Sunday 20 June 2010

Ten bits of scrap!

Colette over at The Pink Pen (http://withinkfromthepinkpen.blogspot.com/) has passed this on to me:
And apparently it means I have to tell you ten bits of stuff about myself.
I found Colette's snippets really interesting and feel like I now know her better!
But I'm not too sure I can tell you anything half as interesting about me.
Come along now - it's a well-known fact that all writers love nothing better than talking about ourselves, isn't it? So surely I can dredge something up!
1. I didn't learn to drive until I was in my thirties and was so scared, I used to come back from lessons crying and needing a drink. I passed the test on my fourth attempt and didn't stop being scared of driving for years.
2. The first time I went abroad was at about 15/16 on a school trip to France. Some friends and I went out of the hotel on our own at night and got chatting to some French boys, but we were caught by one of the teachers and spent the rest of the trip in disgrace.
3. I drink pints of real ale - but not as many as I used to! I also like red wine but too much of it can give me an asthma attack.
4. I met my husband when I was 17 and still at school. We'll be celebrating our Ruby Wedding this year.
5. I wasn't allowed to take 'O' level maths because I was so bad, the school didn't want a failure to mar their reputation. Instead I had to sit an 'easy' arithmetic paper - and failed, badly. But I got A-levels in English and French.
6. After a bit of a wait to get started, we produced three daughters within three and a half years. Their time at university overlapped, with all three of them being at uni in one particular year (at different ends of the country) - and they all got married within just over a year of each other.
7. My first 'books' were teenage romances handwritten in sixpenny notebooks and passed round the class. But my first actual publication was a letter to 'Essex Countryside' magazine when I was nine-and-a-half, about a bird I thought I could identify.
8. I'm a vegetarian, with a particular aversion to fish - the sight and smell of it makes me feel sick - but I cook meat with no problem.
9. I love Shakespeare, and I'm going to the Globe to see Macbeth today!!
10. My favourite band is Bon Jovi, and I'm going to see them at the O2 on Wednesday!! I also like Coldplay and Queen and most rock and pop music.
** Sorry to be a spoilsport but I just can't do the thing where I have to nominate three more people to do this ... they would probably be the same people that have been passing it on already!
But if anyone reading this wants to have a go at this on their own blog - let me know, and I'll read yours - hope you can find something more interesting than mine! **

12 comments:

  1. I found finding out more about you very interesting, Olivia... Maybe I shouldn't have said that as my much beloved thinks I'm stalking you. So far I've met you at the Book Festival, then at Joanne Harris' talk and Ingatestone library all within four months....lol :-)

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  2. they are great facts. I love the idea that you drink pints of real ale. My mum once saw me drinking a pint of lager and was horrified. bet the year that the girls were all at uni was expensive - and the one they got married in.

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  3. I love these - they are very interesting!
    I wasn't allowed to take the maths exam either (not even an easy one) and it's so good to know I'm not alone in that!
    Hope you enjoyed Macbeth (of course you did - what am I saying!) and Bon Jovi on Wednesday - great!

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  4. Ha ha, Jarmara - never thought I'd have a stalker! (only joking, it was good to meet you on those occasions!).

    Nothing wrong with a good pint of beer is there, Colette. And you're right about those expensive years!

    Thanks Teresa. Yes, 'Macbeth' was fabulous - and seeing it performed at 'Shakespeare's Globe' made it all the more of an experience. Really would like to see 'Othello' performed there (my favourite). Looking forward to Bon Jovi now!

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  5. Great snippets :o) I passed my driving test on the fourth attempt too! Lovely that you're approaching your ruby wedding anniversary - quite rare these days I imagine.

    Have a lovely time with Macbeth :o)

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  6. Thanks Karen. The driving test was a nightmare, wasn't it? I gave up after failing the third, left it for another 5 years and then tried again with more determination (but no less nerves!). Yes, it's probably quite unusual these days - 40 years of marriage. And we have a group of good friends - 5 couples - all roughly same age - all still married to their first partners. Spooky??

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  7. Quite an achievement - 40 years of marriage. We're celebrating half that this year and I thought that was good going! Nice to read the "facts"! x

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  8. Thank you, Lydia, and congratulations on your 20 years! To be honest it's probably just as hard to get to 20, as 40. After so long, it stops being an effort and just becomes a habit! (only joking!) ;)

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  9. Just had a go at this.
    If only I could put these on my CV. It would make job interviews much more interesting.

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  10. I've just had a look at your list, D.I.T.D.I. (what a nice acronym that is!) - and I've left you a comment. Let me know how the interview goes if you ever put them on the CV!

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  11. Hi Olivia, I've posted my review on Fenelle Jane's Book. Second posting down.

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  12. Hi Jarmara. Yes - just read the review! That was nice of you. Glad you enjoyed the girls' books. x

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