Hello! We're Claire and Hannah, Ambassadors for the Light of Love Foundation, and we're the two crazy things doing the Bolan Walk! We've got a few more people who might be joining us later, but for the time being we'll introduce ourselves - nice to meet you!
Hi! I'm Hannah, I'm 20 years old (although I'll be 21 by the time of the walk!!) and I'm currently studying for a degree in Psychology from Cardiff University. I left school with 10 GCSEs and 4 A Levels, which allowed me to get to uni and begin pursing my career aim of being an educational psychologist. Despite my quite serious career choice though, I've always loved glitter and showbiz! I started dancing at the age of 6 and it gave me some fantastic opportunities - I've performed twice on West End stages (Her Majesty's Theatre and the Shaftesbury Theatre) as well as being involved in various pantomimes with the late, great Stan Stennett. I think this is where my love of theatre and performing came from, but because I'm really quite a shy person (and, quite frankly, an appalling actor!) I wasn't able to actually able to approach an sort of career in performance arts. However, as luck would have it, in the second term of my first year at Cardiff Uni, I found out that the New Theatre were looking for volunteers... The rest is history! I first fell in love with Marc Bolan's music when I was working on the musical '20th Century Boy', where I instantly connected to the music and this fascinating and wonderful person that was being portrayed in front of me! Little did I know where my immediate fascination with this special little elf man would lead me...! I strongly believe in the school, and that it is a wonderful opportunity for the pupils to develop skills and have their lives enriched by music, as mine has been by Marc's!
What has been your biggest challenge, apart from the walk?
Being diagnosed with a condition called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) in my right hand when I was 14, following a netball injury. It is a condition that causes persistent and intense pain that generally goes from my fingertips to my wrist, but does occasionally spread as far as my elbow or shoulder. It is a relatively rare condition, and there isn't much understanding about what causes it. My biggest challenge has been adapting the way I act around the condition, for example I had to teach myself to write with my left hand in order to keep up with my school work; the muscles and joints in my hand seize and lock so much that I can't use it some of the time, as well as dealing with the mental side, and knowing that there isn't a cure.
Favourite...
Food: Pizza
Book: The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
TV Show: Sherlock
Film: Les Miserables
Writer: Mark Gatiss
Actor: Mark Gatiss (is this cheating, having him as favourite actor and writer..? :P)
Ways to spend time: Theatre, reading, sleeping, watching the rain or the sea on a stormy day.
T. Rex song/album: varies according to my mood (at the moment Metal Guru, Jeepster and Dandy in the Underworld) and Dandy in the Underworld.
How much of the walk are you doing? All of it :)
What has been your biggest challenge, apart from the walk?
Being diagnosed with a condition called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) in my right hand when I was 14, following a netball injury. It is a condition that causes persistent and intense pain that generally goes from my fingertips to my wrist, but does occasionally spread as far as my elbow or shoulder. It is a relatively rare condition, and there isn't much understanding about what causes it. My biggest challenge has been adapting the way I act around the condition, for example I had to teach myself to write with my left hand in order to keep up with my school work; the muscles and joints in my hand seize and lock so much that I can't use it some of the time, as well as dealing with the mental side, and knowing that there isn't a cure.
Favourite...
Food: Pizza
Book: The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
TV Show: Sherlock
Film: Les Miserables
Writer: Mark Gatiss
Actor: Mark Gatiss (is this cheating, having him as favourite actor and writer..? :P)
Ways to spend time: Theatre, reading, sleeping, watching the rain or the sea on a stormy day.
T. Rex song/album: varies according to my mood (at the moment Metal Guru, Jeepster and Dandy in the Underworld) and Dandy in the Underworld.
