Liebster blog

The lovely Dr Jen has passed on to me the Liebster blog tag.  The idea is to answer the 11 questions, then create 11 questions of your own, and tag 11 other blogs to answer them.

I'm going to be a tad rebellious and not tag other people...I've seen so many of these going around and to be honest I can't think of any other blogs who a) haven't already done them and b) are the type of people who would appreciate them!  But I do like reading answers to questions like these, so I don't at all mind answering Jen's questions. Here goes:

1. What is the one thing you would like to become better at?

Oh my goodness, so many things.  Currently knitting and crochet, I've just about mastered knitting socks, which I'm very pleased about.  I'd also like to extend my cooking abilities, I'm reasonably good, but I tend to make the same type of things over and over again. I'd like to increase my range overall.

2.  What is the last text message you sent or received?  To whom?

The last text I sent was last night, and says 'Good!'.  It was to a friend who had just told me he has split up with his boyfriend. I'm sad they've split up, and my friend's not ready to talk about it yet, but when I asked, he said he was doing okay, and that's why I replied with 'good'. My friend will talk when he's ready.

Hang on a minute, my boyfriend's just texted me, and I've replied asking him if I can throw away his out of date yogurts in the fridge.  Tesco is delivering our shopping later, and I need to make room in the fridge. Romantic!

3.  What did you want to be when you grew up?

A doctor, a teacher, a solicitor.  I presume I meant a medical doctor at the time, but I've gone down the PhD route instead!

4.  If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Mind reading.  Definitely.

5.  Where was your last holiday?

To Rome and Pisa, with the boyfriend.  Our first holiday together.  Always a bit of an eye-opener!  I have lots of photos of the standard tourist places, but I like this one of a teapot with a cat on. We went to the Spanish Steps in Rome, and found a little cafe nearby selling English tea.  That got our attention!  So we had a pot of tea each and some sort of pastry, can't remember what.



6.  Would you rather have summer or winter weather all year round?

Summer.  Lots of daylight, lots of sunshine (hopefully!), Pimms and fresh fruit, Guide camps, and I do love the smell of suncream.

7.  What is your biggest pet peeve?

Incorrect use of English: incorrect spellings, poor grammar, and punctuation in the wrong places.  My mum and I are always sending each other examples of bad grammar and spellings we've seen in public.  I appreciate that some people are not as good at spelling as others, but there is no excuse for incorrect spellings in public. My favourite (worst) example was a sign advertising 'veriety' packs of crisps in the supermarket.  'Variety' would come up on a spellcheck!  I tweeted the photo to Tesco (yes, it annoyed me that much!) and it was changed the next time I went in to the store.  The wrong there/their/they're is another thing which really irritates me, I saw get's the other day, and those poor abused little apostrophes are forever being put in the wrong place.

8.  Do you have any favourite stories from your childhood?

I am presuming this means stories about my childhood, rather than stories I read in my childhood (although the answer to that question would be Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl, absolute classics).  My favourite anecdote about me as a young child is when my pronunciation of consonants was poor, and I was supposed to go and see a speech therapist. However, I refused (I can do it myself! I don't need any help! Which is very similar to how I am now) and apparently I went and spoke to myself in my bedroom until I could say 'car' correctly. My mum was so pleased and proud, she cancelled the appointment, and since then I've been talking a lot.  Making up for lost time!

9. What is the worse job you have ever had?

I've never really had a bad job, I've always quite enjoyed what I've done.  I might be unusual in that!

10. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in the gorgeous city of Cambridge. I've always lived only a short cycle ride from the city centre, and I loved being so close to everything.  When I was little, I always thought that Cambridge reflected just what a university should be, and so when I was 17 and applying for university I had a very particular idea as to what I wanted from a university. A friend got married in one of the colleges last year, and it reminded me just how beautiful a place Cambridge really is, especially in the summer!

11.  If you could hold on to just one memory from your life forever, what would that be?

I honestly don't know.  This one has really made me think. I shall carry on thinking...

Right, that's me done!  Well, I haven't really done it properly, but I hope Jen's enjoyed reading the answers! Time for a cup of tea then to tackle knitting the heel flap of my sock.