The Steeple Times asks writer, poet and photographer Amanda Eliasch: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
Depression.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
“When a woman deals with her loneliness, she is free”: Amanda Eliasch.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2014?
Chopping off peoples’ heads.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
If you miss things, you do not live in the present. I like to live in the present. Of course I miss the gentle nagging of a grandmother or a man to help when water pours through my roof on to my bed (as it did last week).
What might you swap all your wealth for?
Serenity.
Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the banking crisis?
The same as Donald’s. I wish I was married to him.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“No worries”.
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
We should all have responsibility to causes and people near to our hearts.
The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
We get killed by the very things we are most addicted to.
If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
That would be fun: My sons Charles and Jack as well as Alexandre Desplat, Sir Tim Rice, Mick Jagger, Tracey Emin, Rushka Bergman, Ozwald Boateng, George Clooney, Donatella Flick, Johan Eliasch, Franca Sozzani, Michel Comte, Poppy Delevingne, Adele, Marina Cicogna, Tom Cruise and my hairdresser, Snowden Hill.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
Lobster thermidor.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
I do not like alcohol; boring I know.
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
An espresso.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
Those hosted by the Bamfords.
Who is the most positive person you know?
I am.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
Having my makeup done.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
A butterfly with a dagger in the middle of it.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
A customised Aston Martin by the graffiti artist Inki.
Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
If anybody says “no” to me, I am likely to do it anyway.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
Two candle holders by Oriel Harwood, a bronze greyhound, a Fairy Snow liquid bottle given to me by Tim Noble and Sue Webster, a sculpture of orchids by Marc Quinn and the ashes of my late father, Anthony Cave Brown.
Amanda Eliasch is a writer, poet and photographer. Charles Saatchi has described her as “the new Cartier-Bresson” and her works have numbered Sins Of A Butterfly, The Gun The Cake And The Butterfly and Cloak And Dagger Butterfly.
Follow her on Twitter at @amandaeliasch.
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