How much of the walk are you doing? All of it :)
Hello! I'm Claire, 27 years old, and I'm usually to be found working front of house at the New Theatre and Sherman Cymru in Cardiff. I grew up in Thatcham, where I had clarinet lessons and attended various ensembles at the Berkshire Young Musicians' Trust, eventually winning a scholarship and the honour of being leader of the Concert Band. In early 2006 I was chosen to take a masterclass from Michael Collins, former Young Musician of the Year. It was a real privilege and his advice helped me to pass my Grade 8 Clarinet with merit a few weeks later. I left school in 2006 with ten GCSEs and six A Levels and came to Cardiff for university, where I studied BMus Music and MA Music, Culture and Politics, and ended up staying. Just like Hannah, I discovered Marc Bolan quite by accident when I ushered and adored '20th Century Boy' at the New Theatre last June, and after running home, immediately getting on YouTube and iTunes and listening to everything I could find, I was soon completely hooked. As I'm told, I 'always did like glittery things...'! From there, it didn't take long before I heard about the Marc Bolan School of Music. As a musician myself I know first hand just how beneficial and enriching music can be, and strongly believe in its power to change lives. I really hope we can help raise some funds!
What is one of your favourite quotes?
‘Our lives are merely trees of possibilities’ – Marc Bolan. I have it written on a bangle that I wear every day!
What has been your biggest challenge?
A 60km trek I did across the volcanic southern highlands of Iceland in 2013, not just because it was a really long hike over some difficult terrain and up and down a lot of steep slopes, but also because it was something that terrified me with a group of people I’d never met before. I was dreading that as much as anything, because I’ve always been so shy! But it was brilliant, I met some great friends, raised a lot for charity, saw some of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen, and learnt that I’m a lot stronger and more capable than I ever realised before. I cried my eyes out at Heathrow when we all arrived home because I was just so overwhelmed that I’d done it!
Favourite...
Food: Sunday roast
Book: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
TV Show: Casualty
Film: Born to Boogie, obviously!
Writer: Alan Bennett
Actor: John Heffernan
Ways to spend time: Playing piano, watching plays, reading in bed, unnecessarily long walks, swimming, and baking things that will make me fat when I then inevitably eat them.
T. Rex song/album: Changes on a daily basis, but maybe... Spaceball Ricochet...or Till Dawn. Or Left Hand Luke. Or...oh, I don't know. And album-wise... The Slider? Or Dandy. Or Electric Warrior. Or Zip Gun. I know it's a bit uncool but I really do love Zip Gun. Does it have to be T. Rex rather than Tyrannosaurus? Because I really love A Beard of Stars... Oh I DON'T KNOW. I HATE THIS QUESTION.
How much of the walk are you doing? Every single one of those 211 painful miles!
What is one of your favourite quotes?
‘Our lives are merely trees of possibilities’ – Marc Bolan. I have it written on a bangle that I wear every day!
What has been your biggest challenge?
A 60km trek I did across the volcanic southern highlands of Iceland in 2013, not just because it was a really long hike over some difficult terrain and up and down a lot of steep slopes, but also because it was something that terrified me with a group of people I’d never met before. I was dreading that as much as anything, because I’ve always been so shy! But it was brilliant, I met some great friends, raised a lot for charity, saw some of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen, and learnt that I’m a lot stronger and more capable than I ever realised before. I cried my eyes out at Heathrow when we all arrived home because I was just so overwhelmed that I’d done it!
Favourite...
Food: Sunday roast
Book: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
TV Show: Casualty
Film: Born to Boogie, obviously!
Writer: Alan Bennett
Actor: John Heffernan
Ways to spend time: Playing piano, watching plays, reading in bed, unnecessarily long walks, swimming, and baking things that will make me fat when I then inevitably eat them.
T. Rex song/album: Changes on a daily basis, but maybe... Spaceball Ricochet...or Till Dawn. Or Left Hand Luke. Or...oh, I don't know. And album-wise... The Slider? Or Dandy. Or Electric Warrior. Or Zip Gun. I know it's a bit uncool but I really do love Zip Gun. Does it have to be T. Rex rather than Tyrannosaurus? Because I really love A Beard of Stars... Oh I DON'T KNOW. I HATE THIS QUESTION.
How much of the walk are you doing? Every single one of those 211 painful miles!