22 May 2025
We ask a different figure from the local community to choose 10 questions to answer from a list of 50. This week: Bestselling St Albans author Rachel Wolf (who also writes as Rachel Blok), whose new book Sun Trap has just been published by Head of Zeus as a paperback original at £9.99.
Where do you most like to have a picnic in St Albans?
We’ve had picnics watching plays at the Roman Theatre before and it was lovely. Picnic blankets, wine and scotch eggs, with Shakespeare!
What’s the first thing you do after you’ve woken up in the morning?
I clean my teeth then drink tea. It’s tricky to function until I’ve had tea. Of course I’ve looked at my phone by then but I’m not going to lead with that.
What items do you always carry with you?
The normal – purse, keys and phone. It’s my mantra before I leave the house. If I’m going out for dinner now I take Gaviscon too.
CD, vinyl, download or streaming?
We’ve recently bought a record player but actually streaming is still much easier because I’m lazy and I like skipping tracks from the sofa.
What TV did you watch as a child?
I loved the A Team. I tried to get my kids into it when they were a bit younger. I found it on a streaming channel and bought a few episodes. It did not age well. I still loved it but they just stared at me and left the room. The same went for Box of Delights, which I was addicted to when I was a child.
If you could have a conversation with someone who had died who would it be?
Love this question! It’s very tricky though. I’d love a chat with Anne Hathaway about what it was really like being married to such a man – how did she feel about the second-best bed? Did she get to hang out with the actors after the plays? Did she meet the queen? I’d also like to chat to my aunt who died way too early, and tell her all about how amazing her daughter is.
What’s your favourite place to have breakfast in St Albans?
The Waffle House. We go there for any reason I can think of. The breakfasts are amazing.
What are your preferred pizza toppings?
Rocket, olives, anchovies. And I even like pineapple. Controversial I know. It’s not a pizza related story, but when I was in Australia on a tour in the Outback, we got sandwiches every day with beetroot and pineapple in them, and they were amazing. I can add beetroot and pineapple to most things now.
Where in St Albans would be your preferred choice for a sandwich?
I’m coeliac so sandwiches are tricky. The Street Café is brilliant for gluten free bread and cake. Restaurants in St Albans are pretty good but trying to buy food on the go is difficult – everywhere does a gluten free brownie and if I never eat another one it will be too soon.
More take away sandwich options please! Sometimes the Pudding Stop make gluten free flapjacks and they are incredible.
Odyssey or Netflix?
The Odyssey. I could move in.
