Five questions from Bright Star...

Bright Star wrote these five questions for me. If you'd like to play along too, post a comment on this post, and I'll then e-mail five questions to you. You should then answer the questions on your blog, and offer to ask 5 questions to others. And so the fun spreads. :)

Right, on to my questions:

What is your favourite sweet/dessert (besides pink cupcakes!)?

I LOVE desserts, although I usually find it difficult to find room for one after a meal out, so desserts tend to become separated from dinner for me...that way I can enjoy them fully! As for my favourite, that's definitely Banoffi Pie. But my top ten (yes, I know that wasn't the question, but this is an important subject, right?) would definitely include...Treacle Sponge Pudding with custard (just like my grandmother used to make), Lemon Meringue Pie, Tiramisu, Strawberry or Cherry Cheesecake, Chocolate Fudge Cake (warm...yummy!), Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce, Strawberry Tart, Pistachio Ice Cream and Lemon Sorbet. Having said that, I almost never have such desserts at home, it's usually fruit for me. I've been eating lots of blueberries and raspberries recently, and at the moment I'm craving water melon.

What is your earliest childhood memory?

I don't have very clear memories of my childhood at all, certainly not before I was 7 or 8 years old. I don't remember anything about the first house I lived in (until I was 5), and my only knowledge of this is from photographs and stories that relatives and family friends have told me. Actually, it's always bothered me that I don't seem to recall much about my early childhood. Most of my friends seem to have much more vivid recollections. So, what is actually my earliest memory? I'm afraid it's not a particularly happy one (sorry B*, I'm sure you intended a jollier answer than this). It is standing in the living room at home with my grandmother. It was the middle of the night and we watched an ambulance take my father to hospital. He'd collapsed and lost a lot of blood (ultimately he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and had part of his stomach removed). My parents and grandmother shielded much of this from me. But I was only 7, and I remember standing in that room feeling very alone and very afraid.

Do you play any sports? If yes, which ones? If not, why not?

I played a few sports at school, mainly because I had to! My main problem is that I'm just pretty useless (particularly at ball sports), and the competitiveness of teams at school just put me off. I did row for a few years, and was quite good at that...I guess because there was no need for me to catch or hit anything! LLH and I also played Badminton for a while too, but as he's a foot taller than me (he's very tall, I'm not especially short!), it was pretty one-sided. So exercise-wise I'm not really a team sport kinda gal. I mainly enjoy walking and hiking, and we've spent several vacations stomping around mountains in beautiful places. I'd also like to learn T'ai Chi and maybe do some yoga.

Do you have the career you imagined for yourself back when you were 12? If not, what did you imagine you would be when you grew up?

When I was 12 I wanted to be a lawyer when I grew up, so I guess I'm still along the same lines. Having said that, I don't think I would ever have dreamt that I would become an academic lawyer, much more the power-dressing LA Law variety. ;) But, to be honest, I don't know that I see myself as an academic lawyer in the long term either. I like what I'm doing right now, and I enjoyed another career in politics before I started my first Law degree 6 years ago, but I don't have a concrete idea of what I want to be doing in five or ten years. I don't think I could be a corporate-type lawyer anymore, but I wouldn't rule out going into practice as a lawyer for a charity or something. I'd also like to explore other opportunities in politics/public service. And, yeah, teaching and research sounds pretty good too.

Are you happy that you've started to blog? What do you think about blogging now that you've had a blog for a little while?

I'm definitely very happy that I've started to blog! I'd been reading blogs for a few months, but kept putting off starting my own, even though I knew I wanted to. What do I think about blogging now? I LOVE IT! I like so many different things about it. I like having a space to write about all sorts of things, whether funny, trivial, serious, happy, sad... I like getting to know other people through their blogs and comments, and I love the sense of community that exists in this part of the blogosphere. It's been a delight to get to know a little about so many interesting and friendly people. I'm also getting quite into photo-blogging, which has made me more interested in photography generally. And, I'm hoping to learn more about html and other technical stuff, which I'm pretty ignorant about right now...watch this space!

Thanks for the questions, B*. :)