Broccoli is rank.

Favourite comedien(ne)?

Peter Kay, or maybe Rhod Gilbert.

Has watched a movie in the last 24 hours?

No - it would be nice to have the time to though!

Croissant or pain au chocolat?

Oooh - I love pain au chocolat, but croissants are probably marginally healthier...

Is good at running?

No, very bad at running. I have flat feet and get out of breath quickly. I was good at cross country when I was a slip of a girl though.

Is planning on doing something unusual tomorrow?

well, related to your post... going to athletics club, which is unusual for me as I can't do athletics!
Oh whoops, today is tomorrow as you posted yesterday... well I'm playing piano at church, four hymns which I can't actually play.

Has tried composing before?

Not until last year when the Second in Music encouraged me to write for her String Group.

Now I have pieces for String Quartet, Wind Quartet, piano duet, harpsichord, flute, bassoon, clarinet and saxophone, together with a little collection of Christmas carols (Words & Music).



Is able to improvise?

I can improvise okay on the violin, not so much on the piano-too many choices of notes!!

Prefers sweet over sour?

Depends what in - sour sweets are yummy, sour fruit less so! (although sour oranges can be yummy...).

Cadbury or Galaxy chocolate? (I'm biased, as I live 10 minutes walk from cadbury world )

Cadbury when I just want some chocolate. But Galaxy when I'm snuggled up watching a film after an awful day.

Chocolate or fruit?

Impossible to answer! I love them both, but tend to go for chocolate after a long day at school, with the result of becoming quite unhealthy!

Favourite author?

There are so many but I am just discovering Doris Lessing and I think she might become a favourite. I also love Hardy, Austen and Margaret Attwood.

Favourite time of day?

Very early morning. I hate getting up early, so this may sound strange, but once I am up I love the early morning quiet!

Enjoys/has been camping?

I'm a BIG fan of camping! I've always really enjoyed it.

Likes peanut butter?

Yes (always crunchy ) but I don't eat it that often.

Did something interesting and/or musical yesterday?

Attempted and failed to play my new piano transcription of Rite Of Spring.

Favouritest meal in the world?

hmmm.....something from zizzi's - maybe their pasta carbonara? Oh, but with melon for pudding and also their chocolate tart but ahhh so hard to choose!

Most favourite piece of music for listening?

A Shostakovich Symphony, maybe No 10

Most hated piece of (classical) music ?????... makes you want it turn it off

Khachaturian violin concerto.

Tea or coffee?

Tea, any day...

Knows what a Dalek is?

Does know what a Dalek is but has never watched a whole series of Dr Who only the odd episode or two.

Has sunny weather where they are? (we do here- yay)

Yes, sunny here too!

Remembers the song that went with the advert for Discos (round crisps)?

I've never seen the Discos advert, so no!

Has finished reading a book in a day or less?

Yes I think I read 'The Curious Tale of the Dog in the Night Time' by Mark Haddon in under a day.
I also read an entire novel whilst taking a 12 and half hour flight to Singapore, I think its was Ian McEwan 'Amsterdam'

Has there been any novel that bored you stiff and you abandoned it ??

Too many to mention! I tend to read only science fiction and fantasy novels if I want fiction- for any other reading, it's got to be non fiction. If I read "real life" fiction I get annoyed and feel like I should just go and read the newspapers or The Economist.

What are you going to have for lunch?

No idea - have just got back from holiday and there is no food in the fridge...

Was/is a Brownie/Guide/Cub/Scout etc etc?

Was a Brownie and then a Guide before quitting and joining Army Cadets (I'm still there)

Watches Britain's Got Talent?

I watched Britains got talent and I think its appalling that the gymnastics group won when others were so much more talented.

Plays their instrument too much?

Not sure what the right answer is... probably play it too much relative to other activities that I do, but I feel it's not enough!

Piece of classical music which evokes the worst memory?

If it counts, Karl Jenkin's Adiemus.


Last thing you played on your instrument or listened to?

Last played (subject to opinion) on instrument: mozart clarinet concerto movement 3. Last listened to- chopin piano concerto no 1 movement 2 .

Voted monster raving loony party? (Please say yes)

I'm not old enough, sorry

Owns a car?

Again, not old enough....

Has a favourite toy/doll/teddy bear from their childhood?

My earliest recollection of a favourite toy was simply a Dinky car which had seats that flipped forwards and four doors that opened. I spent a considerable amount of time when I was small, lying flat on the floor playing with toy cars. I always said that when I grew up I'd get a Jaguar XJ12 or Daimler Double Six.

I never learned to drive!



Will be happy not to watch any football or have anything to do with it over this coming tournament thing?

Yes- could not care less about football. May watch it if I happen to be somewhere where it is on already but not going to seek it out, and would be happy to not hear about it at all.

Strangest place and time that you have ever played your instrument?

Back loo at work when I really really needed to get away from my computer for a bit and practice for class... When I announced "I'm just going to the back bathroom for 15 minutes with my oboe" you should have seen the expression on my colleagues' faces!!!!

The most useful thing you ever learned?

How to play the piano!
No, there are probably more important things. Reading? Or is reading music more important...
Don't know I'm afraid

Has ever been busking?

If singing counts, then yes!

Has an interesting day planned for tomorrow?

If singing counts, then yes!

Has an interesting day planned for tomorrow?

Not particularly - just church in the morning then lots of coursework.
You seem to have double posted...

Has heard of Capercaillie?

The bird? I prefer chicken myself!



Has collected stamps?

ooh yes I have, I had loads


Ever met anyone famous?

A conductor friend of mine was visiting London and was going to conduct a Philip Glass piece, and his agent or someone like that had got him two free tickets to a London performance. Before the show, there was dinner to which he said I ought to come along. Sat at the end of a dinner table where Philip Glass was at the other end. Kept very, very quiet and ate my pasta without speaking to anybody. Some American ambassador to somewhere was also at the other end, and Doris Lessing. Being an illiterate Philistine I had not ever read any of her books. All the more reason to keep quiet and eat my pasta.

Most odd situation you have ever been asked to play your instrument for?

My goodness, Philip Glass and Doris Lessing...that must have been interesting to listen in on!

Well, not sure that anyone aspiring to serious musicianship should confess this one... I played Bésame Mucho (sentimental Latin bolero) on the oboe to accompany the girls at work doing a fake striptease for a jokey talent show, by a hot pool up in the coffee-growing Orosi Valley in Costa Rica... And a bit more seriously, a sort of improvisation on Carl Nielsen's Romance as a background to a Brazilian poet reading her poems. But I was declared ineligible for a talent show prize because I was a "pro" - quite a joke, as I'd only been learning the oboe for a year and a half.

By the way, madbassoonist, would the Capercaillie you were referring to be the celtic band? In which case I've not only heard of them but actually possess one of their CDs!

What is the funniest musical thing that has ever happened to you?