Life in the day - Daniel Duke

The singer-songwriter, 18, lives with his Mum, Sue, Dad, Andy, brothers James and Patrick, sister Rachel and their two dogs in a house just outside Banbridge, Northern Ireland.

I wake up, usually between nine and eleven o'clock, to the sounds of Radio 2 emanating from my clock radio. Depending on the time my twin brother, James, might still be in bed. We've shared a room for the last 18 years and its not a bad situation; there are no privacy issues and we don't get in each other's way so its fine. If he's awake I'll talk to him for a while and if he's not around I might read for a little instead. Then I'll get up and have breakfast, which usually consists of cereal but if I feel like it I'll have an egg and toast instead.

After Breakfast, I'll sit down at the computer, check the BBC news website, check my email and turn on the radio. After that I start any graphic design work I have to do. I've been dabbling in graphic design for a few years now and quite often do pro bono work for friends and family. It’s a lot of fun and it gives me something to do during the long summer holidays.

Around 2pm I'll have some lunch; a sandwich or some pasta. I usually make something quick and easy. Some days I'll walk into town and meet up with friends for lunch or a coffee. After lunch I pick up the guitar or sit down at the piano and play for a while. I play through covers and my own music but I try to write at least one song everyday just to keep me “sharp”, so to speak. I've been playing guitar for seven years and piano for four. I play a variety of other instruments and write and record a lot of my own music. I'm also in a number of bands so sometimes my day will be taken up with a band practice, beginning at 12pm and finishing late in the evening.

After playing music for a while, I'll go and watch some TV or play xbox with James. My older brother, Paddy gets home at around 6pm from work and I talk to him for a while or we play xbox together. If its a Monday or a Friday both my mum and dad will be working so I wont see them until around half six. On any other day of the week only my dad works but he's usually not home until between seven and nine. If my mum is off work she might go and visit her parents who live in a care home about 20 minutes drive away from our house. Unfortunately both my Granny and Grandpa suffer from Alzheimer and dementia, which is hard work for my mum. They are both content though so it’s not too bad.

We usually eat dinner around 7pm or when dad gets home from work. Dinner could be any number of things and is usually cooked by mum. On a Friday my Granny, on my dad's side comes over for dinner with us and I'll play scrabble with her and my parents. The same thing happens on Sunday nights as well, but we'll usually have something a little more fancy for dinner. On a Sunday we also take our black labradors - Tilly and Tess for a walk, in a nearby forest park. My mum, dad, aunt, uncle and they're dog, Spencer all go and we end up walking four dogs around the park, with the addition of Lucy, my granny's Pomeranian.

On some days I'll have a gig in the evenings, either playing with one of my bands or on my own. On these days I'll spend the day preparing – practicing and sorting out my instruments and set list. Then I'll head off to the gig early in the evening and won't be back until pretty late depending on how the night goes.

Bedtime varies greatly. If I've been out I'll go to bed at whatever time I get in. If I'm at home I'll usually head to bed around 1am but if I feel I haven't had a productive day I'll go on the computer and try and do some more design work or anything constructive. I sometimes stay up until after 4am, by which time I'm exhausted. In bed I might read for a while, depending on how late it is. Then I drift off, sometimes listening to music or good old radio 2 again – I don't like falling asleep in silence.