Michelle
Date: April 2025
Location: York
Interviewed by: Natalie

The full recording will be stored in the records of the The British Library when the Our Life Stories project closes. Short excerpts from the interviews are shared below, which give an insight in Michelle’s full and detailed accounts.

Food and animals

Michelle talks about the foods she loves, and her dislike for anything too spicy. She also talks about a pet she had, and which other animals she likes.

Transcript

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What are your favourite hobbies?

MICHELLE:…Food.(laughs)

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): That says it all. What would you do with the hobby of food?

MICHELLE:…eat it. Eat it.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): (laughs) Would you like to make something with food?

MICHELLE: Pizzas.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Would you like to make a pizza?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Or anything else with food?

MICHELLE: No.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Do you like lasagna?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): You would have to ask Jackie to see if you could try and make one, couldn’t you?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): You’ll have to ask her to see if you can make one. Do you like salads?

MICHELLE: Yes.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What are your favourite meals?

MICHELLE: …any.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Do you like anything?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Do you like hot food or do you like spicy food?

MICHELLE: No spicy food.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Oh, you’re like I am, my love. (Laughs) Do you like cooking?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Yeah. I do as well. What… can’t get this word… what food have you ever tasted?

SIMON: What’s the ‘weirdest’ food-

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Weirdest. (Laughs). Thank you, Simon. Weirdest food?

MICHELLE: Curry.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Ah, you’re similar like I was yesterday. We – I do cooking on a Tuesday at my other centre and they did the chilli and they put the hottest thing in it. And I tried my first attempt and it…really hot spicy. And then it burnt your blooming mouth. Never again. I wouldn’t do it again. No way. Do you have any pets?

MICHELLE: No.

SIMON: Did you have any pets?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): No.

SIMON: Yes you did. You had a rabbit.

MICHELLE: Yes.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Would you ever have any again?

MICHELLE: No. I can’t. I can’t now.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Is it where your flat is, you can’t have them? Yeah?

SIMON: But you didn’t really like cleaning up after them, didn’t you?

MICHELLE: No.

SIMON: No (laughs).

MICHELLE: Blech!

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Not like – When I was young, I had nine guinea pigs.

MICHELE: Nine?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Yes. Nine guinea pigs and one rabbit.

SIMON: Do you like geese?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Do you – ha! Do you like geese?

MICHELLE: Uh uh.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What happens if you married a geese?

MICHELLE: No!

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What would you do?

MICHELLE: Run. Run home.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): (laughs)

SIMON: Even the geese outside? Can you see any in the park?

MICHELLE: 3.

INTERVIEWER: I can see them.

MICHELLE: 1, 2. That’s it. One there.

Routine

In this clip, we hear about what a typical week looks like in Michelle’s life.

Transcript

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What do you do on a Monday?

MICHELLE: Not much. Not much on a Monday.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Do you go places with your support people?

MICHELLE: Sometimes. Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Like Yeah, like some of the people like shopping or…do you go out with your support people?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What do you do on a Tuesday?

MICHELLE: Cafe West. Cafe West.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Do you like going?

MICHELLE: No.

SIMON AND NATALIE: (Silently laughing)

MICHELLE: Not him (Refers to Simon). Not him. I can’t at Cafe West. Too noisy, too hot in the kitchen. Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What do you do-

SIMON: Before you started, you said that was your favourite thing in the week.

MICHELLE: No.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): I don’t want to laugh at you… Sorry. (Laughing) What do you do on a Wednesday?

MICHELLE: I come here.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): That’s good. What’s your favourite thing on a Wednesday with the group?

MICHELLE: Baking.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Ah. What else do you like doing on the Wednesday… with the group?

MICHELLE: Go out somewhere…

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What do you do on a Thursday?

MICHELLE: At Cafe West.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What do you do on a Friday?

MICHELLE: At Cafe West.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What do you do on the weekends?

MICHELLE: Not much.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): (laughing)

SIMON: You see your family.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Do you see your family?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Like your parents and that?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Do you see your sister?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): That’s good that you see your family and that.

SIMON: You go out shopping.

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Retail therapy…

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): …we call it. You’re like I am, I do retail therapy. And also, on the weekend I go to my gran’s, but this weekend I’m not. I’m going – because of it being a bank holiday, I’m going away. So, we’re having a break. So, yeah. What are you most proud of?

MICHELLE: I don’t know.

SIMON: You’re proud of your flat. You really enjoy it there.

MICHELLE: Yeah. It’s clean. Yeah.

SIMON: Because your last place wasn’t. You didn’t like that, did you?

MICHELLE: No, but…-

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): That was near Acomb.

MICHELLE: All the buses shake my flat.Now – Now…I’m OK. That flat.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): I know where your place was. You were near Acomb, wasn’t you?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Yeah.

Friends and travel

Michelle talks about the people that mean the most to her, and some of the holidays she has enjoyed.

Transcript

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Who are your favourite friends?

MICHELLE: You.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): And who helps?

MICHELLE: That’s it.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Who, me?

MICHELLE: (laughs)

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): You got downstairs, you lemon!

MICHELLE: Downstairs?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Yeah.

SIMON: So, who do you like hanging out with?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Yeah.

MICHELLE: Martha downstairs. And that’s it.

SIMON: And at the Cafe?

MICHELLE: I don’t know.

SIMON: You like Edwin.

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Ah, I remember, yeah, I know his name. Yeah.

MICHELLE: Edwin.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Have you ever had a job?

