Holly Mathieson
Nov 1, 20193 min
My first proper job as a teenager was as a bra-fitter and salesperson in a lingerie department. I was absolutely hopeless at the sales side of it. I couldn’t stand trying to convince people to spend more than they intended to. So, I switched to working in the hospitality sector, working in the reception and guest services departments in hotels. It suited my personality much better and saw me through my undergrad and master’s degrees.
Mad dream #1 – professional bagpipes player
Mad dream #2 – lolly shop owner
(Slightly less) Mad dream #3 – marine biologist (I’m not convinced I really knew what that entailed…)But, from the age of about ten ballet took over, and it was my greatest dream to dance professionally.
I’m pretty easy-going, so I don’t have anything that really grinds my gears (perhaps my husband would disagree). I do struggle to walk behind slow dawdlers on a city street, however. I’ve never seen much point in taking longer to do something or go somewhere than needed. I’m a hyper-efficient walker and doer.
The greatest heroes I’ve ever met are all dogs: service dogs, rescue dogs, companions for those who are socially isolated, the four-legged family members who love and protect their human lack with such genuine love and devotion. We don’t deserve them.
I demand posh tea.
I’m a pretty fly Xbox gamer. My favourite titles are the Assassins Creed and Far Cry series, and the superb golden oldie, Fable.
My Xbox, with a solar power converter, naturally!
My favourite tea mug, currently, the British Library “Cat Who Walked By Himself” mug. It features my favourite childhood story and is chunky enough to keep my brew piping hot
A friendly dog
Absent. Alas, a hazard of my profession.
Betty White from The Golden Girls, if she could be persuaded to effect a New Zealand accent; my husband, Jon, would have to be played by Liam Neeson, his long-lost celebrity twin.
We’re all a little bit of both, either in essence or in others’ perceptions.
It’s not what happens to you that matters, but what you do with it.
There are many I like to play and listen to, but only one whose talents I wish I’d been born with: György Kurtág.
Was awful. I won’t inflict it on you.
I’d love to say Catwoman, but I think Garfield is probably closer to the truth.
Libate with Earl Grey.
My husband! I’ve not sat down and had a proper meal with him for nearly three months.
Contentedness, with nothing I feel the need to improve, enlarge, enhance or expand.
Learn to say no – to unnecessary food, booze, men and work.
We‘re slowly renovating a lovely old Georgian Tenement in Glasgow. It’s nearly 200 years old, warped, crumbling, creaky and full of character, and I don’t get to spend much time there. But as someone who had been travelling and renting for nearly 20 years before we bought it, I derive immense pleasure from sorting it out, one romantic old corner at a time, and knowing it has some permanence.
Don’t fall for the idealisation of composers, musicians and conductors. The only “great” part of our trade is our service to our communities (and what a dreadfully baggage-laden term “great” is, anyway). If we place our own egos ahead of that, we fall head-first into charlatanism and unwittingly preserve the toxic aspect of the music world that has kept the door closed to ethnic minorities, women, the less-affluent, and those with disabilities.