I’M VERY jealous, because my sister went on a skiing holiday last month while I was stuck here doing concerts. I haven’t been skiing for five years, and I’d love to go again, but I have to be careful with my hands and arms now — and I don’t have time at the moment, anyway.

My dad’s Italian and my mum’s half Italian, half Scottish, so my earliest holiday memories are of Italy. Until I started at the Yehudi Menuhin School, we used to go skiing in the Dolomites every year and stay with relatives in Travesio. It was great learning to ski when I was only five or six years old, because at that age you are very daring. My parents are both good skiers and my dad was a good teacher. I never had any accidents, luckily.

My sister got herself into a bit of bother once. The car park was halfway down the ski slope, and when we finished for the day, we’d have to remember to get off the ski lift halfway down the mountain. Everyone got off apart from my sister, who went all the way to the bottom. Her skis had fallen off, so she had to crawl back up the mountain on her hands and knees. It was icy, and, just as we saw her approaching, she slid all the way back down on her bottom. She climbed up and slid back down three times before she made it back.

I’ve been so busy with performing and school this year that I’ve been forced to block off a few weeks’ holiday and refuse to do anything, otherwise I know I’d just never stop. I started playing the violin when I was four years old, and I still love what I do, but I think it’s important that I have holidays in order to keep enjoying it.

I’ve never been on holiday without my violin, though. Maybe one day I will. The most I’ve gone without practising is four days. I normally do between three and five hours a day, and how much I practise on holiday depends on which concerts I have coming up.

We have a family holiday home in St Aygulf, near St Tropez, and there’s always a big gang of us — cousins from Scotland, aunts, uncles and friends. We all bunk in, and sometimes there are 20 people sitting down to lunch. My mum makes delicious food — most people put on a stone in a week of being there.

I normally practise in an upstairs bedroom when I’m there. You get used to having to concentrate by yourself, but sometimes, when it’s sunny outside, it can be depressing. The house is right on the beach and the view from the window is torture. I can see everyone else swimming, sunbathing and having fun while I’m on my own.

My family is used to me practising all the time, but sometimes, when we’re in France, my dad says: “Why don’t you leave the violin for today?” But my mum says: “No, she’s got to practise.” She’s right. My sister plays the violin too, so she understands.

For my sister’s 21st birthday last year, she invited some friends from Wells Cathedral School and they all flew over for a three-day party in our house in France. My dad knows someone nearby with a boat and we did a trip down to a local beach, where we had lunch. It was great fun. We’re lucky that we have cool parents. I don’t live with them any more, as I’ve been at boarding school since I was 10, so I don’t mind spending my holidays with them.

I went to play a concert in Durban, in South Africa, last year, and afterwards, my mum and I went on safari and stayed in Phinda Game Reserve for three days. We saw all sorts of incredible creatures — hyenas, elephants, rhinoceroses and a pride of lions only 10ft away. It was one of those moments when you’re thinking “Am I really here?”, because it’s all so far removed from your normal life.

We also went to a local village where the children put on a performance for us, with dancing, singing and acting. It was hysterical — it made me laugh, even though I don’t understand a word of Zulu. I thought they’d been taught the lines and the choreo-graphy by their teachers, so I was amazed to find out that they’d made it up on the way home from school. I was in tears, because I was so overwhelmed by them and what they’d done. There was so much talent in that little village, it was very humbling.

Since then, I’ve been more interested in different countries. When I have time to visit a place properly, to see a different society and how people live, I’m sure it opens my mind and helps me see things in a different light, which in turn enriches my playing and my approach to my music.