Let’s just skip to the FAQ’s

I have a slightly delicate subject to blog about this week, which is one of the reasons I’ve been putting it off. Other reasons include Christmas shopping on the high street as opposed to online and having a whale of a time at Tracy’s blog party which I managed to turn up late for, met lots of interesting folk and then probably out stayed my welcome.

Now, not wanting to offend anyone at all (believe me, if it was intended there’d be no mistake) – but the delicate subject to which I refer is awards. I just don’t get them. I don’t mean that I don’t get nominated – I do and have been sincerely touched by the thought – I mean that I don’t understand the concept. To me, an award is something bestowed, without strings attached, for an outstanding achievement or endeavour. So while it is obviously very gratifying that fellow bloggers consider my blog an outstanding achievement, I reckon that’s over doing things a tad.

Furthermore, as far as I’m aware, a requirement of accepting these awards is to answer a few questions posed by the nominator then pass on to other deserving bloggers, rather like a game of hot potato or an old fashioned chain letter. Therein, for me, lays a twofold awkwardness. Firstly, if I was worthy enough to win an award for something like, say, a Bafta, I‘d get to keep it with impunity and bask in its regularly polished reflection forever, and secondly, not wanting to bequeath to someone else the same uneasy dilemma, I wouldn’t have to angst over to whom I should pass the award.

I suppose it’s a bit like the passing on of the baton in a relay race, unless of course you are British  (which I am – and we all know how disappointing that can be when it comes to the last day of track and field events), as the baton is frequently dropped. So in traditional British style, I shall fumble over the baton exchange on this particular subject, say a collective thank you to all who have sent an award my way, and apologise for breaking the link.

photo from Daily Mail archive

Most blog awards that I’ve come across also require a certain amount of question answering, which I never mind as long as they are not being posed by a sales caller, so without further ado, (rather like a man faced with a set of instructions for flat packed furniture) I shall skip to these, and answer, as promised, a set of questions sent to me by the lovely Jade from her eclectic blog, Cocktails and Country Tales.

1)   What are your five favourite novels?

I couldn’t possibly commit to naming five all time favourites: the list would change. Books to me are memorable for different reasons, not always because I’ve enjoyed them. However, five books I’ve read recently and have enjoyed are:

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan; Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor; Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding; Ours Are the Streets by Sunjeev Sahota and Toby’s Room by Pat Barker.

It remains to be seen if they become memorable.

2)   What’s the best lie/ tall tale your parents ever told you as a child?

I don’t think they ever did. Apart from the magic surrounding Santa Claus they were wary of feeding the wrong information into enquiring young minds so were always very straight with us, even if sometimes the truth was disappointing.

3) What one object would you save from your house in a fire? (Nothing alive – presume that even the tropical fish can get themselves safely out without your help).

My teddy bear collection: the gang of three. As they are inseparable they’d have to count as one object, although they wouldn’t like to be thought of as such, each having his very own unique personality.

4) Do you remember the first ever fancy-dress party you went to? What did you go as and why?

It was our village summer carnival. At six years old, I was Peter Pan and my sister, Tinkerbell. Nanna made our costumes. I wore green tights underneath a green cotton tabard onto which she had sewn an assortment of plastic leaves. I also wore a pointed pixie hat. My sister had a white frock with lots of netting. I think she carried a wand made from tin foil and a cereal packet. As children, Peter Pan was one of our favourite stories – we would play at being the Darling family. By the way, Nanna was our real grandmother, not the Darling’s dog.

5) What would plan B have been, career-wise?

To try harder at Plan A

6) What one garment or item of clothing that you own could you not live without?

My old leather car coat

7) What’s the best mistake you’ve ever made?

On leaving school I attended the London College of Fashion’s course in periodical journalism which I hated with a passion. Thankfully the course duration was only a year and it turned out to be a case of being in the right place at the right time because it tipped me in the direction of the career in publicity which I absolutely loved and which I followed for the next fifteen years.

8) Do you have any phobias, and what do you think caused them?

No phobias, although I’m not a huge fan of heights or spiders – but I deal with the latter using a glass and bit of cardboard. (Or the vacuum nozzle if it’s handy). An encounter with a spider on the top floor of an open air multi-storey car-park could well set off a phobia.

9) What is your most common typo? (Mine is Englihs . Yes, I know. ‘I am an Englihs teacher’. Sigh.)

I’m not aware of making a consistent typo. The spelling of ‘weird’ always takes me by surprise.

10) Why did you first start your blog, and is it the same thing that keeps you writing it now?

 I sometimes ask myself the same question. I wanted a reason to write regularly and originally I had intended to post some creative writing here, which I have done occasionally. However I quickly discovered that posting equals publishing so for any competition entering I may want to venture into, pre-posted stories would be ineligible. I keep writing now, still for the challenge of regular postings, but mainly to interact with all the interesting bloggers I have met along the way.