25 Random Things about Me

Here's a little 'thing' that is doing the rounds on some of my favourite book blogs. I first saw it on Kate's blog Biblophile Book Club and Joanne from Portobello Book Blog has also joined in.

I think it's really great to learn a little more about the people behind the blogs, so thought I give it a go myself.  I'm hoping that Leah from Reflections of a Reader will join in too.

So, here goes ......

1. What is your middle name?

My middle name is Maria.  My Mum tells me that she named me after Julie Andrews' character in The Sound of Music which was made the year before I was born. 

2. What is your favourite drink?

I guess that depends on where I am, and what time it is. However, I could NOT live without tea.  Strong, milky, no sugar, Yorkshire Tea. I work from home and drink gallons of the stuff, the kettle is never cold.  I do like a nice Cortado coffee, and am very fond of Greek Coffee  too.  My alcholic drink of choice is either cider or rose wine. 

 3. What is your favourite song at the moment?

I'm a huge fan of music, and love going to see live bands. In fact, I'm off to see The Levellers tonight at Doncaster Dome, I've lost count of the times that I've seen them, they are pretty fabulous.  I don't really keep up with current chart music, but I do love Adele's new song; Hello.

4. What is your favourite food?

Oh Crikey, this one is very hard. I love food! I will try most things once. I couldn't live without fruit, I snack on grapes all day long. I'm a huge lover of potatoes, especially new Jersey Royals, boiled and served with good butter and some salt.

5. What was the last thing you bought?

Just this morning I bought tickets to a show at Sheffield Lyceum Theatre. This is a Christmas present for my brother and his partner. I won't say what the show is, just in case they read this.  Other than that, yesterday I popped to the Co-op and bought a box of Rice Crispies, some cat food and The Daily Mirror.

 6. Favourite book of all time?

 Another almost impossible question that I find so difficult to answer. I love To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, short but so so beautiful. However, I think my favourite book has to be The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough for many reasons,  not least because myself, my Mum and my late Nana all read it over a few weeks and spent many hours talking about it. I love that memory.

7. Favourite colour?

For clothes; black or grey, but I love purple.

8. Do you have any pets?

Oh yes, in fact they own me, I am their slave. Two cats; Costa and Nero. They are brother and sister and are eight years old. Costa is a little madam, Nero is a big fat lazy lump.

9. Favourite perfume?

I don't have a signature scent, or any particular favourite. I use lots of different perfumes. At the moment I really like the Shay & Blue fragrances, I also really like the Ghost range.

10. Favourite holiday?

I think these questions originated from the US, and this relates to public holidays such as Christmas and Easter, but I'm going to answer it in terms of holidays/vacations.  I am a total Greece addict. We are lucky enough to have two holidays per year; two weeks in May/June and a week in September and we nearly always go to Greece. Our favourite spot is Arillas on the north west coast of Corfu, with the beautiful island of Paxos coming a close second. I love everything about Greece; the people, the food, the history, the humour, the welcome, the weather.

11. Are you married?

Yes, to the lovely Martin. We got married in the Caribbean in May 1998, just the two of us, it was a perfect day. We are best mates and laugh a lot!

12. Have you ever been out of the country?  If so, how many times?

Now I KNOW these questions originated from the US!!  Yes, I've been out of the country. I spent every summer of my childhood in Ireland, my mother's homeland.  When I was eleven I went to France on a school trip.  I didn't leave the country after that for many years, except for a couple of trips back to Ireland, until we got married in the Caribbean. Since then we've been to France, The Netherlands, Cyprus, Turkey, Rhodes, Kos, Crete, Corfu, Paxos, Ithaka, Lefkada, Zakynthos and Spain.

13. Do you speak any other language?

I really wish that I could speak other languages, and am quite ashamed that I can't.  I know a few words in Greek, French and Spanish but it really is just a few words.

14. How many siblings do you have?

I have one younger brother, James. He's four years younger than me and lives with his twelve year old son.

15. What is your favourite store?

I love shopping and browsing and could happily spend a full day wandering around the shops.  I love those shops that sell knick knacks, the things that you don't need but really really want. I adore a good bookshop, both new books and second-hand and I am a dedicated M&S Simply Food store fan too.

16. Favourite Restaurant?

I don't go very often, as it's quite expensive and really hard to get a table, but I love The Bronze Pig in Lincoln. It's run by a local guy who was a runner up on Celebrity Masterchef and it is perfection from the minute you sit down to the moment that you leave.  I'm also a big Nandos fan!

17. When was the last time that you cried?

I rarely cry because I'm sad, but often cry from anger and frustration. The last time I really did that heaving, snotty, can't-get-your-breath crying was last year, on the way home after having four teeth implants. It hurt a lot.  

18. Favourite Blog?

This is impossible. I read lots of blogs, and enjoy lots and lots of them for varying reasons.  Apart from book blogs, I also follow Not Dressed As Lamb which is a fabulous style and beauty blog aimed at the over 40s. I'm also a huge fan of foodie blogs, and especially love Yorkshire Pudd. 

19. Favourite Movie?

These really are difficult questions! We do go to the cinema quite often, and watch a wide variety of films. I do have a few favourites, but in terms of 'watch again' factor, there are two that I could watch over and over; Dirty Dancing and The Full Monty.

20. Favourite TV Show?

No doubt about this one. There are times when our TV stays switched off for a week or more. I find it difficult to follow a series due to daft working hours but I ALWAYS watch Masterchef, all of them. Ordinary Masterchef, Celebrity Masterchef, Professional Masterchef - I love it.

21. PC or Mac?

I use an old and battered PC that really needs to be replaced. I have a laptop for work.

22. What phone do you have?

An iPhone 6. I really like it, it's so simple to use and the camera is amazing.

23. What is your favourite pastime?

No surprises here; reading is my passion.

24. Can you cook?

Yes, and I really enjoy cooking. I have a bit of a cookery book addiction and love looking through them. I almost always cook an evening meal from scratch, and love my slow cooker. I like experimenting, but I'm not a cordon bleu cook in any way, more of a 'chuck it all together and see what happens' sort of person. I don't bake though, I'm a terrible baker.

25. Do you have any tattoos or piercings?

My ears are pierced but over the years I've found it more and more difficult to wear earrings as they irritate my ears. I used to be able to wear anything in my ears, from plastic to gold, but not anymore. I had my nose pierced about twenty years ago and wore a very small diamond stud in it up until a couple of years ago when I lost it and decided not to replace it.  I have three tattoos; a (very bad) blue jellybaby at the top of my right leg that really needs to be covered over, it's awful.  I have a black celtic design on my ankle that I had done one drunken night in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, I have a quotation tattoo on the inside of my left arm, it reads "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. ~ Jimi Hendrix" 

So there you are, that's me in a nutshell!  I really hope you enjoyed reading this.

Have a great day!! 

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