FIVE MINUTES WITH

Abergavenny sculptor and stone carver Matthew Caines

If you had to be stuck in a lift with someone, who would it be and why?

Michelangelo, Charlie Chaplin, Van Gogh, Picasso, Bob Dylan... so many interesting people it's hard to choose. I'd just have a chat really.

What is your biggest fear?

Mime and mime artists. They always make me feel trapped in a box.

Do you have any superstitions?

Talking about rabbits when on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. It's an old stonemason's superstition.

If you could have one song on your iPod, what would it be and why?

"In The Jailhouse Now" by The Soggy Bottom Boys. It always makes me smile.

What’s the most expensive thing you’ve bought not including your property?

Some big blocks of Carrara marble. If you'd seen them, you'd have wanted them too.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

"You don't always get what you want, but if you try real hard, you get what you need," given by two friends, Mick and Keith.

What’s your indulgence?

These days, an early night is always good.

What item could you not live without?

My wife.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why?

The male gene that makes me inhibited at dancing. I always wanted to glide like Fred Astaire instead of the stumbling man in the straight-jacket that God has made me.

Where are you next going on holiday?

Hopefully a small community on the west coast of Greenland.