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Monday, July 1, 2002
My Kind Of Day
CASUALTY�s Dr Stone has settled in nicely since arriving from Australia, and promises fans an exciting time in weeks to come.
�I�ve been living in England for two years now � my father is English so I have a British passport � and I really like it here. I do miss Australia � certainly the weather, the space and the sweet smell of the air � but I went home recently and as I flew back into Heathrow there was a little well of excitement in the pit of my stomach. I felt like a traitor!�
My three sisters are all working in England as well � Louise is a teacher, Laura is in marketing and Emily is doing some modelling � so it�s wonderful to be able to see them all in London, though I actually spend more time in Bristol these days working on CASUALTY. I phone Mum and Dad every week and, about once a fortnight, I have a four-to-six hour telephone conversation with my best friend, Lisa, an old mate from drama school. It costs us a fortune but we still have to pull ourselves off the phone. She�s great � she�s even scheduled her wedding next year around my CASUALTY commitments and I�m going to be a bridesmaid.
When I first came to London I lived near Waterloo and I really enjoyed wandering around the South Bank, particularly the open-air book market by the National Film Theatre. I don�t covet books � they�re very well thumbed in my home � but I do love them, everybody from Ian McEwan and John Irving to Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters.
I live with my partner Simon � he�s a marketing consultant for charities � in a rented flat in West London. But I�ve just bought a one-bedroomed conversion in Bristol. It has all the period features, including moulded ceilings and two big fire places, and it will make working in Bristol really feel like home. I like Bristol � it�s friendlier and more my pace and reminds me of Australia.
�I�ve been in CASUALTY for a year now and my character, Dr Lara Stone, has a really big cliffhanger of a story to bring this current series to an end. I had a regular role in an Australian series, Pacific Drive, so I was quite well know back home, but now I get stopped in the street here because of CASUALTY.
My working day starts at about 6.30am and I�m in the studios by 7.15. Each episode takes nine or ten days to film and we don�t finish until 7.30pm. It�s a long day and I get quite hungry but I try not to eat too many of the terrific three-course meals that the caterers provide. I think it�s in my genes rather than a meticulous diet that keeps me in trim (the gym has never appealed to me and my only exercise is walking on Clifton Downs), but I�m getting to an age when I can�t rely on my genes anymore.
Simon often stays for weekends in Bristol. He�s a vegetarian and, though I tried it, I never really took to it and actually put on weight. I think it was the pasta. I didn�t cook in Australia but now I really enjoy it.
When I have some free time I go clothes shopping � I do like designer clothes, not for the label but for then quality and the cut. For me it�s Dolce and Gabanna for evening wear but during the day I�m a jeans and trousers girl. When I�m at home you�ll find me in a top, tracksuit bottoms and my calf length sheepskin Ugg boots.
If we�re home in the evening we might watch a video or DVD, play on the Playstation or play chess in the bath. We have a marble chess set that we set up by the side of the bath with a glass of red wine. We�re always topping up the hot water but sometimes the game takes so long that we come out like prunes.
Unfortunately, one or other of us always has to get the tap end but our new bath in Bristol has taps in the middle, so chess is going to be even more pleasurable from now on.