You can choose five dinner guests, dead or alive - who would they be?
(I was also asked who I would most like to meet / spend a day with and why, so that will be covered by this.) With this question, one tends to immediately think of famous people or others they admire. And there are many people like that it would be really cool to meet or just be around and listen to or watch them speak or whatever. Like the Queer Eye Fab Five! But I'm going to make this one six people, and say my four late grandparents - Gillian, Richard, Jean, and Chaz - and my mum's late grandmother Meg, and my dad's late aunt Dot. So I could get to know them all better, as people as well as grandparents, and connect with them as the adult I am now. I wish I'd had better and closer relationships with them. I'd ask them to tell me their stories and would audio-record them to write them down later, or I'd ask them to write them down in their own words. I love real-life stories. And I'd ask Aunty Dot for her marmalade recipe. It was the best marmalade ever.
What is your favourite song, and why?
As I said in my previous Q&A, I don't tend to have one overall favourite of anything, there's too much variety so it's difficult to compare and decide. But, thinking about it, my most beloved songs are definitely the following (in no particular order), for the simple reason that they are the ones that most move me.
- Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel: https://youtu.be/uRQIic97g6U
- In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel: https://youtu.be/B3kFPBtc9BE
- I'll Find My Way Home - Jon & Vangelis: https://youtu.be/ePE9w6D2JWg
- Adiemus - Karl Jenkins with Miriam Stockley: https://youtu.be/nQ6ppi6yBkc
If you had to live on a deserted island for the rest of your life and could take just three things, what would they be?
I'll answer this as if my survival, health, basic comfort, and communication needs are taken care of and the things I'm choosing are extra comforts or luxuries. Hmmm. I don't know! Maybe a notebook and pen (or, y'know, a lifetime supply), some favourite books (or if I'm allowed to just pick one then Persuasion or Pride & Prejudice), and some binoculars to watch the wildlife with.
If you could eat just one cuisine for the rest of your life what would it be?
Italian. There's enough variety to keep it from getting boring or unhealthy, and it's all about fresh, great quality ingredients and seasonality and making something wonderfully tasty out of not very much.
What's your favourite country?
This might be a bit of a surprise, given all the places I've been, but I'm going to say Great Britain, more specifically England. Now, I am far from being patriotic. I have never and will never own a St George's Cross flag or a Union Jack. Our history is not something to be proud of in many instances. Politically, I have been ashamed to be British since the Brexit referendum, and I thoroughly dislike and distrust our current government (polite understatement, btw). But while I am British, I am also European, a citizen of the world, and a member of the human race. There are many things I love and admire about other countries and cultures, and we are blessed to be such a multicultural country. I love Wales and Ireland, and Scotland even more so. But I am English. My mum says I'm a stereotypical English Rose. My love of this country is largely due to the beautiful and varied countryside, and nostalgia and sentiment. It's about Jane Austen and rolling green hills and roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, the Proms and picnics and Wimbledon, Marmite and bluebell woods and the National Trust... allotments, crumpets, fish and chips, the Lake District, garden centres, agricultural shows, pubs, Sunday walks, chalk streams, hedgerows, Cornish pasties, pork pies, canals and narrowboats, The Vicar of Dibley, 'The Lark Ascending', steam trains, Twickenham, village greens and fetes, seagulls, the Shipping Forecast, Morris dancers, Alfred Wainwright, Edward Elgar, Beatrix Potter, The Wind in the Willows, jelly and ice-cream, cheese and pickle sandwiches, the Chelsea Flower Show, Bath, Oxford and Cambridge, Stonehenge, West Country cider, scones and jam and clotted cream, the WI, JMW Turner, 'Jerusalem', the Royal Family, Only Fools and Horses... I could go on and on. One of my favourite books is a charming miscellany by Alan Titchmarsh, and it contains a few long lists of things that England (and its homes, kitchens, and gardens) would not be England without, and I love it.
If you had to live in any other country in the world, which would it be?
Is Ireland too close to the UK to count? Haha. If I couldn't live in the UK or Ireland, I'd consider Australia or New Zealand, as the lifestyle/pace of life there is much more relaxed and they're much less densely populated. (Although I haven't actually been to NZ. Landscapes look stunning, though, and Jacinda Arden seems to be a good leader.) They're just so far away. Maybe Denmark, widely considered to be one of the happiest countries to live in, due to its strong welfare state, relatively high level of equality, a strong community spirit, and sense of common responsibility - my kind of place. Or maybe just Italy, where I could live in a pretty little rural town and get to know lots of characters and maybe work doing something to do with the community, and learn to cook (as well as eat) loads of gorgeous food.
If you could live the life of a character in an already-existing film, who would it be?
