20.02.09 - 14:44 -
SOPHISTICATED. Austen is a fan of Audrey Hepburn. / REUTERS
Austen Colwell is a horticulturalist and contributor to SUR in English. He lives in Mijas Costa with his wife Molly.
What’s the best thing that has happened in your personal life?
Receiving an invitation via the bereaved families and the Aberfan Disaster Fund Committee to attend a luncheon in the presence of HM the Queen of England, and to be presented to Her Majesty.
Best local food?
My favourite meat is undoubtedly roast turkey,with pork following a close second. Restaurant-wise, Veramar in La Cala has for me the best chicken salad, the chicken served hot,with a light sauce and pine nuts.
Most attractive local spot?
Local beaches and nearby mountains. I just love to lie and soak up the sun.
Who do you think is the most attractive famous person?
Elizabeth Taylor was so beautiful and Marilyn Monroe, especially in the film ‘Bus Stop’, though I always thought she couldn’t act. Audrey Hepburn is I think my favourite. Sophisticated and beautiful. Then there was Joyce Grenfill and Margaret Rutherford - always good for a laugh.
Tell us an unfulfilled desire you have?
Wow! What a question. To go ski-ing in the most beautiful snow covered scenery, to paraglide... I guess these are really still within my grasp.
Most embarrassing moment?
Really my most embarrassing moment is too awful to disclose, but once I attended a meeting with the best boss in the world. He had asked me to bring along the plans the meeting was all about, and guess who forgot them? Other than that, I had my foot stuck down the toilet, my arm stuck in a chair back at school, (the chair having to be sawn apart to free me) and finally I accidentally jumped in the dark from a second storey window. Amazingly, landing two footed without harm.
Best holiday ever?
In Cornwall, in the UK. The whole family, parents and children in a village by the name of Gulval, near Penzance. Also, a three-day Adventure Holiday near Snowdon, Wales. It poured with rain every day and my wife, on a very misty wet mountain, just missed out on pushing me down an unseen cliff.
Who is the most famous person you’ve ever met?
Undoubtedly, HM the Queen and HRH the Prince Philip. But yes, another Queen too! A beauty queen, Ann Sydney, Miss World, was it 1958? I recall the reception in her honour well, laid on by the Borough of Poole (Dorset). The crowd screaming outside for her to appear could well be heard within.
What did your teachers say about you?
Really I can’t imagine, not a lot I guess! I never made grammar school during the war. Ink and writing paper almost unobtainable (the biro hadn’t been invented). No metal or wood available for woodwork or metal work; the local park used for sports... The teachers were great. One, we called him Daddy Carless, had suffered mustard gas in the First World War, (he coughed terribly as a result) brilliant at algebra and maths. Another, a very tall thin man, we named, ‘Polly Watton, six foot and a bit of cotton’.
What would you do if you won the lottery?
Secure my family’s future. I would also reward all my friends who have helped me without any asking on my part.
