Who has been a major influence in your life?

[Pruni]

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oooh cool thread. my piano teacher - recently took it up again. a 50-something Californian hippie, single and fabulous, practices yoga and some weird form of martial arts and lives in Notting Hill and tells stories of dancing on tables with the Rolling Stones in the '60s. She inspired me to follow my dream, quit my job in investment banking that was making me sick and enroll on a bachelor of music course. at a tender age of 31. which I finished in June. ahem. I love her.

feastofsteven I was going to say Madonna--I'm glad I'm not alone there.
My grandad was a big influence on my life as he always had lots of time to chat to me and visited me wherever in the world I lived. We named our son after him.
Also, we have a fantastic family friend who became our surrogate big sister when we were growing up. She was a friend of my Mum's and they played netball together, and Sherry (the friend, not the drink) was supportive in everything we did.
Of course, there are too many influences to name, especially teachers, and not forgetting my lovely Mum and Dad.

definitely Madonna!!

three men...
my first boss in the "real world" who employed me to do a job for which I had zero experience, then stood patiently by and let me work it all out for myself, just quietly supporting me and talking me up to all and sundry. I owe my career to him actually and maybe I should go and tell him.
an ex boyfriend of mine who told me in so many words to lose the chippy attitude and stop using my background as an excuse for not doing what I was capable of, and to stop settling for second best in relationships. He gave me the final push to break off a disastrous engagement, and to start a relationship with dh and to ignore all those people (including all the family) who thought I was doing the wrong thing there.
and a friend who expects so much of me that I am forced for the sake of my pride to live up to his expectations. and who has made me do many very scary things (like singing in public for the first time) by telling me that I am going to do them, and openly sneering at any weakness or wobbliness on my part. sounds harsh I know but actually it is the only language I understand....

good thread Pruni
now I have the urge to go and tell them all how fab they are....