Sustrans is the charity that makes walking and cycling easier for people. Cat organizes activities to help local people achieve this. She also works in partnership with Life Cycles by offering Cycle Fix and Save workshops. This Saturday, December 10, there will be a “Grand Christmas Bike Sale” at the station from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., followed by a Santa Claus Bike from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Visit Sustrans NI on Eventbrite to join the cycle and other local activities or follow @SustransNI on Twitter and Facebook.
Cat – who is originally from Omagh – spent her adult life in York, London and Malaysia before returning to the North West in April 2021 and hosting her hometown’s first-ever Pride. As a poet, Cat has won slams, been published in anthologies, and was part of the Spoken Word Educators program with a master’s degree from Goldsmith’s University.
How would you describe yourself?
Passionate, impatient, resourceful.The most beautiful childhood memory?
Going to a Native American powwow on a family vacation in the United States when I was 8.What was your first job?
The Gormley Newsagents in Omagh at 15.Favourite book ?
It’s a Play – Translations by Brian Friel.Favorite movie?
Rafiki.Favorite TV show?
Dr Quinn Medicine Woman – the first primetime TV show to be produced and written by a woman (it came out in 1993, I loved it as a kid and recently started watching it again).
Favorite relaxation method?
Spending time with my partnerFavorite vacation destination?
Pakistan with my best friend. It was such a privilege to learn about her culture, her heritage and to meet her grandmother before she passed away.Who would you most like to meet?
Michaela Coel (writer/actress/director of Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You).What makes you angry?
Lack of democracy and poor transport, health, education and economic infrastructure in the North West of Ireland.What makes you happy?
Cycling, listening to podcasts, being in nature, listening to music and spending time with loved ones.What human quality do you admire the most?
To do work.What human quality do you admire the least?
Egocentrism.What was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you?
Falling off a stage in front of 200 students, spraining my ankle and having to continue the workshop as if nothing had happened. Luckily my partner was there to take me home.
What is the worst thing that has happened to you in your life?
sexual assaultWhat is your biggest fear?
Don’t take advantage of the chance I have.What has been the highlight of your life so far?
Omagh Pride LaunchHow would you like to be remembered?
To co-create a communityWhat is your most valuable asset?
My engagement ring. It’s hard to believe that marriage equality only arrived in Northern Ireland in 2020, thanks to Westminster MPs. Same-sex relationships are illegal in my partner’s country. Having our love legally recognized means we can live and work in the Republic or Ireland with the same rights as everyone else, something none of us could have imagined growing up and for which we are very grateful.If you won the lottery, what would you do?
Develop St. Lucia Barracks in Omagh into a thriving community in the heart of the city. Allow people access to the granite buildings that put Ebrington to shame. Reopening of the 44 empty houses and the community center. Allow access through the extensive grounds.
If you could make one wish in life, what would you ask for? A kidIf you could write your own epitaph, what would it be?