Interview me!

Saw this first on Sarah's blog - followed round a few others and finally asked Heather to interview me. So here are the questions she sent.


1) In 'Desert Island Discs style', what 3 music tracks would you take to keep you company, what book (or two, as I would consider it acceptable to forfeit the Bible) and what luxury item?

First, I'd have to cheat. We mainly do classic FM here, so I'd take Karl Jenkins' "The Armed Man" and Ludevico Einaudi's "Echoes". Mainstream, it would have to be something a bit more manic like the soundtrack to 'Fifth Element'. Something to dance around the desert island like a loon to. As we do round the living room here. :)

Books - well, not the Bible. I'd take a copy of the "Compleat Works of William Shakespeare", as I've been a Shakespeare nut since the age of 13. Probably one of the few things I took away from my many schools was my love of the Bard. I think memorising a few Sonnets would keep me occupied on my desert island. And the second book would have to be John Seymour's "Complete Guide to Self Sufficiency". We affectionately refer to it as the 'house bible', as our aim one day is to be self sufficient - as anyone who's seen my veggie garden plans will attest!

And the luxury item? I'd take a huge ring binder full of paper and a stack of pens. Might find time to write that book I've been meaning to for so long.

2) What do the Land Rover and the allotment bring to your home education?

Apart from the obvious method of transporting small children from one HE meet to another, various HE households for tea and biccies... The Disco also provides us with a wide range of socialising opportunities. :) We're members of the Disco Owners Club and take part in off road days, camping weekends, shows, rallies etc, where D, T and F get to mix and meet with a huge variety of people. We travel around a fair amount, and the kids get to see a lot of varied places. "Car-ed" features strongly in our HE life - when driving anywhere, I get a constant stream of "Mommy, what's that? Why's that? Where are we, when will we be there, how's that made? Where did that come from? Why does that do that?" etc etc. Never a dull moment - unless they're all dozing.

The allotment brings me a little bit of sanity. The girls come with me most of the time, and we weed and potter and talk about growing stuff and seeds and life cycles and nature and food chains and all that other 'educational' stuff. But the main thing my allotment gives me at the moment is a quiet place to escape, even if once a week on a Tuesday for an hour or two whilst James minds the small ones. It's very important - it's somewhere I can sink my hands into the soil and connect, for however brief a time. It's always quiet up there too - it's a very small allotment site. Occasionally, one of the old boys will appear for a chat, and that's pleasant too, as I get an opportunity to talk with another adult about something other than kids or home or HE or Land Rovers. I can talk weather and gardening and 'when I was a lad' remembrances. It grounds me.

3) In an alternative reality where you are childless, what would you like to be doing with your life?

If I were childless, I'd still be working on a farm, milking cows and driving tractors. Maybe managing one - or preferably even have my own. And I'd have taken that extra post-degree course in journalism and be writing for Farmer's Weekly and other worthy publications on the side. That, or I'd be back in Canada now, on my own little self-sufficient homestead in the Rocky Mountains. :)

4) What food, company and setting would constitute your perfect meal?

Anywhere without kids! Seriously... would have to be Japanese or Thai. Perferably Thai in a swish restaurant in Bangkok or Phuket, as I've never been there and would love to go. As part of a tour of the far east, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand etc, with James and offspring. Although to be honest, the little local Thai place on a quiet night with just me and James would be about perfect enough.

Bit pragmatic that, though, isn't it? Maybe I should go for a 5-course Italian meal with Pierce Brosnan or Russell Crowe, on the deck of a luxury yacht, moored in the harbour at Monaco during a Grand Prix. :)

5) Why do you blog?

For a huge variety of reasons. First, it's a kind of window in on my life that I can use to show my family what's going on. My parents live apart and away from me, I've family all over the country, friends in the US, local friends who I can never find time to connect with every day - my blog is my way of saying, "Hi, we're still here and alive and this is what we did today/this week", depending on how often I manage to record stuff.

Secondly, it's a record for myself. My garden blog is kind of a reference for myself for future years. And this blog helps jog my memory as to what we did and when. One day, I may even manage to organise it into catagories like some highly advanced blogs. Unless our LEA starts behaving itself, I may need this blog as proof of education!

And lastly, I guess it's my own '15 minutes of fame'. Everyone who blogs must have a small exhibitionist streak in them, as they're putting themselves on show to the entire world, albeit in a very obscure and not-necessarily-easy-to-find place. And it's theraputic. And keeps me on the computer and out from under the children's feet. And sidetracks me beautifully from the housework. :)

If YOU want to be interviewed:

1. Leave me a comment saying “interview me.”
2. I will respond by asking you five questions (not the same as you see here).
3. You will update your blog/site with the answers to the questions. (If you don’t have a blog, let this inspire you to begin one!!)
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.