Michele Hanson is one of the UK’s most popular columnists. She lives in Tufnell Park, these days mostly on her own with her dogs. Previously a school teacher for 25 years, she escaped the chalk-face and began to write weekly columns for the Guardian.
Her books have been serialised for radio and made into a BBC cartoon series. Living With Mother, a story of taking care of an aging parent gathered from her Guardian columns, won MIND book of the year in 2006. Her new book, Absolutely Barking, Adventures in Dog Ownership, is out now on Simon & Schuster.
Where would you like to live?
Where I am now, in Tufnell Park.
What is your favourite sound or smell?
The cello, but not when I’m playing it. Perhaps one day. And smell? The dog’s ears.
What is your greatest life achievement?
I’m still here.
What makes you unhappy?
The coalition government.
Stooping.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Staying in.
Where do you hang out?
At home and on the Heath.
What’s your best experience in NW5?
Walkies on the Heath. Worst: being stuck on a bus in a jam on the stinking Kentish Town Road.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My weedy hair and pin-head.
You look like a praying-mantis.
Tell us a secret.
I don’t have any. I blab everything out.
What has your career taught you?
Not to expect too much.
What is your favourite dish and why?
Baked potato. It’s easy.
What was your worst gig and why?
West London Literary Festival. No publicity, no welcome, no one to introduce me, rain, desolation, it was in one big circus tent, one act after another, no breaks, I was third, practically no audience left, by the fourth act, no audience at all.
Describe yourself as an animal.
A medium-sized elephant.
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1 thought on “Ich Bin: Michele Hanson, columnist and author”
Gotta love Michele !