draliman on life

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

What did you have for lunch yesterday?
A cheese, piccalilli and tomato roll. Lunch is not my main meal.

Did you have a dessert, and if so, what was it?
Yes, if a chocolate digestive counts as “dessert”. I usually have a banana as well but I ran out 😦

Do you have a sweet tooth?
Yes, to a certain extent.

I read recently that a leading manufacturer has reduced the amount of cocoa in their chocolate biscuits, and it is now referred to as chocolate flavoured. Would you still buy such a product knowing that the chocolate actually isn’t.
It’s a huge brand and very well-known biscuits too! I’m not a fan of “substitute”. One wonders what it is. New! Improved! Now with at least 90% MonoTriPhosphateHydroAlkaSodiumGlutogen!

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

Who/what is your favourite Muppet?
I’m going with Animal. Nobody drums quite like Animal.

Do you enjoy animated movies?
I don’t watch a lot of them. Though I’ve seen little bits of Moana and liked what I saw so I am planning on watching the whole thing at some point.

Have you seen any animated movies remade as Live Action?
I can’t even think of any. Ask me the same question about films and video games (in either direction)…

Can you remember the last animated movie you watched (with or without kids present)
It was Zootropolis (“Zootopia” in America).

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

The clocks go back at the end of October here in the UK. Does your country do the same?
Yes, because I’m that country too 🙂

Do you enjoy Halloween?
I have to remember to buy some sweets because I usually get a couple of groups of greedy kiddies round. But apart from that I don’t do anything. So it’s not too bad, though I hate that I go on high alert every time I hear people walking past outside chattering excitedly…

Dare I ask if you are preparing for Christmas? If you do not celebrate it in your country, do you have any December traditions?
The only thing I’m preparing to do is order the food, as you have to get in early and since it’s all locally sourced (it’s not a supermarket) it’s all top quality and I don’t want to miss out.

Are you likely to have snow anytime soon?
I’m not likely to have snow at all. Snow in Cornwall is sparse and usually confined to a few square miles so it’s the luck of the draw. When driving into work the other morning, though, I did see an amber temperature warning briefly appear on the car’s dashboard. So it briefly dropped below 5 degrees (it goes red below 0C).

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

If you could be a flower or a plant, what would you be and why?
I’d be a bag of self-raising, because I can’t spell.

Do you believe in magic?
I believe that some things which we might think of as magic might one day be possible, as per Arthur C Clarke’s Third Law: “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

Do you believe in Karma?
No. If someone does something mean, it’s up to you to seek them out and knacker them yourself.

Do you live in a community spirited neighbourhood?
I would describe it as “semi-community spirited.”

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

Do you like having your photograph taken?
No, not at all. I’m always the face hidden behind the hand, or a blur as I swiftly turn away.

Did you have a school photograph taken every year?
Yes, at least during secondary school (that’s ages 12-ish to 16-ish).

Do you take photographs using a phone or stand alone camera?
Usually with my phone as it’s always on me, but if I’m going somewhere special out and about I sometimes take my proper camera.

Are you any good at taking photographs?
Not really. I get some good-ish ones but I usually mess up the composition and get too much sky or whatever. On my proper camera, I also don’t know how to use the white balance properly when it’s very bright.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

What colour was your school uniform (if you had one)?
There was no uniform at my Primary school (it’s more usual these days) so it was often shorts and sandals with a little leather satchel.

At Secondary school it was black shoes, grey trousers, grey or white shirt, branded grey jumper, school-colours tie and (optional) black branded blazer.

But why tell you when I can show you? Here I am! Presumably aged around 11 or 12.

When working, did you have to wear a uniform or dress colour code?
Nope. Only very occasionally when I was working a particular hall of residence at university and there was a big conference coming in, I had to be “smart”. And when I had my summer job at the county council’s computer department I had to do full shirt and tie. But since then, it’s trainers, jeans and t-shirt/jumper.

What is your favourite colour to wear?
Blue, black and grey.

What colour would you never wear unless there was no alternative?
Anything too bright.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

Do you revisit or reblog some of your earlier posts?
Not really. I rarely look at old posts and have never reblogged.

Do you have a favourite post/posts?
Maybe some of the flash fictions I wrote back in the day.

How long have you been blogging?
According to that month picker thingy, since July 2011.

Do you have another blog elsewhere?
No, no other blogs anywhere. I have an Instagram account but don’t post photos to it much.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

Is your home heated by radiators, underfloor heating or an open fire?
I have a couple of electric radiators. One has a built-in fan. I also have a couple of oil-filled radiators.

What is a comfortable temperature in the colder months for your home?
Comfortable would be anything above about 20C. That never happens, though. My house generally sits at around 10-12C. Sticking the radiator on for a little while boosts it to 14-15C temporarily. Hot water bottles, duvets and extra jumpers, that’s how I roll.

What is more appealing, a mug of hot coffee or tea, a bowl of warming soup, or stew and dumplings?
Hot soup – it’s somewhat substantial yet warming.

Would you prefer to share the dawning of a new day or a beautiful sunset?
Photo-wise, it can be hard to tell the difference. Psychologically it depends on my mood. Here’s a sunset taken from where my office used to be before we moved into town.

And here’s a sunrise, coincidentally taken from about the same place.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

Would you consider yourself creative (writing, projects, hobbies etc)
I can generally write a passable flash fiction story, but sadly on the arts and crafts side I’m completely incapable of making what’s in my head translate to the arty crafty medium.

What is the ‘bravest’ thing you think you have ever done (faced a fear, stood up for someone/something, etc)
I don’t do brave. That’s not me at all 🙂

If you were to come into a substantial amount of money, what would you do with it?
Pay off my mortgage and immediately retire. If it was a really substantial amount I might look at bigger houses nearby so I’d have a couple of spare rooms.

If you could change something that has been annoying you, what would that be?
Blimey, who knows. More and more stuff annoys me the older I get. I’m sure I didn’t used to get so wound up over little thigs when I was younger.

Here is my post for Share Your World, hosted by Di.

What is more tantalising on your taste buds: frying bacon, freshly baked bread, fresh coffee, apple pie.
The frying bacon. As long as it’s “fried” rather than “frying”, which would burn my taste buds clean off.

What is the most unpleasant to you: onions, garlic, smells of the country, personal hygiene.
Poor personal hygiene. Ack.

What is the most annoying: a continuously barking dog, whiny bratty children, loud music, bad language.
The continuously barking dog. There was one where I lived years ago, barked from around 2am to 4am continuously every night. Woke me up and kept me awake.

What is most likely to make you smile: kittens/puppies, toddlers splashing in puddles, a baby’s smile, an elderly couple holding hands.
Kittens!