Cathy Hughes

Q: What were you like at school?

At primary school I think I was probably quite serious, hard-working and bright. I liked to think I was quite brave, climbing to the tops of trees and cycling really fast!

Q: What did you want to be when you were a child?

A writer or an illustrator.

Q: Which three words describe you best?

Quiet, kind and quirky!

Q: What is your favourite word?

Mum!

Q: What makes you cringe?

Unkind words.

Q: When did you last have a really good laugh?

Today in the car bringing my boys home from school.

Q: What is your most treasured possession?

I love everything my children have ever made or given me,and diaries and photos.But apart from them it would probably have to be the bird book I bought when I was 7.Every species of bird I've ever seen is ticked off in there!

Q: What do you do as a hobby?

I love sailing on the sea and I love the adventures we've had on our boat, sailing along the coast and across to France. I love mountain biking across the hills where I live. I love reading classic novels by authors like George Eliot, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. I think my favourite writer is Thomas Hardy.

Q: What’s your favourite food?

Cake. I would find it very hard to give up cake!

Q: What do you day dream about?

Small manageable adventures, places I'd like to sail to or kayak near, small mountains I'd like to climb.

Q: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

I've always thought it would be wonderful to be an actress in the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Q: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?

Could I meet Dante Gabriel Rossetti while he's painting one of his beautiful watercolours?

Q: What quality do you most admire in a person?

Integrity and kindness.

Q: What is the most interesting place you have ever visited?

The Himalayas.

Q: What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?

'We will get to school on time, Mum!'

Q: What would you most like to change about yourself?

I wish my hair didn't go curly in sea air!

Q: What was your favourite book as a child?

My favourite books by far were the Narnia series by C.S.Lewis, but I also loved the Moomin books, Mary Poppins, 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith and Paddington Bear!