“The satisfaction of a list: Who doesn’t love a list?” Who doesn’t love a list indeed? They are apparently one of the most popular genres of posts in the blogosphere, almost guaranteeing more views than might normally be expected. This fact alone is enough to explain why there are so many. I’m quite partial to…
“Imperfections – in things, in people, in places – add character to life. Tell us about an imperfection that you cherish.” Nothing that actually exists is perfect, and nothing should be. The master masons who built the great cathedrals of Europe always deliberately left something unfinished so as not to be seen as trying to…
“Alma Mater: You’ve been asked to speak at your high school alma mater – about the path of life. Draft the speech.” Firstly, let me say that I am greatly honoured to have been invited to talk to you all on my old school’s Speech Day. I well remember attending these events myself when I…
“Does a messy home…make you anxious and cranky, or is cleaning something you just do before company comes over?” Among many quotable quotes attributed to Quentin Crisp (aka, to British readers at least, ‘The Naked Civil Servant’) is this – well, you could probably describe it as a diamond in the dust: “There is no…
“Competition: what activity, task or game brings out your competitive streak?” Apparently, it was the American sportswriter Grantland Rice (no, me neither) who coined the phrase “He writes – not that you won or lost – but how you played the game.” With all due respect: bollocks. I am far more in agreement with the…
“INTJ: Do parties and crowds fill you with energy, or send you scurrying for peace and quiet?” The basic question contained in this latest ‘365 Days of Writing Prompts’ – do I like peace and quiet? – was so simple to answer (we live in a small hamlet that we refer to as Tranquility Base:…
“..What are the six impossible things you believe in?..” My initial reaction when I saw this latest of ‘365 Days of Writing Prompts’ was something along the lines of “List! Yay!” However, having thought long and hard about this, the truth is that I’m really struggling to come up with half a dozen impossible things…
“Comfort zone: What are you more comfortable with – routine and planning, or laissez-faire spontaneity?” In order to protect my carefully cultivated aging-hippy image, I suppose the appropriate response to this latest of ‘365 Days of Writing Prompts’ would be something along the lines of ‘Whatever, man…let the good times roll…I’m a free spirit.’ But I’m…
“Ghostwriter: if you could have any author – living or dead – write your biography, who would you choose?” That’s a good question, and while there could only ever really be one winner, I did spend some time thinking about the options, even though they were all discarded in pretty short order, for one reason…
“Playlist of the week: Tell us how your week went by putting together a playlist of five songs that represent it.” An interesting challenge on a number of levels, this. Finding five matters worthy of note, in what was a – comparatively – uneventful week, was the first thing. Then trying to marry these up…
the only deadhead in the hameau 