Continued - 20 Questions Meme...

Please go and take a look over at Michelle's blog at Raw Cool...Black is the new blog...

Michelle picked up my earlier challenge of choosing the 4th photo in your 4th album, etc, and has picked some beautifully clear and story-telling photographs of her friends, family and daily life! Really lovely, and I feel as if I'm there! Thank you, Michelle!

Following on from yesterday's 20 Questions Meme, here are the remaining 20 - I hope you enjoy them, and I have no probs if anyone wants to pinch owt from them!

(Translation - Please feel free to pick and choose any or all of the Meme questions to illustrate your own blog, and for those rare 'brainless days!')

I do wonder whether I'm letting too much of myself to be seen, but I probably don't care. I don't always hold with all that Astrology stuff, yet I am a true Saggitarian - Always with one hoof firmly in my mouth, and pretty much 'Speak as I find...', i.e. you need to take me at face value, because I am an honest and a very truthful person - I don't dissemble well, look at my face if you want to know what I am thinking! And I rarely lie, unless it's a very gentle lie that will hurt no-one. 'Nuff said?! Then on, MacDuff!

Voila - the remaining 20, very hypothetical, question-ees!


21. One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?



If they're not doing anything, or planning to do anything, I would lie very still meself, as if mummified, holding my breath, and hope they go away... with my lung capacity, they've got about a minute at most!


22. You have George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden locked in a small room together. It's airtight so both the guys are gonna suffocate anyway, but what amusing weapon do you give them to make it more entertaining?

Sex and Violence - Has this Meme been set by Quentin Tarantino??!

Weapon = A table leg...


23. The Angel of Death has descended upon you. Fortunately, the Angel of Death is pretty cool and in a good mood, and it offers you a half-hour to do whatever you want before you bite it. Whatcha gonna do in that half-hour?

Spend time with my family and say all that needs to be said...


24. Truthfully, what underwear are you currently wearing?

White bra, can't remember what I grabbed out of the laundry pile, but it will be M & S cotton 'granny knickers'! Hello, hello, is anyone still out there?!


25. You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What’s it gonna be?


The ability to remove suffering in the best possible way... (Right, I am ready for my Miss Universe tiara and orb now...)


26. You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

Tricky question, that one... Best experience would be the birth of my son - I was elated, and no drugs in sight, and what I felt at that moment was overwhelming enchantment and spell-binding love that would surmount all other loves. Of course, he's a teenager now, so I've come to me senses!


27. Moses trips on his robe and drops the stone tablets (Moses sounds as clumsy as I am!). Commandment number eleven is broken off. He leaves it there as his back is killing him (...ditto!). What does it say?

"Though shalt not covet not Paris Hilton's (or any other Zeleb's fake-tan, or fake anything! Thou shalt be true to thine own self..."



28.You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

Did you read the one about the bullying manager yesterday? That one! Or, even better: The root cause of my back problems, I believe in any case, is an accident I had at work when I was fresh out of University. I didn't have a proper workstation and I did not know about Health and Safety and so on, and I wrenched my back very badly so I could not move well for months.

I have been suffering episodes of this kind every couple of years for the past 20+ years which I think all stem from that experience - So if I could take that away from the sum of my life, I think I would have led a more active, and less fearful, existence, and I would not be off work now...
Hey ho...


29. Rufus reappears with the time machine and a custard pie. Who's gonna get it?

Bullies at school - Yes, or that ratty manager in Question 3 yesterday...


30. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-travelling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But you can move to anywhere else in the world! What country are you going to live in now?

Predictably, France...



31. What part of your body would you change (no, you are NOT perfect; you gotta answer this one) and why?

Fat content..



32. You have been eternally banned from every single bar in the world except for ONE. Which one is it gonna be?

Our local, The Shoulder of Mutton... Good beer, great fire, nice food, friendly staff!


33. What's the last thing you ate?

Boiled egg and bread fingers, fresh from the new bread-making machine I bought GJ for his birthday last week! Selfish, moi?!




34. Hopefully you didn’t mention this in the super-powers question…. If you did, then we’ll just expand on that. Suddenly, you have gained the ability to float. Who are you going to show this to first?

My friends, the sea otters!


35. The constant absorption of magical moonbeams mixed with the radioactive vegetables you consumed earlier has given you the ability to resurrect the dead celebrity of your choice. So which celebrity will you bring back to life?

Albrecht Duerer.


36. The Celestial Gates of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, once again Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person, etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back?

