Each week Bristol Business News gives a prominent member of the city’s business community the last word on its weekly e-bulletin.
This week Lorna Clarke, head of corporate partnerships at Above & Beyond, answers our 10 questions.
What was the LAST: 
Film you watched? Days of Heaven (1978) – I am having a bit of a retro film spell at the moment. The cinematography is wonderful.
Book you read? Time to Think: Listening to Ignite the Human Mind by Nancy Kline. The premise being that everything we do depends on the quality of thinking we do first and the quality of that thinking depends on the attention we give to others. I have always been interested in how attention and focus drives performance and also how much of what is said we really hear when people speak.
Music you bought/downloaded? I’ve just discovered Blackbird by The Beatles. I’m not sure how this has eluded me for so long given my Dad was such a fan. I love its simplicity and how fresh this sounds compared to so much music that now is very heavily produced.
Concert or play you went to? I recently saw Germaine Greer’s talk on ‘The Disappearing Woman’. She made me stop and think about how the media reinforces gender stereotypes without most of us being alive to it. She was also hugely entertaining – I hope I’m half as mentally agile and engaging when I’m 76!
Sporting event you attended? Seeing off our wonderful cyclists on a recent training cycle – we have 73 of them cycling to Paris in May for our Golden Gift Appeal. It was a freezing morning and yet they were there Lycra clad and raring to go. It was very inspiring to see that level of commitment for our hospitals.
Holiday you went on? I try and get to the Lake District every year. A few years ago we found a lovely little cottage in Sawrey close to the tarns Beatrix Potter used to go to. It is very peaceful and the scenery is amazing.
Restaurant you ate in? I go back to London fairly regularly – and whenever there I try and get to Busaba Eathai in Soho. I love Thai food and I have a serious weakness for their calamari! It’s also an added bonus to be back in Soho where I have a lot of fond memories of time spent with friends at university.
Thing that annoyed you? To be honest, few things annoy me. However I do find myself getting agitated by drivers who sit in the middle lane on the motorway and by those who don’t indicate.
Thing that made you laugh out loud? Dog walking at the weekend – I was wetter and muddier than the dog!
Piece of good advice you were given? My gran was a wonderfully kind and wise woman. I remember from a very early age, her regularly reciting the quote from Etienne de Grellet to me. “I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”
Lorna returned to Bristol four years ago to take up the new position of head of corporate partnerships at Bristol hospitals’ charity Above & Beyond. Prior to this she was a director at Deloitte in London, running a market-leading business unit with a team of 30. She now works closely with the business community across the South West who want to make a difference to the 500,000 people a year who are cared for in Bristol’s city centre hospitals. Above & Beyond is currently raising £6m through their Golden Gift Appeal to transform the Bristol Royal Infirmary and the Bristol Haematology & Oncology Centre beyond what the NHS can provide. www.aboveandbeyond.org.uk
