FIRST IMPRESSIONS: RULA LENSKA
What are you working on at the moment?
I’ve just finished writing my book so there hasn’t been time for anything else. I had a rather nasty shoulder operation recently so I’m recuperating.
When are you at your happiest?
When I have a lot of challenging work and when I’ve got my daughter and grandson with me. Or I’m going off on some wonderful, intrepid holiday.
What is your greatest fear?
Suffering from a bad illness or pain. And work drying up.
What is your earliest memory?
It’s hard to tell if it’s mine or one that’s been told to me, but the first part that I played, in a school nativity play, was that of a cockerel. I had to stand on a stool with one leg in the air with a beautiful headdress that my mother made for me and crow to announce the angels’ entrance. Apparently, as the curtain went up, I was crowing and holding my position, but I’d forgotten to go to the loo so I wet myself. But I never stopped crowing.
Who has been your greatest infl uence?
Definitely my mother. She was an extraordinary woman who went through a very tough war. She came as a refugee with my father in 1946 and had to rebuild her life completely. She was the most gentle, wonderful woman and was never bitter.
What do you dislike about yourself?
I’m a bit judgmental, impatient, and jealous.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Unpunctuality.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I have no bum and not very much in the bosom department.
What is your most treasured possession?
My daughter and grandson, if you can call them possessions. And my memories. My house is full of wildlife pictures and statues because that’s my other great passion: wildlife and conservation. So my ornaments and pictures are memories of wonderful times in the bush or in Nepal or India.
Your favourite book?
I recently read an extraordinary and life-changing book called The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry.
Your favourite film?
Two spring to mind: Casablanca and The Shawshank Redemption.
Your favourite piece of music?
Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton and an aria from Nabucco: Chorus Of The Hebrew Slaves, by Verdi.
Your favourite meal?
Thai food: I love Pad Thai. It’s fairly spicy, but not overwhelmingly so, the way some Indian food can be. It’s delicate and flavoursome.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
The Dalai Lama, Clint Eastwood, Pierce Brosnan, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, David Tennant, Peter Fellows, Benedict Cumberbatch. Gosh, they are all men! Let’s also have Helen Mirren, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, my mother, my daughter, my sisters and my best girlfriends. It will have to be a very big table!
Do you believe in aliens?
It’s possible that there might be other life forms, although I’m surprised that they haven’t contacted us yet. I do believe in angels – aliens always sound like film baddies.
What is your secret vice?
Curling up in front of a fire with good friends and having a drink.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Yes, absolutely. Religiously. Hand written.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say this, but probably ‘b*******’.
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
To be 10 years younger. And to find a rich lover.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘I did my best’.
Rula: My Colourful Life, by Rula Lenska, is published by The Robson Press, priced £20.
I’ve just finished writing my book so there hasn’t been time for anything else. I had a rather nasty shoulder operation recently so I’m recuperating.
When are you at your happiest?
When I have a lot of challenging work and when I’ve got my daughter and grandson with me. Or I’m going off on some wonderful, intrepid holiday.
What is your greatest fear?
Suffering from a bad illness or pain. And work drying up.
What is your earliest memory?
It’s hard to tell if it’s mine or one that’s been told to me, but the first part that I played, in a school nativity play, was that of a cockerel. I had to stand on a stool with one leg in the air with a beautiful headdress that my mother made for me and crow to announce the angels’ entrance. Apparently, as the curtain went up, I was crowing and holding my position, but I’d forgotten to go to the loo so I wet myself. But I never stopped crowing.
Who has been your greatest infl uence?
Definitely my mother. She was an extraordinary woman who went through a very tough war. She came as a refugee with my father in 1946 and had to rebuild her life completely. She was the most gentle, wonderful woman and was never bitter.
What do you dislike about yourself?
I’m a bit judgmental, impatient, and jealous.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Unpunctuality.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I have no bum and not very much in the bosom department.
What is your most treasured possession?
My daughter and grandson, if you can call them possessions. And my memories. My house is full of wildlife pictures and statues because that’s my other great passion: wildlife and conservation. So my ornaments and pictures are memories of wonderful times in the bush or in Nepal or India.
Your favourite book?
I recently read an extraordinary and life-changing book called The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry.
Your favourite film?
Two spring to mind: Casablanca and The Shawshank Redemption.
Your favourite piece of music?
Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton and an aria from Nabucco: Chorus Of The Hebrew Slaves, by Verdi.
Your favourite meal?
Thai food: I love Pad Thai. It’s fairly spicy, but not overwhelmingly so, the way some Indian food can be. It’s delicate and flavoursome.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
The Dalai Lama, Clint Eastwood, Pierce Brosnan, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, David Tennant, Peter Fellows, Benedict Cumberbatch. Gosh, they are all men! Let’s also have Helen Mirren, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, my mother, my daughter, my sisters and my best girlfriends. It will have to be a very big table!
Do you believe in aliens?
It’s possible that there might be other life forms, although I’m surprised that they haven’t contacted us yet. I do believe in angels – aliens always sound like film baddies.
What is your secret vice?
Curling up in front of a fire with good friends and having a drink.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Yes, absolutely. Religiously. Hand written.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say this, but probably ‘b*******’.
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
To be 10 years younger. And to find a rich lover.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘I did my best’.
Rula: My Colourful Life, by Rula Lenska, is published by The Robson Press, priced £20.