FIRST&LAST
First&Last The actress, appearing at the Fringe in Dickens’ Women, discusses Dame Eileen Atkins, New Balance trainers and cunning plans
First record you ever bought Flatt & Scruggs.
Last extravagant purchase you made Two pairs of New Balance trainers: $160 each.
First i lm you saw that really moved you Bambi.
Last time you cried Seeing dead soldiers’ cofi ns coming back to England. First thing you do when you’ve got time off work Go to my computer and do genealogy.
Last great meal you cooked Ten years ago for cousins coming to supper – roast lamb with all trimmings.
Last book you read Great Expectations. First great piece of advice you were given How to wipe my bottom front and back.
M I R I A M M A R G O L Y E S
Bendicks mints for dessert. Ben F First song you’ll sing at
Last time you were star struck Meeting Dame Eileen Atkins.
karaoke ‘I’m Henry the Eighth I Am’.
First thing you’d do if you ran the country Secure the NHS. Last meal on earth – what would it be Smoked salmon for starters; grilled salmon, fresh peas, boiled potatoes, braised celery, braised carrots, green salad with garlic and olive oil dressing for the main; tarte tatin and
Last time you exploited your position to get something Table in a restaurant in Melbourne. First time you realised you were famous Someone on a plane said, ‘I’ve got a cunning plan’ and expected me to know what she was talking about.
Last time someone criticised your work The Oxford Times last week. First three words your friends would use to describe you Generous, funny, intelligent.
Last time you bought someone l owers My host at a supper party last week.
First object you’d save from your burning home My address book.
Last funny thing you saw online Graham Norton. First job Artists’ model at school.
Last crime you committed Shoplifted two eggs in 1965 from a shop in Plaistow.
First song at your (potential) wedding ‘If You Were the Only Girl in the World’. Last song at your funeral Du Pré playing Elgar’s Cello Concerto.
First person you’d thank in an award acceptance speech My parents.
Last thing you recommended to someone The Hare with Amber Eyes [memoir by British ceramicist Edmund de Waal].
First thing you think of when you wake up in the morning Do I swim or not?
Last thing you think of before you go to sleep What have I forgotten? ■ Miriam Margolyes appears in Dickens’ Women, Pleasance Courtyard, 226 0000, until 25 Aug (not 14, 21), 2.30pm, £16.50–£17.50 (£14–£15.50).
WeLike The things making our world just that little bit better
■ Ah, the Festival. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Not to mention an opportunity for much over-zealous improbable ‘celeb’-spotting, which can n be further enhanced for the short-sighted among r you by simply leaving your glasses at home. The List swears it saw Laurence Llewelyn Bowen at our Festival Party and possibly Kevin Bacon buying a Mosque curry. These blurry visions are completely unsubstantiated, but at this time of year, you never know . . .
We also like that Fringe show Sex Ed: The Musical! s (sample audience quote: ( ‘Brilliant. Epic comedy. I ‘ learnt about my vagina!’) l is promoting itself on the i Royal Mile with a 16-foot sperm called ‘Big Simon’.
See it See it for yourself at bit.ly/
bigsimon.
Finally, we’re fully behind West Port Book Festival’s fundraising drive. It’s seeking donations to run its programme of events in one of Edinburgh’s most eccentric corners. Help ’em out at indiegogo.com/westport.
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2 THE LIST 9–16 Aug 2012