'Tick, tock, tick, tock," goes the clock of human life. Living with regrets is one of the hardest things to do. What if your dad died and you hadn't had that last cup of tea with him? Not much you can do about that — or so you might think.

Indeed, one man decided he wasn't going to accept that mortal imperative — and he decided to have his dad made into a teapot so they could have that last cuppa together again and again. He turned to 43-year-old potter Neil Richardson to carry out his wish.

Recently, while Richardson was here on a visit, I was assigned the task of interviewing this man who has devised a unique way of preserving people for posterity. I can't say I was keen to meet him, but I hadn't been talking long to Richardson before I realized he wasn't some ghoulish Michelangelo-cum- Mengele who spoke like an irate Darth Vader. In fact, the soft voice and friendly manner of this resident of Carmarthen in beautiful west Wales put me quite at ease.