Liz Corlett is a freelance copywriter and features journalist. She lives in Peel with a tortoiseshell rescue cat called Ginny, who is not a baby substitute. She still hasn't finished doing up her house, and is currently undergoing treatment for jigsaw addiction.
Best meal (cooked by you or by another):
Any cooking of mine that doesn't involve the fire brigade is a triumph and any meal prepared by someone else tastes perfect. Context always alchemises simple food into edible gold. The best meal I never had was a tray of noodles on Brighton Pier: I was hungover and stupidly hungry, and dropped the lot before I'd taken a mouthful.
Best outfit or single piece of clothing:
I don't have a sentimental attachment to anything in my wardrobe. I tend to wear things to death then replace them, mostly from charity shops. I do have an antique top hat of which I'm rather fond, mind. People should wear hats more.
Best memory:
It's a tie between two passes: my driving test (on the ninth attempt), and Maths GCSE, when I realised I would never again have to sweat, wretched with incomprehension, over a page of sums. It's important to build an archive of great memories. When I'm old, I want to sit in a wing chair with an infuriating smile on my face.
Best way to spend the day:
A long walk, followed by a sea swim and a rewarding ale. The 'quiet pint' erupts spontaneously into a Valhalla-esque session with friends, during which everyone is devastatingly funny and the secrets of the universe fleetingly reveal themselves. Alternatively, spending the day exploring a new city, enjoying the sense of freedom and possibility that comes with being somewhere unknown and bursting with interest.
Best advice:
Life is too short not to do the things you want to do. Up to a certain age, this seems trite, then its pertinence suddenly kicks in with force. See also: be good to your parents - you only get one set, and one chance. Lastly, don't hide from your bank statements because they will always find you.
Best place in the Isle of Man:
I never tire of Peel Hill, and the coastal path from there to Glen Maye. But the Calf of Man is very special - it has an atmosphere all of its own and a peacefulness that goes beyond mere quiet and into something deeper.
The Best of Me feature first appears in the Manx Advertiser.
