sentences:  He declined to take The Bible but accepted the complete works of Shakespeare; his chosen book was a collection of Tony Harrison's poems and his luxury a pair of swimming flippers so that "at the first sign of madness" he could swim out to sea and battle with a shark.In the programme he discussed his childhood and family and professional life, including the loss of a son by cot death at 14 weeks.In July 2017 Rutter announced that he would step down from the post of artistic director at Northern Broadsides in April 2018 after frustration at what he saw as inadequate Arts Council funding for the company.