Profile of Barker, Clare

CBarker@thoughtworks.com

Nickname: Nothing really bad - or at least, not to my face. Usually Clare-bear or Clur (i.e. Clare, as pronounced by Cilla Black - apologies to anyone non-English for the cultural reference).

Link to my personal home page: I don't have one... I've a feeling TW may help me get in touch with my 'inner geek' though, so watch this space. My friends keep threatening to register askclare.com for me, so if there's ever a page, that's where it'll be.

Pets: None... it wouldn't be fair, I can't even keep plants alive. I did once have a couple of Russian dwarf hamsters (Linford and Bob), but when they had failed to come out of hibernation by May, I had to accept they were ex-hamsters...

Hobbies: Cryptic crosswords, shoe shopping, getting massages, socialising (is there a less lame way of saying that?). Thinking of taking up sailing after trying it on holiday. Primarily because I clearly have no proper hobbies and must get one. Went flying in a Tiger Moth recently, and can say with absolute certainty that flying will *not* be my new hobby.

High School: Aylesbury High School, Aylesbury, Bucks

College: None, although before you accuse me of being uneducated and unqualified, I am an MCIM(grad) and MIEx(grad) - that's Chartered Institute of Marketing and Institute of Export, both of which come in endlessly handy in IT...

Favourite Local Bar: For normal purposes, the Bonapart (Westbourne Grove-ish). For dressing up and drinking cocktails, I like the Charlotte Street Hotel, and the bar at the Landmark Hotel (my favourite building in London).

Favourite Out-of-Town Bar: I wish I could think of somewhere exotic and fabulous... I'll work on it and get back to you.

Favourite Band: Gaaaaah, impossible question. Radiohead, REM, old Sisters of Mercy, New Model Army [resounding chorus of "who?"], Ryan "not Bryan" Adams, Jeff Buckley, Joy Division, Bruce Springsteen (no, really), Nirvana, the Killers... Sometimes Leonard Cohen for a laugh ;)

Favourite Song Lyric: For singing loudly in traffic jams: "Misjudged your limits / pushed you too far / took you for granted / thought that you needed me more (more, more)"
For the missing rhyme, which always raises a smile: "Now I'm falling asleep / And she's calling a cab / While he's having a smoke / And she's taking a drag / Now they're going to bed / And my stomach is sick / And it's all in my head / But she's touching his... chest" (there's probably a name for that - anyone with an English degree like to help me out?)
For bitter moments: "Not for one second did you look behind you / As you were walking away..."
For when I'm sad, and want to be reminded that at least I'm not *this* tragic...: "...all I ever learned of love / Is how to shoot somebody who outdrew you"

Favourite Board Game: Trivial Pursuit, especially playing with a late eighties edition, which carries the added frisson of having to guess what the Science & Nature answers were believed to be at the time.

Favourite Web Pages: This drove me mad for ages and this makes me laugh every Friday - subscribe now!

My car: It's *so* uncool. I have a Peugeot 307. I bought it online. To be fair, it's lovely once you're inside - a/c, 5 CD changer, leather trim... the problem is the ugly orangey-coppery colour, which might be why it was cheap. Still, I could get it sprayed if I cared that much.

Who would play me in "ThoughtWorks: The Movie": Drew Barrymore

Most embarrassing moment at ThoughtWorks: Happily, none yet. But I'm writing this on day 4. Most uncomfortable moment so far - the assertion exercise on the consultancy skills course.

Document last modified on: 06/29/2006

Print this page