Thanks to A Guy Called Bloke who has invited readers to answer these thought-provoking questions.  I have given my 12 answers below, and I’d be interested to read yours!

  1. How spontaneous are you?

Quite spontaneous in fact, now that we have no dependents.  Sometimes I leap up from my armchair and announce to Sam that I fancy a bike ride or a walk.  If he’s not working he will usually come out with me.  If the weather is fine I might suggest going down to the beach or having a BBQ.  It’s nice sometimes not to think ahead and just live for the moment!

  1. How flirtatious would you say you are? If that is not the word you would use, then try the alternatives of ‘teasing’ or ‘playful’.  How much are you of this?

If you’d asked me this 40 years ago then I would have said yes, I was more playful than flirtatious and enjoyed a bit of banter with the boys.  However, I’m 62 now and I’m done with all that.  There was a chap who tried his luck a couple of years ago, but my son soon put him straight!

  1. How serious are you as a person?

Not very serious at all, really.   I have a good sense of humour and am a terrible giggler if the fancy takes me.  I get the giggles at the most inappropriate times.  It’s terribly embarrassing.

  1. Do you think the older we become, then certain emotions are easier to handle, say as an example ‘grief’?

We can cope with emotions better as we get older and mellower.  Teenagers tend to get rather hysterical over matters that older people would not.

  1. What is the most adventurous thing you have done to date?

Last summer I inched anti-clockwise around an extremely narrow and slippery ledge circling St. Helens Fort with nothing between me and the rocks below.  I did this because it was considered good luck!  In the photo below you can see part of the ledge:

DSC00419

  1. What’s the craziest or riskiest thing you have ever done and simply got away with it or got caught doing it?

Rules are made to be broken and I’m a bit rebellious, but ah… we won’t go there…

  1. What do you think the future is of dating, and other ‘other’ now that social distancing has become part of your life? Will your life ‘up close and personal’ with people now be different?

I will probably try to avoid large crowds of people now and also public transport.  Thankfully I’ve been happily married for nearly 40 years and have no interest in dating, but for those younger people who want to date, all I can say is… beware!

  1. How different do you really think you are to the next person? Are you prim and proper, strait-laced and serious, wild and abandoned, or rebellious and controversial?

Yes, quite different I think.  I can be rather anti-social and a loner at times, although strangely I do enjoy a family get-together or a party.  I’m genial, optimistic and an aesthete, coupled with the aforementioned touch of rebellion.

  1. During this time of global concern, how has your thinking changed with regards the planet, conservation and climate issues … or has it not changed one little bit?

It seems that money, livelihoods and profit reign supreme over conservation and climate issues.  Because of this our planet is on the way to hell in a handcart.

  1. What ‘topical’ issues considered taboo by society are you deeply passionate with and about to the point of doing something about it?

I care deeply about the destruction of trees.  Thousands and thousands of acres of woodlands and forests have vanished in my lifetime.  I can’t even bear to see fir trees cut down just because it’s Christmas.  I once started a petition to stop the chopping down of trees at Christmastime, but it seems the majority of people would rather cut down a tree, put it in their front room for a fortnight, and then when it’s butt naked of needles and lifeless, dump it on January 6th.

  1. What’s more important, and/or is there a difference between friendship and companionship, and if so, what is that difference?

I would imagine a companion is around more than a friend?

  1. What is your passion as regards writing genres? A) what is your chosen genre, and B) what is the genre you might like to write about but lack confidence to start?

I like writing about family dynamics and relationships, and recently I’ve got into writing paranormal stories.  I know how popular fantasy books are, but I wouldn’t have the confidence (or the imagination) to write a fantasy novel.