I have a chest infection and sore throat, which seem to have conspired to dissolve my brain, so I'll keep this short.
My mother was a pianist and teacher, so I grew up with the piano and music at home at all hours, went regularly to the Robert Mayer children's concerts in London and others. I got into hi-fi through a friend who was the son of a fellow musician of my mother's. I was blown away by his Cambridge P50 and Key Chorale. This all eventually took me, via a few hi-fi shows, to Studio 99, where I gradually assembled my first system, a Quad 33/303 fed by a Sony cassette deck and initially Sennheiser headphones and final Kef Concertos. A Rega Plana 3 followed a few years later and then the inevitable Linn Sondek + Ittok. I went the whole Linn hog later with LK1/LK2 and Saras. I still have a soft spot for the Saras, but he amps were a disappointment, although they let me drive the Saras for less money and fewer boxes than Naim. I shift off to Naim gear later. Initially a 200 system fed by CDX into Arrivas and the a 5000 system into Sl2s and now Shahinian Diapasons.
I listen to a very eclectic mix of music - everything from baroque through to "world music", psy-trance, classical, romantic, reggae, hard rock, heavy metal, punk, "hippy music" - you name it!
I am also addicted to Old English Sheepdogs. Ponk was one of them and I was his butler, hence the name.