Issue 4: A chat with... Lea

What is your earliest memory?

When I was about two years old, I had to go into hospital for an eye operation. I remember being very distraught to be separated from my mum – she wasn’t allowed to come wherever I was being taken by the nurses (in a big lift somewhere). I’m not sure that would happen nowadays!  

What was your first job?

While I was still at school, I got a weekend job in the local newsagents. I started at 8am but felt very lucky not to be out delivering the papers when the weather was awful – the poor paper boys and girls were always leaving on their rounds when I arrived.  

Do you have a favourite opera/show?

I love so many. An opera that made a deep impression on me was Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes, for the intense story, fine vocal & chorus writing and wonderful orchestration. I also love the classic American musicals of the 1930s & 40s such as 42nd Street and the like. 

What is your favourite song?

This is always a question I find impossible to answer, since it always depends on my mood or what’s happening in life, what I’ve been working on.  

Do you have any hobbies?

I’ve had lots of different hobbies over the years. I went to flamenco dance classes for many years when I lived in London, though I haven’t done that for a while. Maybe it’s time to start again. 

What can’t you live without?

I have always had a bit of a book habit, so it’s fair to say I wouldn’t be very happy without a book or two. Thank goodness for the library, or I’d have filled every available space by now. 

What do you wish you had learned sooner?

I wish I’d learned how to use the sewing machine, that’s been knocking about for 15 years, earlier!