Anything But Books ~ a fun blog tag item that amused me, and I hope will amuse you too.
I’m pleased to take part in one of those random questions posts, after being tagged by author @TerryTyler4 – you can read her post HERE
Q1. Name a cartoon that you love.
I don’t watch cartoons anymore, but I used to love Top Cat, and I’m sure would watch it again if I saw it on TV. I didn’t realise of course, as a child, that it was a parody of The Phil Silvers Show, and that Top Cat himself was supposed to sound like Sergeant Bilko – and it was the first time at 6 years old that I ever heard that sharp, New York way of talking. I didn’t really know what it was, but I loved it.
Q2. What is your favourite song right now?
Oh dear, I hardly ever listen to music, but yesterday when I was constructing an Ikea bookcase and drawers (PS, they’re fab!), I was listening to a radio station that only plays 1980s music, an era I like very much. So my current favourite song which has been in my head ever since, is ‘Waiting for a Star to Fall’, by Boy Meets Girl. Here it is, bet it makes you want to dance around the room too!
Waiting for a Star to Fall
Q3. What could you do for hours that isn’t reading?
Dance classes – I discovered the joy of dancing about 4 years ago, having never previously had the time to go to classes. Now it’s something I do most days of the week. I attend adult beginner ballet classes, and would encourage anyone who is able to do this, to go along. It’s an eye opener. I’ve got my bronze and silver medal awards. I like Latin dancing best, and like to think I look like this, but suspect I look more like Russell Grant on Strictly!
Q4. What is something that you love to do that your followers would be surprised by?
Housework – there, that’s not very interesting, is it, or indeed anything that I imagine would prompt any of my followers or friends to say ‘outrageous, how can this be?’ – but I love to create order out of chaos, as my mother used to call it. Then sit down and watch Strictly with a bottle of wine and 2 straws, as a reward for a job well done!
Q5. What is your favourite, unnecessarily specific thing to learn about?
When I go to another country, I try to learn at least a few phrases of the language so that I can make an effort to interact with people. I’m already OK with French and Spanish, but learned few words of Catalan and Italian when I had to, which made me very chuffed. Turkish, however, completely baffled me – even the words for ordinary phrases such as ‘good morning’ and ‘thank you’, were beyond me, much to my annoyance and frustration. Seriously, look it up and have a go! Unless you’re Turkish, of course, in which case you probably can’t understand why I’m so useless at it.
Q6. What is something unusual you know how to do?
Aha! 30 years ago, I was a croupier at the Ritz Casino in London, dealing blackjack and roulette to the ludicrously rich and A-List famous. I worked in this very room here, in a posh frock! Don’t play cards with me – or at least, not for money.
Q7. Name something that you’ve made in the last year.
A large amount of cakes. I’m not interested in cooking, but I love baking. My brother-in-law forbids me the house unless I’ve brought him one. His latest favourite is my coffee and walnut cake:
Q8. What is your most recent personal project?
I’ve spent months doing up my flat, and it’s been exhausting, infuriating, expensive and now – most gratifying! I’ve pretty much finished. How do you like my proofreader’s wallpaper, pretty good, eh?!
Q9. Tell us something that you think of often.
Like my sister @TerryTyler4, I think about my father often. He recently passed away, and we were very close. He was a wonderful person. I took this photo of him in August.
Q10. Tell us something that’s your favourite, but make it oddly specific.
I am a compulsive viewer of The Big Bang Theory, can watch repeat episodes endlessly, and could win a trivia quiz about it any time. I didn’t watch it for years, thought it was a science programme that wouldn’t interest me, until a friend suggested I watch one episode and I was hooked. The writing is incredibly clever, you have to concentrate to keep up sometimes. And the acting is perfect. Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik are my heroes.
Thanks for reading this, if anyone’s interested. And if anyone would like to discuss The Big Bang Theory with me, I’m up for it at any time.
I’m not tagging anyone, so I hope that’s all right with the rest of you! Thanks for asking me, Terry (she’s my sister, by the way, the one who kindly made me fish fingers and broccoli for dinner 3 nights running, as documented in her post).
How I have loved her work since someone gave me ‘The Age of Innocence’ twenty years ago (before the film came out!) It includes ‘The Old Maid’, from which they made the film of the same name starring Bette Davis.
