WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY?
1958, when I was two years old. My mother was taken away in an ambulance. She said ‘Don’t worry I’ll be back.’ She came back a few days later in a black taxi carrying something wrapped in white lace. Turned out to be my baby sister Maureen.
WHICH TALENT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO HAVE?
I would like to be able to mingle casually at social events. I park myself in one place and can’t move.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR 18 YEAR-OLD SELF?
Ignore all the inner voices which constantly undermine everything you try to do. I’m only getting the hang of it now, 60 years later.
WHICH PERSON DO YOU MOST ADMIRE AND WHY?
Primo Levi, who not only survived Auschwitz, but also wrote a classic work of literature about his experiences (If This is a Man )
SUM YOURSELF UP IN 4 WORDS.
Talented, confident, flawed, insecure
WHAT HAS BEEN THE HAPPIEST TIME OF YOUR LIFE?
It is right now. The more I learn about myself, the happier I am.
WHERE WAS YOUR MOST ENJOYABLE HOLIDAY?
A family holiday in Australia when the kids were 9-10 years old. We rented a big house by the sea with extended family for about a month. So many golden moments.
WHO WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO BE STUCK IN A LIFT WITH?
Elisha Otis
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FILM?
Eraserhead, directed by David Lynch. Highly original, inventive and very funny.
WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ?
Almost There: The Onward Journey of a Dublin Woman, the second book of Nuala O’Faolain’s memoirs. A very brave, honest work, beautifully written
WHAT ARE YOUR THREE FAVOURITE SONGS?
Amelia by Joni Mitchell. Late for the Sky by Jackson Browne. Dreams by Stevie Nicks
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
My two dogs Rothko & Joni, Stewart Lee
WHAT ANNOYS YOU MOST?
The blatant injustices of the world that get worse with every passing minute
WHAT IS YOUR WORST HABIT?
Avoiding doing the work
WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION?
A 1915 penny coin, and a 1919 one — the dates my parents were born
HOW DO YOU RELAX OUTSIDE WORK?
Walking by the sea, eating, drinking, reading poetry
WHO WOULD BE YOUR THREE IDEAL DINNER PARTY GUESTS?
Aldous Harding, Joni Mitchell, Saul Bellow
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SAYING OR MOTTO?
No man is an island, except when he is having a bath (Norman Lovett )
