1 What is your earliest memory of Edinburgh? I remember arriving on the train at Waverley Station when I was 13, having travelled down from the Orkney Islands where I was born. I was stunned by how beautiful and busy it was.
2 What are your mem
ories of school? My primary years were not happy ones, having moved between four schools and from Orkney to mid-Wales. By primary six I was a school refuser, only going back to formal education in third year, when I returned to Orkney and attended Stromness Academy. This was a new lease of life for me, getting the support I needed for dyslexia.
3 Where is your favourite place in Edinburgh and why? I still find the view from the Castle breathtaking.
4 What are the best things about Edinburgh? I love the fact that it's a city of folk who will chat at the bus stop or smile at one another just because it's a sunny day. I still love the mix of Old and New Town architecture and that everything is in walking distance.
5 What would you change about the city? I detest out-of-town centres – culturally vacuous and obsessively focused on mass market consumption.
6 Describe a perfect Edinburgh day/night out. I'd spend the day rummaging in antiques shops, reclamation yards and galleries, with lunch at La P'tite Folie in Frederick Street. I'd also go to see a good film at the Dominion Cinema.
7 Which sports interest you? I love snooker on TV – it's the best thing to snooze to. Otherwise, I wouldn't say no to a rugby match.
8 What was your most embarrassing moment? Probably when I got a bit carried away during a juvenile kiss and bit a chunk out of the poor lad's tongue. He did speak again – just not to me.
9 What is your greatest achievement? Setting up my gallery Cone 9 Ceramics in North Berwick three years ago. This year was also special as I was awarded Young Business Person of the Year for Edinburgh and Lothians, and I came second in the Scottish heats. In the near future I shall become a mother for the first time and complete a two-year renovation project of an 18th century cottage.
10 Sum up Edinburgh in three words. Old time, class.
The full article contains 413 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
