All about me

I have been tagged in something called a 'meme'. It took me a while to realise the word rhymed with neither 'hem' nor 'seem'. It's all about me, me, me, me, me, me.

I'm squirming. It's usually me behind the camera, not in front. The one listening rather than talking. Except when I get drunk and then I can't stop talking, shortly before waving my arms about wildly and then falling asleep.

It's all Exmoor Jane's fault. I've never met the woman but feel as if I have known her for years. If a friend had sent me a chain letter I would have cheerfully thumped them and they would take it with good grace. However, as I have not mastered the art of virtual thumping, I am laying my soul bare and seeing if I can throw Jane a virtual Chinese burn through cyberspace at the same time.

So here goes:

What are your current obsessions?
1. Work, work and more work to pay looming bills.
2. Shoes. Lots of shoes.
3. Cushions. I can't walk past a nice one without touching it and wanting to possess it.
5. Social justice.
6. Wondering when I'm going to find the time to do that 2,000-word OU essay on genre films between now and next Thursday when I've only got halfway through the course book.

Which item from your wardrobe do you wear most often?

My black Levi's.

What's for dinner?

Goulash I made on Sunday, froze and defrosted today during an organised Mrs Grigg moment.

Last thing you bought?

1. A top in the White Stuff sale. When Mr Grigg sees it I'll tell him I've had it for years. What is it with me? I've earned my own money for 30 years and still feel guilty when I spend any of it on myself.
2. Six oranges, four apples and some Fair Trade bananas.
3. Boots Evening Primrose moisturiser and some deodorant that's not meant to leave white marks but it bloody does.

What are you listening to?

Number One Son, 20, has great taste in music. So when I walk from my car to the council Death Star, instead of a black cloud over my head, I have Lemon Jelly and Royksopp turned up full blast on my iPod.

If you were a god/goddess who would you be?
Demeter, the Greek earth goddess. That would make me Exmoor Jane's mother. I am attached by an invisible umbilical cord to the countryside. I'm also a Virgo and a Chinese Ox. The Empress is my significator card when I try to do my own tarot reading but only in moments of crisis.


Favourite holiday spots?
1. Ithaca - I love all things Greek but especially this place. Its very name makes me tingle with Homeric joy.
2. Provence - I spent my honeymoon in my dad's cousin's house in Cotignac and in a previous life cycled up Mont Ventoux.

3. New York - a living film set. I could imagine being a very attractive high flyer with superpowers.
4. Can I have Ireland too? I love the scenery of the west coast, the spontaneity, the friendliness and the craic.

Reading right now?

1. The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
2. Simon Shama's History of Britain (I bought the three volumes for £3 at a book sale and I dip in and out of them when I'm in the loo. It's more fun when you do it out of chronological order. The reading, that is, not your loo business stuff)
3. OU books on film and television history and advanced creative writing

4 words to describe yourself.

Quirky, determined, cynical, tired.

Guilty pleasure?

Galaxy chocolate under my Primark blanky after 9pm.

Who or what makes you laugh until you’re weak?

Peter Kay (especially this Phoenix Nights clip), Mr Grigg and Tom Sharpe.

Who's your heroine?
Marge Simpson. Such patience and wisdom. Great hair too.


First spring thing?

Mr Grigg always brings me home the first primrose of spring, just like my dear old dad (84) still does for my mother. That's so sweet.

Best thing you ate or drank lately?

The Lidl's lager I'm drinking now after sitting through the most tedious annual parish meeting with my reporter's notebook trying to look interested.

Flower of the moment?

Wallflowers. Their scent takes me back to growing up in Somerset in the 1960s, when the days were warm and long and you could still get change from a sixpence.

Favourite ever film?

Jungle Book. I know all the words. When I was five I told our neighbour: 'Now just a minute, you pompous old windbag.' Definitely NOT The Perfect Storm which Mr Grigg is watching now. I first saw that on the eve of my first-ever sailing holiday.

Care to share some wisdom?
My creed:

There's no such word as can't (my primary school teacher)
Life is not a dress rehearsal (Mr Grigg)
Just do it (Nike)
Never turn down an invitation (Mrs Bancroft)

The only one of my own I can offer is: if you ever feel intimidated by someone, imagine them naked. This, of course, won't work if that someone is Elle McPherson or Posh Totty.

That's about it.

So, in the words of Exmoor Jane: Rules of the meme. Respond and rework. Answer questions on your own blog. Replace one question. Add one question. Tag 8 people.

I’ll tag the following (but you don't have to do it. But if you don't, don't blame me if all your luck falls through the luck sieve. That was just a joke. This thing has no power. You do).

A Curious Girl's Guide to Life
Buggles Balham High Road
Claire Fordham
Crystal Jigsaw
Reasons to be Cheerful 1,2 3
The Diary of Dagenham Dave
Private Secret Diary
Bath's Big Ed

Love Maddie x