I come from a musical family and, when I was aged 3, we went to stay with another family of violinists in a beautiful cottage. I was enchanted with the place, and in particular with all of the violins around the house. The father of the family looked a bit like a pirate with a gold tooth - he was fun, but I was a bit scared of him. I heard him playing the violin one morning and I wanted to copy him, so I took a "me" sized violin that was hanging on the wall and tried to play it! From that moment on, I was hooked. I begged my parents for 18 months to let me have lessons, but my mother was adamant that I was too young. However, even she had to admit that, when she made a cake in the shape of a violin for my fourth birthday and I still didn't stop nagging, it might be more than a phase - and it was!