Céline Gagnon
Céline Gagnon
Development Consultant
Imagine this: I’m on a flight from Quebec City via Montreal back to London, trying to explain myself to the lovely American woman sat next to me.
I tell her that I am Canadian, but speak French as my first language (me and a fifth of my fellow Canadians in fact). That I came to the UK as a language assistant many moons ago to teach French and ended up staying. That I speak English with a British rather than a Canadian accent, as English is a second language that I learned to speak fluently in Britain rather than in Canada. After much questioning and a 7 hour-flight, she was still unclear about my origins. This memory makes me smile.
I have lived in London for the past 18 years, spending most of this time working in the cultural sector in one way or another. As former Chair of Fevered Sleep and because I have a fair bit of experience in fundraising, I help David and Sam to raise money, to make sure the organisation is well run and that they and the work are well supported. It’s often stressful, but always interesting.
When I’m not working or going to the theatre, I keep myself occupied with knitting, gardening and walking.
My proudest achievement is to have set up Unravel at the Maltings in Farnham 10 years ago.
I try to grow vegetables in my back garden every summer, with mixed results: I need to work on that. I am slowly working my way towards a Mountain Leader qualification, but have many summits to conquer before I get that badge.