I’m feeling lots of cosy feelings right now, because I was lucky enough to be gifted with the shiny Liebster Award from fellow blogger Bohemian Nerd. For anyone who isn’t regularly cavorting around the world of blogs and bloggers, the Liebster Award is given by one blogger to another, as a little hello, a thumbs-up and a nod of encouragement.
The rules are as follows: put the Liebster Award logo on your blog; say who nominated you (link to their page), and answer the 10 questions they asked. Then, nominate a new batch of your own favourite bloggers (link to their pages), and ask them 10 questions of your own.
It’s a lovely spree of good feeling, connectedness and communication between bloggers, and illustrates how posting your writing into a big oblivious online world… can actually be one of the most heart-warming, surprising and lovely experiences.
So first up, here are my answers to the 10 questions from Bohemian Nerd:
Why did you start this blog?
It just sort of happened, like scratching an itch. And then it kept going, just like scratching an itch… I can’t actually help myself, I just keep impulsively writing more and more posts. I think I may be addicted. I’ll keep plaguing my friends and family with silly posts until someone wrestles the internet out of my hands.
What makes you smile?
Good things happening to people. Kindness. Oh, and free stuff.
What is one of your talents?
I genuinely have no talents at all. There are some things I’ve taught myself to get better at, like writing, and walking upright, without hunching my back like an ogre.
Who is a hero in your life?
It’s a classic… my grandparents. My grandmother for scoring a first-class honours degree in English Lit, and for recently giving me some quality advice: ‘Remember, the rule with tattoos is never above the collar or on the hands’. She is pretty right on with everything. My grandfather for teaching me to swim by picking me up and throwing me in the sea; and how to have freshly baked potatoes for breakfast when you’re camping, by burying them in the embers of the fire before you go to sleep at night. And for once describing Lauren Baccall as ‘beautifully sinuous’. I’ve been lucky with my family. It worked out amazingly well considering I didn’t get to choose them.
What is a great memory from your past?
This sounds like a humble-brag, but what the hell, I’m going there. Many, many years ago…. I stayed up all night with friends and we caught a ride up a mountain, to a viewing point where we were supposed to see the sun rise over Everest. It was so foggy we couldn’t see a thing. We stayed awake all the next day and ate breakfast together in town. I remember we had pink rose milkshakes on a roof-top cafe. I was eighteen, living in Darjeeling in West Bengal, and confused about everything, but this night and day really were the very best.
If the sky’s the limit, what would you like to do next?
Overcome my fear of flying. So I can get on a plane without drinking five gin and tonics and talking way too loudly about the likelihood of crashing.
What is your favourite season of the year?
Summer. I’m simple-minded and easily impressed.
What is a piece of advice you would like to share?
So many. I’ll go for this one right now: ‘Never go on a trip with someone you don’t love’. That’s from Hemingway, the old dawg.
If you have some spare time, what do you do?
I’d love to say, ‘I write! I meditate! I volunteer!’. The answer is, I just throw time away messing on the internet, looking at videos of animals making friends with other animals, or SNL clips of Amy Poehler.
Do you prefer a home-cooked meal, or to go out to a restaurant?
Home-cooked, as long as it’s someone handsome doing the cooking (ahahaha).
So first up, I’d like to recommend everyone checks out Bohemian Nerd and her most recent, beautiful post, a letter to her younger self. And I’d also like to nominate the following for a Leibster Award (shiny thing for you):-
These guys have cheered me up, entertained and enlightened me with their posts. The Liebster Award is, I believe supposed to go to bloggers with 200 or less followers, so I kind of cheated there.
My Ten Questions Are:
Where would you most like to be right now?
What are you most grateful for?
If you were invisible, what’s the first thing you would do?
If you could time-travel, when and where would you like to live?
Have you ever stolen anything?
What is the last gift you gave someone?
What is your greatest achievement (so far)?
Kyle Mclaughlin wants to marry you. How do you answer?
What’s your favourite part of the day?
What book do you wish you had written?
High five to everyone! We’re doing this thing so well.
Amy Jardine 
Thanks so much for the nomination, Amy! That was too sweet of you!
Thank you so much for nominating Winter Owls Amy! I loved reading your grandmother’s advice, very true!
I think I have 0 followers 😛