I've been tagged....

I've been tagged (thanks Eyechild ). 5 less than obvious things about me. Not easy. Why couldn't I get the 'contents of your handbag/purse' tag?

Firstly: The road less travelled. And I don't mean anything philosophical here - I just find myself drawn to the less obvious routes. Crikey, who wouldn't avoid the M6? The lanes, the tracks, the 'no through roads'. Example: for many years my mother drove daily from Banbury to Shipston on Stour and back - and never once in all those years deviated and took that enticing little right hander down the lane and through the trees. Now me, I'd have been onto that like a rat up a drainpipe - curious to find out where it led and what it led to. I have to know what's where and how it fits together. And it's not just a country thing either - I got as much pleasure exploring, dog on lead (wonderful excuse a dog on a lead) the alleys, ginnels, back streets, recs, estates, the derelict wastelands with forgotten streams, the scrubby wilderness of post industrial Stockport. I like maps too.

2. I've read Dodie Smith's 'I Capture the Castle' at least once a year since I was aged 11. I have no wish to see the film. The pictures are in my head and never change and the words are as fresh as ever. (My eye is seeking it out on the bookshelf even as I write.) Be reassured I do read other things; Recently I have been entranced by the work of Isabel Allende and in the case of Brett Easton Ellis, something of an astonished voyeur.

3. The summer of 1971 had shaped up rather well - the agricultural boyfriend had been dumped, school was a distant memory. These were long and sunny days followed by balmy evenings - music was west coat east coast motown reggae hippy folky and the incredible string band. Life was indeed suffused with a golden glow. During this blissful period I went to a party in the grounds of a large mansion - everyone was young, beautiful and so alive (and probably chemically out of it) ...my dress was gauzy, floaty, floral and empire line, trimmed with dark blue satin ribbon. I'd bought it in Dorothy Perkins nightwear department and to this day don't know how I got a. out of the house without parental warnings and b. walked the length of a busy road in what was essentially a diaphanous nightie. I wouldn't do it now - but am so glad I did it then.

4. I once fainted at the feet of my brothers' maths teacher while at a party held by my parents. I think this was my escape mechanism well and truly kicking in...'Get me out of here! Now.' Dreadful party. People in crimplene suits. Maths teachers. Teachers. Cheese and pineapple on sticks - sooo sophisticated. Not. As I said: 'Get me out of here NOW!' Even then.

5. Favourite joke: Name a fish that begins with 'W' and ends with 'W'
'Walthamstow - it's a place.'
Neat. Very neat.

So now I get to do the tagging: over to The Onion, Examcrisis and an Alpine Adventurer - let's have 5 less obvious things about you. My circle of bloggers is even smaller than the Eyechilds. *sob, sob.*