After yesterday's experience, and the quiet of my house today, if it were an animal, it would be this one,

In all reality, and because I would not wish to choose from either of my own departed parents, who waited long enough to be together wherever they are... I would elect to bring back Mad Asthmatic, Emma Bearfoot, bloggeur extraordinaire to her parents... For no child should outlive her parents.


37. What’s your theme song?


All your life you've never seen a woman...
Taken by the sky...
Would you stay if she promised you heaven?
Would you even try?



Dreams unwind
Love's a state of mind
Dreams unwind
Love is hard to find...

Rhiannon




38 When did you last have sex?




39. Buffy, Willow or Xander?



Van Helsing! Next to Dave Grohl (see yesterday), Mr Jackman comes a close second in my books!


40. Who’s up next?




And just as a post-script, it seems as if yesterday was silent reading poetry day across pockets of Blogland, and so as not to miss that boat, here is one of my favourites... Hope you like it...


My soul is an enchanted boat,


Which, like a sleeping swan, doth float
Upon the silver waves of thy sweet singing;

And thine doth like an angel sit
Beside a helm conducting it,
Whilst all the winds with melody are ringing.

It seems to float ever, forever,
Upon that many-winding river,
Between mountains, woods, abysses,
A paradise of wildernesses!

Till, like one in slumber bound,
Borne to the ocean, I float down, around,
Into a sea profound of ever-spreading sound.

by Shelley

Twenty (Hypothetical) Questions...

Today is a squall of a day snow-wise, and we have had the urgency of having to deal with the collapse of our dear cat with a heart problem at the tender age of almost 11 - Bless him, he had the life of Riley in our home, and he will be sorely and sadly missed.




I prepared this yesterday, so please forgive me just stuffing it in - There are another 20 Questions, which will follow demain...


I can't even remember where I found this Meme.

Suffice it to say, I don't think it's anyone's who might trouble this portal!

Apparently, it'll only take ten mins to do this Meme, I'm told, but you know it didn't!

Feel free to fill it in yourself, you know you want to!


1. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?

Any war-monger - Go on, name just one - I'll bet you can't...


2. You can flip a switch that will wipe any band or musical artist out of existence. Which one will it be?

Out of existence in music, but not of life - Lily Allen - Mockney Princess...


3. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?

An ex-boss of mine who had a troubled life with a criminal for a husband, and who took it all out on her staff - She was the archetypal, bullying, howling mad, manager. And it's taken years of my life to get over working with her. She was awful to everyone, and took turns to berate one person at a time - I think it was just the women, really - but I endured it once, then asked for a transfer to an office nearer to home, and used the excuse it was because it was nearer to my childcare. This wasn't a lie, and there was no other way out... so I took it, and I've never looked back. She was rewarded handsomely for leaving the service, when staffing cuts were required, and moved on, I hope, to where she could do less damage to others...


4. What is your favourite cheese?

Any apart from Blue Cheese - I will even scoff Pont L'Eveque, which smells horrendmouse, but I developed a taste for it while as an au pair in that part of Normandy!


5. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your immediate disposal. What kind will you make?

Hummous and green olives on a crusty French baguette - Just don't come too close to me afterwards!


6. You, Elvis and Princess Diana are in a dog sled, fleeing across the Siberian wastes with wolves in hot pursuit. The wolves are catching up fast. Who would you throw out to gain speed and why?

This is an awful question, and I'm not answering it on the grounds of taste...



I saw Princess Diana once, when she came to open an Old Folks' Home near the factory offices in which I was then working close to London.

Not an avid royalist, I refused to clamour to see her with the crowds of employees, but a meagre couple of us eventually dragged ourselves away from work to wait by a wire fence at the edge of the factory grounds to see her entourage pass.

What impressed me about her most, was that she made real efforts to lean right over to the opposite side of the car so that she could see us and wave and smile to us properly - I've seen many others who would not have troubled themselves to do that - She had a heart and a good soul and the system of our monarchy (and the press) failed her, in my opinion.

Does that mean I would be chucking Elvis out of the dog sled?



7. You have the opportunity to sleep with the movie celebrity of your choice. We are talking no-strings-attached sex and it can only happen once. Who is the lucky celebrity of your choice?

Him, lucky?! That's saying something about me! I guess it would be... ummmm...



But I have a story to tell about this one!

While an au pair in Paris and Normandy in around 1984, I was given a day off with a German friend of mine, who was also an au pair, this time to my employer's sister. We spent the day at the American Film Festival at Deauville. It was fabulous and we probably saw five films including the film, and public, debut of Kim Basinger in The Natural, which starred Robert Redford and Glenn Close.

