25 Sep 2024
We ask a different figure from the local community to choose 10 questions to answer from a list of 50. This week: Local artist, tutor and creator of curiosities Abigail Lagden, who makes magical, mythical and fantastical gifts using fabric sculpting. See www.curiously-contrary.co.uk
Where do you walk when you want to think?
Literally anywhere. If I’m walking, I’m thinking and more often than not, I’m having a full blown conversation in my head. I don’t need beautiful surroundings, in fact they are often a distraction; I just need the monotonous rhythm of walking.
What’s the first thing you do after you’ve woken in the morning?
Feed the alarm clock! The alarm clock being my cat, Luna, who meows in my face at 6am sharp, every morning.
What TV did you watch as a child?
I loved Bagpuss, The Flumps, The Wombles and Button Moon when I was young. We didn’t get colour telly until I was quite old and was shocked to later learn that Bagpuss was not a ginger cat like I had imagined, but pink and white!
I watched, but did not love Hammer House of Horror or Tales of the Unexpected which my older sisters subjected me to! I had regular nightmares about the royal jelly episode of the latter.
What are your preferred pizza toppings?
Mushrooms, peppers, tonnes of cheese and a garlic dip.
Dogs or cats?
Love both, but it has to be cats.
Do you speak any foreign languages?
I can muddle my way through in French and German, having learnt them at school. More recently I have worked in the Middle East teaching crime scene investigation techniques and I have picked up a little Arabic. However, there are very few social occasions when you need to discuss blood, knives and fingerprints!
Do you have any phobias?
I have a completely irrational fear of moths flying into my mouth and I cannot sleep if there is a moth in the room.
I am also scared of heights and get horribly sweaty palms just watching things like the ‘walk the plank’ trial on I’m a Celeb.
What was your first job?
When I was 15, I had a Saturday job in a hairdresser’s on Victoria Street where I washed people’s hair for £10 a day.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I changed my mind on a fairly regular basis, but the most frequently occurring aspirations were to be an archaeologist or a physiotherapist. Being an artist definitely did not feature and to be honest I’m still not sure what I’ll be in the future.
What is your most missed St Albans shop, pub, café or restaurant?
It’s not a sophisticated choice but the McDonald’s on St Peter’s Street held so many memories for me. From my friends’ Ronald McDonald birthday parties when we were kids, through to drunken nights out as young adults, when would always end the night in McDonald’s eating cheeseburgers.