Perhaps Anne Shirley in the Anne of Green Gables films and books. Her life before moving to Avonlea is miserable, but once she arrives there and is adopted by the Cuthberts, she finds family and love and friendship and a sense of belonging and happiness, and spends a great deal of her time outdoors in a rural idyll. And she ends up with Gilbert Blythe, who is one of the ultimate romantic heroes - never settle for anything less than a Gilbert Blythe. Or, there's a Netflix film where an American woman enters a contest and wins a derelict inn in a rural New Zealand community so travels there to renovate it, intending to sell it and go home afterwards, but the place, people, and lifestyle win her over in the end so she decides to stay. I like that idea, of being welcomed into a tight-knit rural community and running an inn or B'n'B.
Would you rather have teeth for fingernails, or fingernails for teeth?
Well this is a strange question the likes of which I haven't come across before. Um. Teeth for fingernails. Fingernails for teeth would mean that your 'teeth' would not be strong enough to bite or chew food.
Which Disney princess do you relate to the most?
Merida, from Brave. She wants to be independent and live her life her way, and defies the status quo that society pushes on her.
Which element do you feel most connected to, and why?
Earth, I think. Earth energy is all about being grounded, stable, strong, practical... which are the sort of qualities I'd say I most need in my life. I love walking and hiking, and my favourite places are the countryside and woodlands, and mountains, rather than the coast. I love animals. I'm a homebody, and part of earth energy is about feeling at home. I've always been drawn to characters like witches, priestesses, and wise women who live by themselves in the woods, practice plant medicine, and are wise in the ways of the land and the nature spirits. ... If anyone associates me more with a different element, let me know, I'd be interested to hear why (not that I expect many people think on that kind of thing at all, haha).
If you could travel back in time, which year would you go to, and why?
I think I'd go back to pre-Roman Britain. No specific year. Prehistory means pre-written records, which in Britain began with the Romans, so much of what we know about Iron Age, Bronze Age, and Neolithic Britain is not certain. I'd like to learn about it - see what life was like, what the cultures here were like, settlement sizes, how groups and communities were arranged, what hierarchies there were, how they worked with the land, how they treated it and each other (particularly women), what their spiritual beliefs and practices were, learn about the old gods, etc.
If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
Flight! I could get around easily and for free, at any time of day or night. I wouldn't need to learn to drive or pay for public transport, or worry about travelling home by myself after dark. I'd be able to see scenic landscapes from different points of view, like from above, rather than from just one viewpoint on the road or whatever. And it would be fun!
Who in the world would you most like to punch (or shoot with a bow and arrow!), and why?
Haha, so this is a risky question to ask a socialist, intersectional environmentalist, feminist etc. with a strong sense of justice living in a world where right-wing capitalism, consumerism, wealth hoarding, ecological destruction, racism, sexism, violence, inequality, poverty, and countless other wrongs are rampant. Ha. So many people. But I'll just pick Donald Trump and leave it there, he doesn't require any explanation. (And by the way, the bow and arrow is mentioned because I used to do archery! Would love to do it again one day.)
Spring, summer, autumn, or winter?
Autumn! Definitely. The colours of the changing leaves, warming hearty food like soups and stews and pies and crumbles, the wonderful fresh produce of the year's last harvest, cool and crisp weather, the smell of bonfires, etc. Spring is my second favourite season, and it's been lovely to be able to experience it a lot more this year.
What has been your experience of lockdown?
Honestly, wonderful. While the reason for lockdown is awful, I have loved it. If my circumstances were different I would be struggling, as I know many people have been, so I know I'm fortunate and am grateful. I'm the sort of person who wants a slow, quiet life, and finally the world has gone at my pace for a while, so I've been able to do that too without feeling any guilt or pressure to 'speed up' and 'be productive'. My depression and anxiety have disappeared and these last few months have been the happiest for me in literally 10-15 years. I've not been working - was made redundant at the end of Feb - so have had a real break. I've been able to go out for long walks every day along the beach and through the woods, started to learn to identify birds and trees and flowers and other plants, started every morning by watching a live online nature broadcast by Chris Packham and his zoologist stepdaughter Megan McCubbin (and Springwatch over the last few weeks), joined the Facebook group they created for it which has become a real community, and through all of those have deepened my connection to nature, which has always been one of my greatest loves. I've also done reading and jigsaw puzzles and cross-stitching, and surprisingly haven't watched too much telly. It's been lovely. But the thought of returning to "normal" fills me with dread.
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So that's it! Thank you for reading, I know there were a lot of long answers in there so it's been a long post. I hope it was interesting, and if anyone has any more questions either about the ones above or that you'd like me to include in next month's Q&A, please leave a comment below or on my Facebook page, or send me a direct message. Finally, please do 'Like' the post on Facebook and, if you're so inclined, subscribe in the top-right corner to get new posts sent directly to your email inbox (just those, nothing else, I promise!). :)