draliman on life

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

How comfortable are you speaking in front of large groups of people?
Love it, being up there, the centre of attention, all eyes on me, standing in the spotlight.

Wait, that doesn’t sound like me at all.

Hate it, being up there, the centre of attention, all eyes on me, standing in the spotlight.

Final answer.

What would be the best thing you could reasonably expect to find in a cave?
Buried treasure. A dead body. A hitherto undiscovered monster crab. A huge vein of old (this is supposed to say “gold”, thanks Peter!). Ooh, a mermaid.

What did you think was going to be amazing but turned out to be horrible?
Salted chocolate. No, that’s a lie, I expected that to be horrible.

What’s the silliest thing you’ve observed someone get upset about?
All sorts of things. It could be me, it could be someone else. It’s usually something where you get into a “heated discussion” and both sides are so stubborn they refuse to back down, even though it gets sillier and sillier.

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

Is it ever okay to commit a crime? Please explain.
Only if you’re very rich and have no conscience. That way you’ll get off with it and you won’t care who got hurt.

Do you deal with change well?
I don’t like change. It always takes me a while to get used to things.

Do you like birds? The sound of bird song in the morning, taking pictures of them, as food? 
Yes to all! I don’t have many photos of birds though as they keep flying away. Here’s a couple of gulls.

What’s the least used item of clothing you own?
Probably my suit. I wear it one to two times per year (Christmas parties). It’s cool, though. It has a little waistcoat 🙂

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

In your opinion, does patriotism require the belief that one’s country is the greatest on earth?
No. And people who blindly believe that scare me. There are lots of ways you can define “greatest on Earth” anyway. I believe the UK is one of the best places to live overall, but not the best. Basing it on economic and military, it’s probably China but I wouldn’t want to live there.

Why is patriotism considered by some to be the highest of virtues? What is so important about love of country? Shouldn’t we be more concerned about humankind, or the planet as a whole, rather than a single country?
It’s good to love your country. I don’t know who considers patriotism to be the absolute highest of virtues. Sounds like blind faith, no questioning.

What is the relationship between decisions and consequences?
Absolute. You make a decision, it has a consequence. Any decision, big or small. Decision – get out of bed. Consequence – day has begun.

What is social justice?
That’s when someone in the village does something wrong and a mob shows up and dangles them from the nearest tree.

Oh, wait, I just Googled it. It’s not that at all.

What’s one body part you wouldn’t mind losing?
My head. No, I need that. My little toe.

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

What’s something you really resent paying for?
All types of insurance. I don’t like having to pay “just in case”. Grr. Of course, you’re glad of it if your house burns down or your house unexpectedly explodes.

What was the most unsettling film you’ve seen?
Star Trek 5 – The Final Frontier. How could they make something that bad in the midst of the great Star Trek, and actually think it was okay to release and not burn it?

Do you judge people?
I think everyone judges people, whether intentionally or not. The moment you see someone you form an opinion, which will alter over time, but that’s a form of snap judgement.

Finish this sentence: “Back in my day, we…”?
…spent long hot summers riding around the place on our bicycles during long hot summers holidays, not a care in the world…

Gratitude – Please feel free to share an uplifting photo, thought or meme to show your own gratitude. We can all use some good vibes!
A small but significant easing of our lockdown has allowed us to meet one person from outside our household outside, as long as we maintain the 2 metre distance. I went for a couple of walks in the country roads around the village with my friend.

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

Do you have a favourite kind of tree?
Yes, definitely. I’m trying to remember what it’s called. It’s that one with a sort of rough brown bit at the bottom, then it gets narrower as it goes up and sort of branches out into smaller bits. And there are green bits on it higher up.

Hopefully someone can identify it from that description. To summarise – brown at the bottom, branching out, green bits at the top.

What bridges are you happy you burned?
I don’t recall burning any bridges. I like to keep open a way back.

Would you sacrifice yourself (die) for a stranger?
Ha! No, I seriously doubt it. Nobody can truthfully answer that question until they’re actually in the situation, though.

How have your priorities changed since the C-19 virus took over?
I don’t think they have. I’m doing the same things in a different way, that’s all.