Ten Questions: Lesley Russell

Published on Friday 29 May 2009 09:57

LESLEY RUSSELL, 46, is manager of Blackhall Nursery. She lives in Blackhall

1 What is your earliest memory of Edinburgh? My grandad pulling me out of quicksand at the Almond Estuary in Cramond when I was about five. Yeuk!

2 What are your memories of school? I loved being a big fish in the small pond that was Blackhall Primary but hated being a minnow when I went to Mary Erskine's.

3 Where is your favourite place in Edinburgh and why? My home, because it's where my heart is . . . or TK Maxx at Meadowbank because it's where the bargains are!

4 What are the best things about Edinburgh? It's small but perfectly formed. Culture, sport, shopping, restaurants and the great outdoors, there's something here for everyone.

5 What would you change about the city? The disruption (and drain on finances) the trams are causing. And the weather obviously!

6 Describe a perfect Edinburgh day/night out. A stroll with the family or friends along the Water of Leith Walkway, surfacing in Stockbridge for a potter around the shops and then something to eat in Bell's Diner or Zanzero.

7 Which sports interest you? I did play tennis on a Friday morning with my friends for a while, but you couldn't really call it sport and we weren't really interested. suppose I have a passing interest in golf and football, but only for the sake of a harmonious marriage.

8 What was your most embarrassing moment? Thinking I had been asked to appear at a "Spring Fling" fundraiser as a Playboy Bunny, only to be provided with a grey furry rabbit costume. Not the glamorous image I was hoping to portray. Although in hindsight, I think the bunny girl outfit would have been even more embarrassing.

9 What is your greatest achievement? Apart from marrying my childhood sweetheart and having our two gorgeous children, being involved with a group of friends in setting up and subsequently managing the community nursery in Blackhall. We now have 56 children on the register. Last year when I attended the Royal High School prizegiving and saw some of our first ever nursery pupils win prizes, it was one of my proudest moments ever.

10 Sum up Edinburgh in three words. Home Sweet Home