic of Ireland) | Date: March 18, 2007 | Copyright information

Byline: BRENDAN O'CONNOR

I LEAVE the office just before the traffic, which means I can be in the pool in Bellinter House in Meath at a reasonable hour and there's hardly anyone else in it. I don't like it when there's other people in the pool. Given that I was possibly the first paying customer to swim in this pool, I'm slightly proprietorial about it. A plaque might be a bit much, but maybe they could name it after me or something.

On the way down, we listen...