Welcome to a cloudy and dull South Manchester. January is almost over and I am delighted because, as regular readers will know, I hate January and February. I won’t go into this now but it is a relief that days are getting longer and the weather is improving (although February is to come and that can sometimes bite me on the arse as I look forward to spring).

Without any further ado, let’s dive into some silly questions from Sunday Stealing.

1. When did you last sing to yourself

This morning. I was listening to the latest single by Riverside. Here it is:

2. If you’re male, would you ever rock black nail polish? If you’re female, would you ever rock really, really short hair?

Last time I looked I was male. And the answer is that I would never wear Nail Polish at all, black or otherwise. I am a fan of rock music and while I have seen guys wearing all manner of weird things, I have never been tempted myself. 

3. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?

That’s a difficult question and I don’t like to blow my own trumpet at all. By nature, I am not a person who boasts about anything really; I am quite modest. I guess I have accomplished a lot of things but there are people who would say “call that an accomplishment?”. Here are a couple to consider:

• My two kids.

• I have travelled to lots of countries and I plan to add more to that list. 

• I am comfortable and happy as a grumpy old 60 year old.

That will do. I am sure others have accomplished far more than I have.

4. What is the first happy memory that comes to mind, recent or otherwise?

Going abroad for the  first time last year after the pandemic was a fairly significant happy memory. There are many others but after being locked down for so long and managing to escape being stir-crazy constantly, I was delighted to finally get away.

5. If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living?

I would want to know how I was going to die and take steps to avoid it. Wouldn’t everybody?

6. Do you have a bucket list? if so, what are the top three things?

I’ve posted about bucket lists before. I don’t have one but I basically went through each item on one person’s bucket list to indicate whether I had done it or whether I would do it. I have considered creating one when I retire and have more time to actually achieve them but I’m not sure that I want to commit to doing it. Things may change though. 

Off the top of my head, here are three things I shall consider:

• Write a novel. I am currently chipping away at a novel on my day off each week. It is in its infancy and quite amateurish but it is evolving. It will take some time to produce the first draft and then lots and lots of time to rewrite most of it (for being crap basically). Who knows? I may even self-publish it on Amazon. 

• Travel to as many countries as I can. This is a work in progress. Last year I added Denmark to the list of countries I had visited. We are going to two more in the next two years: Morocco in April and Malaysia sometime in 2024. 

• Make an album and release it on Spotify. I am teaching myself piano and am making fair progress. It is quite hard but I am getting there slowly. For me this is like a project. As soon as I can play and invent simple tunes, I am thinking of buying a synthesiser and exploring producing new instrumental tunes. A friend of mine recently “released” an album on Spotify and I listened to it yesterday. It gave me the idea of possibly doing that myself. It is not necessarily going to happen – but if you don’t have a goal (however difficult) how can you grow? That’s a good philosophy to embrace, I reckon.

7. How do you feel about tattoos and piercings? 

I don’t mind other people having them but I would never have either. 

8. Do you feel you had a happy childhood?

I had a tricky childhood but it was happy I think. I come from a working class background and I managed to find my way out of that into a more comfortable lifestyle and without the support of my family that would never have happened. 

8. When did you last cry in front of another person?

I can't remember but I probably blubbed watching a cheesy movie in front of Mrs PM.

9. Who in the world would you most like to receive a letter from and what would you want it to say?

I would like to receive a letter from King Charles III telling me that I had been knighted for just being an all round great guy. And then I would write back saying "Thanks -  but no thanks."

10. What is your night time routine?

Usually, I watch a little TV first and when I feel tired I will lock up, floss, brush my teeth and read in bed until I start to doze off (usually within about fifteen minutes). I will then remove the cats from the bedroom (so they don’t wake us in the middle of the night) and hopefully go to sleep. 

11. When was your last 3am conversation with someone, and who were they to you?

I can’t recall when I was last having a conversation at 3am. It will almost certainly been with Mrs PM though.

12. If you were about to die, and you could only say one more sentence to one person, what would you say and to whom?

I would say “See you in your dreams” to Mrs PM.

13. What is your opinion on brown eyes?

My mum had brown eyes as did my very first proper girlfriend. I love them. 

14. Pick a quote and describe what it means to you personally.

I will cheat and list a few:

“If an earthquake were to engulf England tomorrow, the English would manage to meet and dine somewhere among the rubble, just to celebrate the event.” – Douglas Jerrold

“The English are not happy unless they are miserable.” – George Orwell

“In the bible, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights- they called it a disaster. In England, we call it summer! – Unknown 

“Well, you’ll be glad to know that scientists have finally explained why we’ve been enduring this rather long spell of disappointing weather. Apparently…we live in Britain.” — Hugh Dennis

"The sun doesn’t live in England; it comes here on holiday when we’re all at work" - Benny Bellamacina

"Being an England supporter is like being the over-optimistic parents of the fat kid on sports day" - John Bishop

They are funny and tell me that we love a bit of self-deprecation in England. That’s why I love my country.

15. What would you title the autobiography of your life so far?

I have started one. It’s called “Insignificant Memoirs!”