I love playing in China. The crowds here value success more than British people seem to.
It's nice to have genuine appreciation for what you've achieved in the game. You don't often get it in Britain.
It would break my heart to lose playing safe.
The quarter finals is always an exciting round because you know you're one match away from that one table situation: where the magic really starts to happen at the Crucible and where it starts to come into its own.
I am not a superstar in Britain.
In China, they appreciate someone who has worked hard. They say it is incredible to win seven world championships. I know it is, but it's a shame I have to go 10,000 miles to get the whole crowd behind me.
Even when I used to play Jimmy White in Scotland, he would have the majority of the support. That's the only time it would irk me, coming back to Scotland and people still wanting me to lose.
When I was 13, my parents bought me a mini snooker set for my birthday. From the moment I first held a cue in my hands, I was transfixed.
I have always really loved clothes, although I am glad to say that my tastes have mellowed somewhat over the years. When I first played professionally and started to earn big money, almost everything I bought was by Versace.
My favourite store is All Saints. Having spent years dressed in a dinner suit and a bow tie as a professional player, it is wonderful being able to wear normal clothes again.
One of my biggest sponsors is based in China, and I probably spend as much time there as I do in the U.K. Over the years, I have really grown to love it, but the first time I went was a different story.
I liked Dalgety Bay, but my life did not revolve around the house. I was a teenager there, and these things aren't that important at that age.
Ever since I was a kid, I'd imagine that I was making a break to win the world championship.
My form's good in practice, but that doesn't count for anything, really.
You get better as the rounds go on.
You benefit from deep inner belief of having wins behind you, so you get to the table, and you know you're not going to miss.
There are some people who never get used to losing at anything, and I am probably one of them.
I cannot see a situation when I won't feel pressure to play well and win.
I am not on tour any more, but I hear things, and there are stories that some players are not as dedicated as they should be and treating some of these PTC events in Europe as stag weekends rather than tournaments.
When I'm practising on my own, my game feels great, but there's a big difference between practising on your own and playing against people.
