Outstanding Blogger Award From Cat @TStrawberryPost

I got a new award from Cat over at The Strawberry Post a couple of weeks ago.  Well, it's actually over a month ago now.  Either way, you can see the post she did for it by clicking here, if you want to go check that out once you're done reading mine.  Thanks so much, Cat!

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The rules for this one are:

Have the link to the creator’s original award post in your postAnswer the questions providedCreate 7 unique questionsNominate 10 other bloggers. Neither the award’s creator nor the blogger that nominated you can be nominated

 

There's another thing about how people nominated will get entered in to something, but it only applied for 2020, so I'm not going to bother mentioning it in the rules list.  If you want to know what it is, go check out Cat's post, since she did bother to include that part in her own post.

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Well, I already linked to Cat's post above, so let's get on with the questions and my answers, shall we?

1. If you could live anywhere in the real or fictional world, where would it be?
 

In the real world, I'm happy being back here in Wales.  Though I wouldn't mind going back to Canada if we had to not live in Wales.  Hastings was OK, but Canada was better, and Wales is better still.

 

Fictional is harder, since I'm torn between wanting to live in Narnia, and wanting to be able to go to Hogwarts.  Can we just move Hogwarts to Narnia? Then I could live in Narnia, but still go to Hogwarts.  I've so got to write a book with a similar concept to that, and then I can live there for a little while, even if only while I'm actually writing it.

 

 

2. Can you play any musical instruments and if not are there any you would like to?
 

 I used to be able to play, "London's Burning,," and "Mary Had A Little Lamb," on the recorder, though I haven't tried to since I was about ten, so how well I'd do now is anyone's guess.  I also tried learning the cornet around the same time, but never got any good at it, and never progressed far enough to actually learn to play anything, and I know for a fact I don't remember how to play it any more.

 

 I can play, "Frère Jacques" on the keyboard or piano too, and wish I could play more than that, but people mistook my inability to make sense of music sheets for lack of interest, so I missed my chance to learn in childhood.  The piano is one of the instruments I'd dearly like to be able to play properly, and more than once I've considered trying now that I'm old enough to explain the issue to have actual lessons, or trying to learn by myself via YouTube, to be honest.  But somehow I never seem to get anywhere with even starting the process.

The other instrument I wish I could play is the harp.  Harps have such a beautiful and soothing sound, and I wish I could have the knowledge of how to create it.  Especially with its use in a lot of Celtic music, and my being Welsh.  Like with the piano, more than once I've considered learning, but never seem to get anywhere with even starting the process.  Maybe one day...

 

3. What one book would you recommend to everyone to read?
 

I can't give just one title here, because there is no one book I would recommend to everyone.

 

The thing is, everyone has different reading preferences, which means there's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to books and reading, so what I would recommend depends on the genre and type of book the person is looking for, and what - if anything - I know about the person's reading preferences.  Even two people who like the same genre might have different preferences in that genre that would affect what I might recommend to them.  For example, two people might like fantasy, but if one prefers high fantasy while the other prefers urban fantasy, Terry Brooks' Shannara Chronicles would be something I might recommend to the first person, where as the second person might prefer J K Rowling's Harry Potter books.  And that's before you get in to different agegroups, since if we're talking about middle grade fantasy readers, I'd recommend C S Lewis' Chronicles Of Narnia books.  On the other hand, if we're talking about fans of historical fiction, I might recommend Michelle Paver's Chronicles Of Ancient Darkness series, or - for older readers who like a bit of romance in their historical fiction - I'd recommend Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.

 

4. Do you have any favourite hobbies that you still enjoy that you started when you were young?
 

Though I've added or tweaked them as I got older, the general gist of the hobbies I enjoy are things I've loved to do since I was young.  Reading, writing, arts and crafts, and roleplaying... They're all things I started doing as a child, and still love doing now.  I mean, these days I have a long list of different roleplaying systems I've tried, where as back then I didn't even know there was anything but Dungeons And Dragons (actually, there might not have been anything other than that available at the time, but you get my point, I'm sure).  And where as drawing, painting, and the odd bit of knitting and sewing was about it for my childhood crafting, I now do a large cariety of crafts, with the potential of expanding in to others at some point in the future.  But the general hobbies are ones that have been with me since childhood.

 

5. Do you have any favourite foods?
 

My favourite foods are grapes, cherries, berries, kiwi fruit, tofu, tomatoes, mushrooms, chips (fries) and toast with vegan butter (and maybe a bit of vegan marmalade).  I'm also rather more fond than I perhaps should be of vegan marshmallows, and salt and vinegar crisps (potato chips).

 

6. What’s your favourite animal?
 

Despite the fact I was totally horse crazy as a child, my favourite animal is - and always has been - a lion.  They're just such beautiful and powerful cats.  But I love most kinds of animals. 

7. If you could go back in time to any time period where/when you would you visit and why?

 

There are several time periods I'd like to visit just for a better look at what went on during those times, or to experience things as they really happened - whether out of curiosity or for potential research for stories I may or may not write in the future, or possibly a bit of both.  But if I had to pick one particular time period I'd go with some time in what's labelled as, "Prehistoric times," when man walked the Earth, but there's little available to provide accurate information on what really happened during that time.  Why? Because it's harder to research that time, so it would be a wonderful oppertunity to learn things I can't just look up online or in a book.

 

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Now I'm going to start not following the rules properly, because I'm going to avoid actually tagging anyone, and tell you that if you want it, and have yet to be tagged, you should consider yourself tagged.  After all, a lot of people I know don't do these things, and I don't want to tag someone who would rather I hadn't done so.  I also don't want to leave out someone who deserves it just because I ran out of tagging slots.  So, I'm going with my usual action of tagging anyone who wants to play along.  Don't forget to let me know if you do decide to consider yourself tagged, since I'd hate to miss your post. I'm also going to cheat and tell you to answer the questions Cat gave me if you're playing along, because they're great questions, and I can't think of better ones.  Hope Cat doesn't mind.