Introducing Hobbies

A hobby is an interest or activity that is pursued primarily for relaxation or pleasure, usually in spare time outside one's regular occupation. Hobbies are thus carried out simply for enjoyment, personal fulfilment and interest, rather than financial reward, although is many cases, hobbies can lead to acquiring skill, knowledge and experience in that area. Examples of hobbies include cooking, collecting (for example, stamps), writing, sports, drawing, model-making, amateur dramatics and online gaming.

The term 'hobby' comes from the phrase 'to ride one's hobby-horse' (a hobby horse was a wickerwork or wooden toy), which means 'to follow a favourite pastime'. What might be considered a job for one person, could be a hobby for another. For example, a professional chef might enjoy appearing in amateur dramatics productions, whilst a professional actor might enjoy cooking.