Cuppa with Catriona

Who is your hero?

Tenzin Gyatso, who is the current Dalai Lama, for his loving, peaceful ways in a turbulent world.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

Somewhere up in the mountains, with views of the valleys.

What was your first job?

Teaching skiing to children in Austria when I was about 14 years old.

If money was no object, what would you do all day?

I would like to give half my money to help I.V.F programs, prem baby programs, and kids of the world. I would also travel on a slow boat visiting the rest of the world, especially the Arctic and Antarctic poles.

What is your favourite book or movie?

My favourite book was Jane Ayre by Charlotte Brontë, and I love all the vampire movies based on the book by Bram Stoker.

If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

It would be chocolate pudding.

Aside from necessities, what one thing could you not go a day without?

My electric toothbrush.

Do you love or hate rollercoasters?

I don’t mind them.

What three items would you take with you on a deserted island?

The internet, a generator, and a plug point for my iPad.

What was your favourite subject in school?

Dressmaking and maths.

Do you collect anything?

I collect art and craft books, mostly second-hand ones.

Who was your favourite teacher? Why?

My favourite teacher was a nun who taught me maths and she allowed me to throw the blackboard eraser/rubber back to her when she threw it at me when I couldn’t recite my times-tables as my rote memory was terrible.

Why did you get involved in the production of “Flourishing”?

Because in my depression I walked into Forest Hill and started Kendall’s singing class and she asked me if I wanted to be in a production and I said yes, but I said I prefer costume designing.

Who is your favourite character in the show and why?

Vincent Van Gogh and Florence Nightingale because I am an artist and a nurse.

Florence Nightingale was known as the lady with the lamp because she spent time with her patients and really stepped into their darkness and cared for them. Who is a person who is not a family member who stepped into your life and helped you flourish?

An Australian lady, who taught me to love and help myself so that I can love and help others. She also became my stepmother.

Vincent van Gogh dreamed of people being deeply moved by his art.

If you had all the talent in the world, what kind of art would you want to be creating?

I would like to make very colourful abstract paintings for healing.

Helen Keller once said: “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”

What is your “one thing” you can offer to help a person in a tough place flourish?

To just be there for them and remind them of that fact.

What messages, thoughts, and/or feelings would you like the audience to leave with after watching “Flourishing”?

That everyone is someone important no matter what colour, creed, or culture they’re from. We all need a life and to be loved fully.