My ideal relaxation is working on upholstry. I spend hours in junk shops buying furniture. I do all the upholstery work myself, and it’s like therapy.

In this remark, Anderson reframes “relaxation” as active, tactile making rather than passive leisure. Upholstery—hunting for discarded furniture, then patiently restoring it—becomes a counterweight to the pressures and scrutiny of public life: it is private, skill-based, and results in visible transformation. Calling it “therapy” suggests the calming effects of repetitive handwork and focused attention, as well as the satisfaction of rescuing objects others have written off. The quote also hints at a preference for self-reliance (“I do all the upholstery work myself”) and the restorative power of craft, where control, care, and creativity replace performance and noise.