Anyways up, being tired and emotional today (had to pull over to cry during the Jeremy Vine show - Matthew Parris so eloquent and lorry drivers in tears - subject, being with loved ones when they die) and then reading Jim's wonderful post on death and poetry here:
I was all ready for one of my good old tragic posts, especially after listening to Kate Rusby (I am, ashamedly, metal to the core) when the phone rang, and Mum was breathless and choked because she'd just got the news that biggest brother has at last got his move to Stoke Mandeville. Now Basildon Hospital have done a magnificent job caring for him, but they are not set up for the long rehabilitation process he's going to have to undergo. Stoke Madeville is the spinal injury unit in the UK, so hip-hooray. That does rhyme.
In celebration, where more appropriate to go than hope.
Who gave me a meme to play, and I love to play! So here goes.
1. Why did you start blogging?
Orion and Cedalion.
"Bernard of Chartres used to say that we are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size." John of Salisbury, Metalogicon.
Basically, I copied Hugh McMillan once I had written The Fat Plant. He said it would be a good idea. He was right. I must add that had it not been for Rachel Fox, deemikay and sorlil (as was) I would never have kept on blogging, as they were the only people who came to see me for about 3 months.
2. If you could travel anywhere in the world with no restriction of costs, where would it be and why?
Bigggest obsession of my life is archaeology and anthropology, so it has to be the cradle of humanity, Africa. Specifically the key Oldowan sites - Gona, Omo, Fetej, Hadar, West Turkana. And the Laetoli footprints, of course. I realise this all means very little to anyone else, so it's East Africa mainly, Ethiopian Rift Valley and the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. These are the places we, all of us, began, and just to stand there would truly be a pearl beyond price for me.
3. Did you have a teacher in school that had a great influence on your life? If so, what?
Oh no, it's Sister Aiden again! She was my first teacher, and to this day I still believe she could do anything, and thus made me think that any of us can do anything. She was a woman in, probably, her thirties, she was a Sister of Mercy, and she drove a red car. I never saw her hair. I don't think anyone has ever impressed me so much in my life. I always hoped she'd marry one of my brothers. Hey, I was 5!
4. If you could spend the day with a famous person, who would it be, and what would you do?
Easy! Lady Gaga. Put on loads of make-up, get underdressed-up, go to a club and dance brilliantly. And smoke.
5. Toilet paper – over or under?
How can this even be a question? Over.
6. Name one thing in your life that you would do over if possible.
That's a real toughie. Probably be kinder to my youngest brother (we're just a year and a half apart) when we were growing up. Our sibling rivalry was truly terrible to behold.
7. Tell about your pets – if any.
Titus - the dog. Border Terrier, good rabbiter, great with children, looks suspiciously like a teddy bear if you hold him the right way. Has own detached kennel in the garden, but comes in the house during the day.
Stick 1, Stick 2, Stick 3 and Stick 4 - the stick insects. And yes, I can tell them apart.
8. Do you live in a small town or a large town.
Town! Luxury! I live in a village so small I could not have conceived of it until I moved here.
Mind, it's bigger than Burnhead down the road...
So I'm nominating these eight mega-bloggers, if they want to play;
shug
Rachel Fox
deemikay
marion
Domestic Oubliette
King of the Camels
Rachel Fenton
Karen
Right, back off to be tired and emotional...
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