10 Random Facts

I've been tagged by Rebecca from A Gypsy Caravan for this meme ... so here are ten random facts about me, in entirely random order:

1. My favourite colour is pink.
So it is a good thing that I have three girls and can indulge in lots of pink things. Before having children my favourite colour was yellow, so perhaps I have simply been influenced by my surroundings!

2. I have black thumbs.
I can't garden. I can't grow things. I can kill plants without even touching them ... even when I water them, which isn't often. Most of the few things I remember to plant die of thirst. Sadly, I fantasise about having an allotment (a plot of land you rent from the local council) and growing my own vegetables. I once mentioned this to my neighbour, who laughed hysterically.

3. I like sheep.
I grew up on a farm, and my favourite animals were always the sheep. Cows were dumb, pigs were noisy, but sheep were kind of restful. I always used to get the job of bottle feeding orphaned lambs. And I like knitting ... which uses wool ... which comes from sheep ...

4. I am allergic to horses.
They make me sneeze and my eyes run. As a child I even used to get blisters round my eyes from being with them. I am allergic to animal dust generally - very convenient, that, when living on a farm! - but horses are much the worst. Perversely, cats rarely bother me, which is odd considering that they are so often an allergy trigger.

5. I once walked 120 miles from London to the national shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham.
On my own, to raise money for the Sue Ryder Foundation. I did it in a week, which for someone with no experience of long distance walking, turned out to be a rather ambitious pace. I have never ached so much before or since! I got up in the morning aching, started walking and just kept going ... stopping for a rest made me ache more, so I mostly just plodded on. Tevye, who was recovering from back surgery at the time, was mission control. He kept getting plaintive phonecalls along the lines of "if I ever suggest doing anything like this ever again, STOP ME!!!!".

6. I'm a roller coaster fan.
As are both Angel and Star, which gives me an excuse. Angel is now tall enough to ride serious rollercoasters, and I had promised her a trip to Alton Towers last spring to ride on Air and Rita: Queen of Speed. It had to be postponed due to pregnancy, but she is still on a promise. I can take any amount of being flung around upside down, but I find ferris wheels seriously scary as I'm not keen on heights. It is the being stuck at the top while the lower cars are loaded and unloaded that does for me!

7. I love trains.
If it were feasible and affordable, I would always choose to travel by train. I like being able to sit back, relax and watch the countryside zoom past. So much nicer than being in a giant tin can in the sky, or being stuck in a traffic jam in the car. There is a romance to trains - how could hoping on a plane to Venice possibly compare to the Orient Express?

8. I hate complaining.
I will put up with any amount of abysmal service or inconvenience rather than complain. It's an English thing. Tevye, being Jewish, doesn't have the same diffidence. He is on a one man campaign to eliminate the misuse of the apostrophe. He complains. I stand at what I hope is a safe distance away, trying to look as though I am not with him, in a state of mortified embarrassment.

9. I went to boarding school for 9 years.
From age 8 (only a few months older than Star) to age 17. My parents had what seemed very good reasons at the time.

10. I would love to live in Cornwall.
My great-aunt and uncle lived in Cornwall for much of my childhood. They were grandparents to me in all but name, so we visited often and I fell in love with the place. One day, when Tevye is retired and the children grown, I picture us living out our twilight years there.

Cottage Blessings
Doris's Deeds
Dumb Ox Academy
Family Centred Life
Karen Edmisten

... you're tagged! Apologies if anyone else has already tagged you.