20 questions with international lawyer Alexander Kassandrinos
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
My guiding force is my well being and enjoyment of life. If I am well and enjoying life, everything is fine, so I make it so. It’s a painfully easy concept to live by.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2013?
I don’t know actually what Kerry Katona is, but I think the politicians in general and especially in Europe are unacceptable.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
What I miss is what I value. When that value is satisfied (at the moment) I don’t miss it (but I still value it, even though that specific value doesn’t get my attention at the moment).
What might you swap all your wealth for?
I have never been rich and don’t expect to be.
Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the banking crisis?
Massive overspending and recklessness caused it.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
I have never understood why a presumably upright, respectable person says “to be perfectly honest” or “to tell the truth” instead of “candidly”.
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
The accusation is that charity helps the recipient with their problem, but it doesn’t do much to deal with the causes of that problem.
It certainly is true that some charities do stopgap or ‘band-aid’ work, either exclusively or some of the time but in fact, a lot of charity work is devoted to dealing with the fundamental causes of problems: for example trying to reduce global poverty, or doing research into diseases like cancer.
I thing, that charity is wrong when it’s used to patch up the effects of the fundamental injustices that are built into the structure and values of a society. Charity, from this viewpoint, can sometimes be seen as actually accepting the injustice itself, while trying to mitigate the consequences of the injustice.
The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
I m a technology fan (freak) so this is not the right question.
If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
My friends.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
Greek cuisine is my favorite and that’s what I’d have for my last meal.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
For me 7:30am is perfectly acceptable
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
A cup of green tea.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
I try to remember but I can’t.
Who is the most positive person you know?
I think I’m the most positive person that I know.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
“Happiness consists of living each day as if it were the first day of your honeymoon and the last day of your vacation”: Leo Tolstoy
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
I’m not a fan of tattoos.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
A Porsche 911.
Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
Surprise me.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
Actually, nothing.
Alexander Kassandrinos is an international lawyer based in Athens and Frankfurt. He can be contacted at [email protected]
Subscribe to our free once daily email newsletter here:
Greek Cuisine?…If one is talking haute cuisine then it’s a contradiction in terms. Filly stuff…greasy lamb etc.