Janet Lees, 56, lives in Douglas with her husband Ian.

She is a poet, artist, freelance writer and writer for wellbeing workshop facilitator.

What is your perfect meal?

My husband cooks pasta with cauliflower and almonds, which sounds bland but is really delicious.

A game of Scrabble before and Netflix after.

What is your favourite way to relax?

Exploring in urban environments and derelict places with my camera. It’s totally absorbing and relaxes me more than anything.

What is your greatest extravagance?

Probably shoes and boots, although I get a lot of my footwear on eBay.

Do you have any pets?

Not anymore. We used to have the most brilliant Springer Spaniel called Bertie, who died several years ago. We also used to have a beautiful cat called Meg, but rehomed her when Ian became severely allergic.

What is your greatest achievement?

Stopping drinking after more than two decades as a functioning alcoholic.

I was actually more of a dysfunctioning alcoholic, but I managed to hold down a job and not kill anyone, so technically I fall into the ’functioning’ category.

Getting sober was the single best thing I’ve ever done.

It’s restored my creativity and freedom, and transformed my most important relationships.

What is your favourite time of the year?

Autumn. Kicking through piles of leaves, frost on the ground, the smell of open fires, cosy nights inâ?¦

What was your first job?

Working as a Saturday sales assistant in the shoe shop Freeman Hardy Willis when I was 15. I got the sack for not selling enough ’fancies’ (things like shoelaces and polish).

Do you have any irrational fears?

I worry about being buried alive by mistake.

But I’ve got some plans in the unlikely event that this happens.

What is your worst habit?

Starting to read a new book before I’ve finished the one I’m reading.

I developed this habit whilst doing a creative writing MA at Lancaster a few years ago, I think because we had so many

books to read for the course, and it’s stuck with me.

What is your favourite book?

’Riddley Walker’ by Russell Hoban.

It’s set in a distant dystopian future where survivors of a nuclear holocaust talk a kind of broken, stunted English.

It’s dark but also full of humour and humanity. It’s more than a book, it’s an experience.

What is your favourite TV programme?

The Day Today, a spoof news programme from years ago. The humour and the satire is still spot on.

What is your favourite band/artist at the moment?

Through Instagram I came across George Simpson.

His album Still Points in the Turning World is awe-inspiring.

What is your favourite part of the Isle of Man?

Port St Mary. I didn’t grow up on the island, but we used to come over every summer to stay with my Grandma in Clifton Road.

These are some of my happiest memories.

What is the last show/band that you saw live?

Suzanne Vega played at the Villa Marina. I sobbed all the way through.

What would be your perfect day?

Assuming it was a hot summer’s day, I would spend it on Laxey beach, alternating between swimming, eating ice cream (Laxey Ice Cream, seriously amazing) and doing nothing at all. I’d come home for a game of Scrabble and my favourite meal.

Choose three people, dead or alive, to invite to dinner?

Chris Morris (for humour), Ekhart Tolle (for spirituality and humour) and Sylvia Plath (for poetry and all the feelings people don’t usually talk about).