Susanne and I were out on the sunny, sand swept, streets of Deauville trotting about between film venues, when we realised that the limo passing us contained Rock Hudson, flanked by two very glamorous blondes. Rock was there to open a tribute to the films of George Stevens, including Giant, with James Dean.

We followed the limo, dressed like a pair of tramps, for we were ne'er do well students, and watched Rock get out of the car and walk up the steps of a swanky hotel into a press conference. In those days, there was very little security, and so Susanne and I sneaked into the back of the ballroom, employing sheer curiosity and bravado! It wasn't until people started asking questions of the famous Hollywood star, and we tacitly realised that we stuck out like sore thumbs, as we were holding neither mic' nor camera nor pencil and pad, and a couple of the journos were staring inquisitively, so we slunk away like the wannabes that we were, laughing hysterically at our derring do!

8. You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who do you pick?



Nah, nah, nah! In all reality, I'm finding this really difficult, because I don't ever think I'd be in this position, so I don't have a 'fallback position'!

Oh, hold on... I guess I'd have to be younger, and he'd have to be sedated, but I do have a soft spot for Dave Grohl!


9. Now that you’ve slept with two different people in a row, you seem to be having an excellent day because you just came across a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk. Holy crap, a hundred bucks! How are you gonna spend it?

A gift to charity - Or a handbag - I would honestly be torn between the two, if I could not return the money to whoever had dropped it first - I'm that kind of honest...




10. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

New York - I've never been, and I'd love to have the chance to see the art there, catch a Yellow Cab, visit the Empire State Building and take the ferry on the river, and even perhaps visit one or two shops - Who knows?!


11. Upon arrival to the aforementioned location, you get off the plane and discover another hundred-dollar bill. Now that you are in the new location, what are you gonna do?

Did anyone mention a handbag? This one's a fake, but it's a bit of fun...


12. Your dream date. Who, where and why?

See 7. and 8, Maxim's Paris!


13. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. It is…?

Margaritas - I scarcely ever drink them, so it is a treat, and there are vitamins in the lime, right! It counts as one of your 5 Fruit & Veg per day, non?! I am nil by mouth in terms of alcohol at the mo', pending my back op, so this looks very inviting indeed!




14. Okay; girls and gay guys stand over here; guys and lesbians over there (I know and love my readership) …

Girls and gay guys first: You're in bed with Marilyn Monroe, Doris Day and Salma Hayek. Who's gonna be the lucky girl? (you're only allowed one).

And similarly, guys and lesbians: You're in bed with Cary Grant, Paul Newman and Johnny Depp. Who's gonna be the lucky guy? (again, you're only allowed one).
Give your reasons.

What's the obsession with this Meme and sex?! Doris - She could sing me to sleep with Once I had a secret love..., and I would let her dogs get on the bed too!


15. Rufus appears out of nowhere with a time-travelling phone booth. You can go anytime in the PAST. What time are you travelling to and what are you going to do when you get there?

Georgian England, with a toothbrush and toothpaste - no bark for me to brush my pearlies! I would look for Mr Darcy proper! He was real, wasn't he?


16. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?

Decency to one another, oh and 'Love the one you're with!'



17. You have been given the opportunity to create the half-hour TV show of your own design. What is it called and what’s the premise?

Travels with my rants... Enabling people to properly debate the issues of the day, sensibly, and not like on Jeremy Kyle...


18. What is your favorite curse word?

I wish I could say it were something innocent like "pants!", but it isn't...


19. You have a choice of two doors, one of which you MUST go through; the first leads to a roomful of spiders, the second to a roomful of clowns. Which is it to be?

Clowns - no contest...


20. Your house is on fire! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object (that's "inanimate" … leave your kids to burn; you know you want to). So what’s the item?

Probably my handbag (or purse for our cousins over the pond...) - A handbag? I'd guess you'd need evidence of identity, access to cash, and our passports, just in case you had to flee the country with a blanket over your head, before being arrested for fraud... Did I say that out loud??!



And with a free hand, I'd nab the oil painting we have of an old open Dutch barge boat and its passengers, including a clergyman reading from his bible, in a storm. It is 'after' an old Dutch master, painted by a family friend of my OH, GJ and is absolutely irreplaceable because he is sadly no longer with us... It was a wedding present from him to us, after we tried to buy another of his paintings (a pansy in a glass of water - in sepia) from an art gallery, then found it was one he hadn't wanted to put up for sale. When he found out about our disappointment, he was happier to part with the Dutch painting...