Neighbours

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
That you and everyone around you that you love are happy and healthy, and just traveling along nicely,

What is your greatest fear?
That this isn’t just menopause and I have actually lost my mind.

Which living person do you most admire?
Gosh, a lot. I couldn’t name one person but I think you see your friends dealing with heartbreaking situations like sick children, death of spouses and I have so much admiration for them.

What is the trait you most dislike in yourself?
Rigidity

What is the trait you most dislike in others?
Pettiness

What is your greatest extravagance?
Definitely travel

What advice would you give Susan?
Take some risks.

What is your favourite journey?
The south island of New Zealand. Two weeks in a road car, no plan, just driving and stopping wherever. Extraordinarily beautiful part of the world.

On what occasion do you lie?
I think telling a lie to spare someone’s feeling is ok. If someone has a new dress or hair cut which may be isn’t quite right, who cares what I think, they like it and why spoil it for them.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
I have a bit of a vain situation on my legs and just that it’s all becoming a bit more crumpled over time and I’m not just talking about my face.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Clearly

What is your greatest regret?
I wish I had been naughtier when I was younger.

When and where were you happiest?
When I look back, there has been a lot of happiness and I’m pretty happy right now.

What would people never guess about you?
I once spent several days hanging out with Bob Dylan’s band in the seventies and that’s all I’m going to say about the subject.

What is your current state of mind?
Calm but a little distracted.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I’d like to be braver.

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
I suppose that more of them were with us still.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Remaining positive in this job after 17 years and still loving coming to work everyday, and putting up with Alan Fletcher.

What is your most treasured possession?
I have a couple of paintings which are very special.

What is your most marked characteristic?
I’m very pragmatic

What are your favourite names?
John and James feature prominently in our family, and newest baby is called Zane which is a derivative of John.

What do you most dislike?
I think mean-spiritedness

What do you most value in your friends?
Their unconditional love.

If you come back as someone or something, what would it be?
If you’re going to get a do-over, it would have to be something pretty good and significant so perhaps the person who cures cancer or alzheimers something that would really change the course of the world.

What is your motto?
Onward and upward.