How do you unwind at the weekend?
I wouldn't use the term unwind... When the weather is good, my husband and I like to get out with Isla, now four, on her balance bike. We live in Bangor, so we'll go down the promenade or to Crawfordsburn Country Park. We're foodies and like to have proper meals. My husband, the actor Matthew Forsythe, is really interested in cooking and baking. We're having healthy food now in a bid to get fit again but he made a lovely chocolate ganache cake for Isla's birthday in April.
What do you recall most about weekends growing up?
I was always busy as every Saturday I went to singing and piano lessons, plus I had ballet and tap classes. I didn't mind – in fact, I enjoyed them as I wasn't very good at sport and put all my energies into creativity. On Sunday my parents took me to one of the local Church of Ireland churches. Then we'd visit friends and relations. I also went shopping a lot with my mum. We went to the theatre a lot too, to the Grand Opera House and Arts Theatre, and often saw ballets and musical shows. As a child, I actually got to perform in panto with the comedian Frank Carson.
Friday night or Saturday night?
Probably Saturday night. If I'm working, I might meet friends for a drink on Friday night but I've stopped that as Isla has ballet and swimmng on Saturday morning.
Do you have a must-listen weekend radio show?
We love listening to Elaine Paige's Radio 2 show on Sunday. I sing in the Leading Ladies trio and have a 50s band The Soda Popz. Recently we were approached by Eastside Arts to do care-home concerts. A couple of weeks ago, a woman in one of the homes who never came out of her room for any entertainment came down to listen to us and was the one singing along the loudest. That was wonderful.
Must-watch weekend TV show/box set?
At the minute, we're loving The Voice Kids but in terms of drama, we enjoy things like The Nest and The Stranger.
Favourite eatery – or is it takeaway?
We've had too many takeaways recently – fish suppers and pizzas. We've sampled the takeaway food from The Esplanade in Ballyholme and for Matt's 40th we got great meals from Grace Neills in Donaghadee. It's good to support local businesses.
Is Sunday still special?
Sunday is my favourite day of the week. We go with the flow and do family-type things.
How do you feel on Sunday night about Monday morning?
Working for the orchestra, I never experience that 'I haven't done my maths homework' feeling. I've been with the Ulster Orchestra for five years now. The job is very interesting, although we're living a bit day to day. We're waiting to hear when we can start selling concerts and engaging with our audience again. It's a bit like floating in limbo as our 2021 season should be starting soon. But we've just got back into the Waterfront Hall, in a distanced way. We are live streaming music and working with the BBC and other artists. The orchestra is busy getting on with as many projects as possible.
Visit ulsterorchestra.org.uk
