Do you think you have a healthy lifestyle?
I think I have a reasonably healthy lifestyle. I eat a simple balanced diet, I have never smoked, I drink wine very moderately and I have an active life in all sorts of ways. I have an interested involvement in a variety of NGOs and I am involved in choral singing.
How often do you exercise?
This is my dark side, I'm afraid. I find almost all forms of purposeful exercise more than boring. To be fair, I have had half a lifetime of struggle against arthritis and am not fit for extreme exercise, but I am certainly not a couch potato. I love gardening and do as much as I can in the garden. Following a really successful operation on my foot, I plan to do more walking this summer.
Do you get your five fruit and vegetables a day?
Yes – particularly fruit which I love. Much of my food shopping is for fruit and vegetables. I also love cheese – trying out new and different Irish varieties. I enjoy cooking both for myself, my children and grandchildren. I would describe my cooking as "traditional granny food" and I am delighted to find that the natural dairy foods that I have always eaten are no longer condemned by the diet gurus.
Do you worry?
I do not worry much about life issues, maybe I've been around too long for that. But I can get stressed in trying to organise my busy life; always too many things on that "to do" list.
What do you do to relax?
I sing in a choir, the Culwick Choral Society, which is more than a hundred years old. Singing is wonderful for both body and mind, and for me a real source of happiness.
What's your worst habit?
Inability to say no to taking on another commitment.
Catherine McGuinness is a retired Supreme Court judge and will be singing with the Culwick Choral Society in the National Concert Hall on April 24th at 8pm. Tickets: €13.50-€30.00, nch.ie