MICHELLE: (shakes head)

SIMON: Yes, you have. You’ve had a training job.

MICHELLE: Here. No more. No more.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What would your dream job be?

MICHELLE: Other guys?

SIMON: Do you recall?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What are your dreams?

MICHELLE: What?

SIMON: Do you have any dreams for the future?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): In the future.

MICHELLE: No.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Do you like buses?

MICHELLE: Yes.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): (giggling)

SIMON: What do you like about them?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What do you like about them? Is it because you like going on them?

MICHELLE: Yes.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Or is it-

MICHELLE: I’ve run off sometimes. Me, a long time ago. (Giggling)

SIMON: Yes, where did you run off to?

MICHELLE: Scarborough. Yeah. No more.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What’s your favourite holidays?

MICHELLE: I don’t know.

SIMON: Where have you been on holiday? You’ve been to London, what did you do in London?

MICHELLE: Look around.

SIMON: What did you look round at?

MICHELLE: The Big Ben.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Have you seen a show in London?

MICHELLE: No.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Oh.

MICHELLE: No.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Because there is some nice shows in London. When I’ve been with my family, I’ve seen Mary Poppins and all them lot. There’s some good shows in London. Is there anything you would like to visit on holiday?

MICHELLE: No.

SIMON: Would you like – if you could go on holiday tomorrow, where would you like to go?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Yeah.

MICHELLE: Somewhere.

SIMON: But where?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Where would you…?

SIMON: Euro Disney?

MICHELLE: Yeah, I’ve been there.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): You’ve been to Paris, haven’t you?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Would you ever go there again?

MICHELLE: Yes. Who with? With Jackie and my mum [and] me.

SIMON: What’s the best bit about Euro Disney?

MICHELLE: Good coffee there and tea. The food. That’s it.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): You’ve seen all the characters, haven’t you?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): And I know when you go, you can have the characters’ autographs.

MICHELLE: Really?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Yeah. What is the most important thing you like to do?

MICHELLE: On my bike. Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): You like cycling?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What kind of things make you happy?

MICHELLE: What?

SIMON: What things make you happy?

MICHELLE: Cafe West.

SIMON: You said that’s the worst thing ever earlier.

MICHELLE: (Giggling).

What if?

Michelle thinks about what she would do if she won the lottery, and what her superpower would be.

Transcript

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): If you won the lottery…

MICHELLE: (Giggling)

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): …what’s the first thing you would do?

MICHELLE: I don’t know.

SIMON: So, if you’ve got lots of money, what’s the first thing you would like to do?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What would you do with it?

MICHELLE: …a shop.

SIMON: Shop for what?

MICHELLE: Food.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE):(Laughing)

SIMON (Laughing): So, you’d go to the supermarket. Fair enough.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): If your flat was on fire, what item would you save?

MICHELLE: (Giggles) I love a fire truck.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What, a fire truck?

SIMON: You’d love to see the fire truck?

MICHELLE: Well, a sexy…

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Pardon?

SIMON: The firemen are sexy?

MICHELLE: (giggling)

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): … I’m not pursuing that. If you could have any support power, what-

SIMON: Super power.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE):…super power, what would it be and how would you use it?

MICHELLE: What’s that mean?

SIMON: So, if you have any super power, what would it be? Would you want to fly or go invisible or-

MICHELLE: Invisible.

SIMON: And what would you do if you were invisible?

MICHELLE: I don’t know.

SIMON: Would you sneak up on people?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Who would you sneak up on?

MICHELLE: Simon Jackson.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Who else would you sneak up on?

MICHELLE: (Giggling) Simon Copper. Oh, yeah. (Giggling)

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What’s the most impressive thing you’ve ever done?

MICHELLE: What?

SIMON: What’s the most impressive thing – what’s the thing you’re most proud of?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): You’re proud of.

MICHELLE: My walker.

SIMON: You enjoy using your walker?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

SIMON: Right, because you seem to go very fast with it.

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): And also trying to run people’s feet over sometimes. If you were an animal, which one would you be?

MICHELLE: Woof, woof!

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): A dog?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

SIMON: What type of dog?

MICHELLE: I don’t know.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): What’s your favourite dog?

MICHELLE: Sausage doggie.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Oh, a sausage dog?

MICHELLE: Yeah. I love the sausage doggie. They’re tiny.

SIMON: You can’t eat them though just because they’re called sausage.

MICHELLE: No. (Laughs)

Make-up and music

Michelle talks about her enjoyment of beauty therapy, shopping and the music that means the most to her.

Transcript

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Do you like hair and makeup?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): You like retail therapy?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Being pampered?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Have you got ears pierced?

MICHELLE: One.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Yeah.

MICHELLE: Doink!

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Have you got – Yeah. Do you like clothes?

MICHELLE: Yes (laughs).

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Who’s your favourite – Who’s your favourite singer?

MICHELLE: Whitney.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Who else do you like?

MICHELLE: Ed Sheeran.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Have you ever been to a pop concert?

MICHELLE: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Which one do you like?

MICHELLE: Loads.

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Have you ever been [to] one recently?

MICHELLE: …

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Ah… You’re not like I am. I’m going to two.

MICHELLE: Two?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): Yes.

MICHELLE: What?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): I’m off to theOpen Air one and another one.

MICHELLE: What is it?

INTERVIEWER(NATALIE): I’m off to see Gary Barlow and I’m off to see Diana Ross.