Yes, it’s a “25 random things about me” list.
1. My first job was as an usherette at the local theatre – this mean I got to work alongside huge stars (?!) such as the Chuckle Brothers and Warrior, Hunter & Vogue from Gladiators.
2. I once quit a job after one hour – I’m really not cut out to be a double-glazing telesales person!
3. I’ve seen far more places in France than in the UK, as this was always our family’s holiday destination when I was a child.
4. Whilst growing up, I had friends at school who travelled in by hovercraft and ferry, as well as the more normal car, bus, train etc. I was on the bus, though.
5. Somehow, two friends and I managed to topple over one of those huge metal dustbins schools used to have whilst playing chase around it. We were 5 at the time, and it was full and, I imagine, quite heavy. I had no idea then how we managed it, and still don’t.
6. A baby has been born in my car. I took friends to the hospital when she was ready to give birth, and we only made it as far as the car park. It wasn’t nearly as grim to clean up as you might expect.
7. I have a “special skill” when driving, and always seem to manage to be in the wrong lane at any given opportunity on roads I don’t know.
8. I once constructed a pantomime cow costume from wire, bubble wrap, bamboo canes, material and paint. It worked pretty well, and when I offered it on Freecycle afterwards there were quite a few people interested. Unfortunately, it got binned as it wasn’t collected before I had to move house.
9. I drink far too much tea – and frequently very little else.
10. I’m not good with animals. It’s not that I don’t like them, more that they scare me. Hamsters are ok though, as they’re small, cute and unthreatening.
11. I’m still trying to stop biting my fingernails. At the moment I’m succeeding on 6 fingers and both thumbs, which I figure is pretty good.
12. I’ve only ever given 3 formal presentations in my life – twice in job interviews and once last Wednesday.
13. I have once been custard-pie’d – although it was with squirty cream, rather than custard. Unfortunately, it was good quality squirty cream, and dripped all down my T-shirt and onto the stage I was on at the time. I’d recommend using cheap squirty cream in future.
14. The lean-to on my house has a problem with its roof, meaning that in high wind and rain I have to get up on the stepladder and put bits back together again. Strong glue and duct tape are also quite helpful for this. I’m working up to having it rebuilt with a normal roof.
15. I spent 3 years learning Spanish, but unfortunately can remember very little, with the exception of the phrase “Mr Antonio Morales is the boss of an agency selling agricultural machinery”. Exactly how was that supposed to be of any use to me?
16. I hate the sound of bagpipes. Seriously, in what way are they music?
17. I am still a fan of the Chalet School stories by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. Yes, they’re cheesy, outdated, frequently unrealistic and fairly predictable, but I like them. I’m still a few books short though, and don’t really fancy paying over £25 on eBay for the ones I’m still missing.
18. I’ve been involved in GirlGuiding since I joined the Brownies at 7. Before leaving Swansea, I ended up working with two leaders who were former Brownies of mine. This made me feel very old.
19. My taste in music is for easy, sing-along stuff. As a result, CDs in my car at present include Lloyd-Webber musicals, Take That, the Mamma Mia soundtrack and Abba.
20. More often than not, I prefer silence to music.
21. Until I went to university, I’d only been to the cinema twice – I’d seen Bambi aged 7 and Splitting Heirs just after my GCSEs. It didn’t interest me – my part-time job let me watch a lot of live theatre, which I still prefer by miles. However, thanks mostly to the influence of my housemate, I now have a ‘go as many times a month as you like’ card for a local cinema. And I rarely get to the theatre.
22. I was massively freaked out by the character of the Tall Knight from the “Dark Towers” story on Words and Pictures, which we watched at school when I was 7. Somehow, I got it into my head that I couldn’t open the bathroom door at home if it was closed because the Tall Knight would be in there. I don’t think my parents were too impressed.
23. I have once sleepwalked – I managed to get out of my sleeping bag, climb over both my parents, and get most of the way out of our family tent before my father woke up. I think he was quite surprised I’d not trodden on anyone on my way out.
24. I can be very pedantic about spelling and grammar when writing formal stuff. However, this list does not count, so please don’t all rush to point out all my inevitable spelling/typing and grammar errors.
25. I am a terrible procrastinator. In fact, that’s probably why I’m writing this now, when I should be doing something more productive.
Continue reading
