http://www.mychumsclub.comVintageVintage

 Dr Robert Anderson was the first scientist to be director of the British Museum since the eighteenth century, so unsurprisingly his favourite piece in the vast Bloomsbury collection is a scientific instrument:

"I very much enjoyed the Sloane astrolabe. This is a medieval, probably English, astronomical instrument which had been developed at the end of the thirteenth century. It's a unique object. It's huge, it's beautiful and it has lots and lots of intellectual qualities embodied within it."

In a wide-ranging conversation mixed with a selection of his favourite music, Dr Anderson talks about the challenges he faced during his ten years in charge of the British Museum , what he has in common with Albert Steptoe, and why he fears that some museums are not as challenging as they should be. He spoke to John Allen at his home in Cambridge :

From Superdrug to Liberty , from Autotrader to MFI, and now as one of the five directors of MCC, Brian Muirhead has a sniff of the maverick about him. Perhaps that’s not surprising: as a troubleshooting finance director (with a penchant for sparky start-up businesses) he has built much of his career by rocking corporate boats. 

He talks to Faith Glasgow about the joys of an unstructured career, computer comfort and an iPod full of Wagner.