Profile ……….. LAURA MURRAY
Next in line is a key worker ………. Laura Murray! Thanks for taking part in our profile series Laura!
When and where did you first play hockey?
First year at Bloomfield Collegiate School.
Have you played for any other hockey clubs?
5 years at Dundee University, my claim to fame is that Prince William was at DISC (Dundee International Sports Complex) playing hockey for St Andrews before one of my matches.
How long have you been at North Down?
I played at junior level before I went to uni, Brian Davis’ daughter brought me along. I remember playing for the 6ths when I had just turned 15 with Twinkle and Marietta Lammey and being terrified! Now I am a veteran player!!!
Do you have any personal ambitions in hockey?
On Saturday mornings I have 3 kids to get to football (Mocky can testifiy I’m there rain, hail and snow because Kane plays with one of my boys) and ballet ( Sarah McKillen’s sister’s school…. Now I know where Sarah gets all her jumps and dives from!) so….I’m pretty happy to still be playing and scoring the odd goal!
What has been your best moment at North Down?
Scoring a penalty run to get to the plate final with the seconds in 2018 when Gary Alexander was coaching us.
Who has been your favourite player to play with at North Down and why?
I love having Kathy Taylor or Megan Spence in centre beside me at right mid, they both work tirelessly and we can get some nice wee one-twos going.
What is your least favourite team to play against?
Probably ***** *******, they are hard to like!
Who in your North Down team would you want, and who not, on your quiz team?
I’ll go for Krog in the team, I’m not sure we would win but it would be a laugh. I don’t want to be mean and say I wouldn’t want someone on my quiz team. There’s no ‘I’ in team!
Do you follow a particular football team?
I don’t watch football even though it is on a lot in my house. My boys will want me to say Liverpool but since P7 and Brian Davis’ influence it has been Spurs.
What other sports are you interested in and do you play any other sports?
I love tennis and swimming. I’ve played a bit of netball but it is far too warm doing indoor sports, I end up looking even more like a tomato than I normally do doing sports outdoors. Maybe that should be my sporting ambition, to not come off the pitch with a bright red face.
What is your favourite personal sporting moment and a favourite all time sporting one?
Same as above, scoring penalty runs for the seconds. I don’t watch much sport on TV apart from Wimbledon but I saw the All Blacks v Scotland at Murrayfield which was pretty cool.
What is the best holiday you have ever had?
I loved visiting the south of Italy on my first child free holiday 2 years ago. Honeymoon in New York and Toronto was good too. I went to Ethiopia in January 2020 to do Dentistry at a childrens’ home/school and that was probably the most meaningful trip I’ve had.
Where is your ideal holiday location?
I love going to Salobrena near Nerja in Spain. Short flight, great weather and we’ve been so many times it feels like home from home.
What type of music do you like?
I don’t listen to a lot of music but I do listen to Cool FM but mostly for the competitions as Rebecca can confirm after one of our long trips to play Priorians. The last concert I was at was Rend Collective.
What is your favourite TV programme?
Escape to the Chateau, New Amsterdam, The Bridge, The Great British Bake Off and Race Across the World made me want to do more travelling.
What is your favourite movie?
Die Hard or Home Alone
Have you a favourite book you have read again?
I love reading but I don’t re-read books as there are too many more to read. At uni I read all the Harry Potter ones. Sophie Kinsella makes me laugh out loud, Karen Kingsbury makes me cry and if I’m reading a good crime or spy fiction I can end up staying up far too late with work the next morning.
What is your favourite food and drink?
Lasagne, Diet Coke and chocolate. Kirsty McCrory and Olivia Davison organised lasagne from the Old Post Office for match tea against Priorians this season which was pretty awesome.
Full cream, semi-skimmed or skimmed milk?
Skimmed milk to fool myself that I’m eating healthy but then I eat too much chocolate.
If you could invite four people, living or dead, to a dinner party who would they be?
I would get James Martin to cook and then have Ant and Dec to organise the after dinner games and Michael McIntyre to make me laugh.
What have you been doing to stay fit during the coronavirus break?
Cycling, taking our dog Bailey, who is 15, for walks and badminton in the back garden. I did the running 5k challenge and tagged some of the thirds to do it too although I’m not sure they have all completed it yet??? Bailey is well known at North Down, he once stole the match ball mid game at Park Way when my dad had him down at one of my games and he also jumped into a random person’s car in our street one time and I found out via Krog’s facebook!
