Rory from Earthly Comforts is back with another set of questions to answer. It’s another rainy Saturday night in my part of the world this time with added lightning.

You have a dinner party and may invite four guests from the following categories one fictional, one dead and one alive, and a naked chef [wearing an apron only but no clothes underneath – or if you wish for whatever reason your chef can be wearing underclothes – pants/top].

Who will you invite to eat, and who will you ask to cook for your dinner party?

Inspired by I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! 

My fictional character would be Doctor Who, preferably as played by David Tennant. Who would not want someone who has been everywhere and everywhen? They would have great dinner table conversation. I would invite the late Queen Elizabeth II because she would be the world’s most polite dinner guest and I hope she would also have some interesting stories to tell. She could bring the corgis if she wished. My third guest would be Barak Obama because I like his sense of humour. My chef would be the original Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver who I hope would do the cooking. I would ask him to keep his clothes on, we don’t want to shock Her Majesty and I’d ask him to try to mind his language. I remember his old TV show and that man can swear. Naomi and I went to the Jamie Oliver restaurant on Ovation of the Seas and loved it so I think he’d be a safe bet for cooking the meal. I would just be able to serve the food, look after my guests and listen to interesting conversation.

Have you ever slept on / in a hammock?

No. I would have liked to at one time but now I think I’d have trouble getting in and out of one.

Do you find it easy to maintain friendship with other people?

Not really.

Are you a person of ethics?

If so, how does that impact your daily life?

I’d like to think I am. I try to be anyway. 

Are you decisive or indecisive as a person?

I can’t decide. 🙂 Seriously I’m probably more on the indecisive side.

Why do people hold double standards?

Inspired by Kristian and That Really Burns my Biscuits #10

I don’t really know the answer to that. Maybe some people really believe that they are better or special and that they don’t have to conform to the rules they enforce on others.

What is your most unhealthiest but guiltiest pleasure and why?

Every Thursday when I work at my volunteer job all day I buy  my lunch from the local supermarket. As well as my sandwich I look to see which chocolate bar is on special and treat myself to one. 

What is your process of writing a new post for your blog?

Most of my posts are in response to prompts and challenges like this one. If I’m doing a photo challenge I usually go over my photo archive to see if I have anything suitable. It’s not very often that I can plan to go out and take pictures specifically for a post. I may edit the photos to create something new and different.  If it’s a writing prompt like this one I copy, paste the questions to a new post and then just try to answer the questions honestly or humorously if I can’t take them too seriously, then I’ll look for a couple of photos, either mine or Pexels, because I like to break up the text. If I’m creating a post from scratch it usually begins with research and fact checking. I did depart from that process today and copied the questions to a blank document so that I could reformat it. I find the table format hard to work with.

If you were asked to create a Top Fifteen Book List holding books that you felt everyone should read at least once in their life and would never regret reading what titles would you include?

I’m always hopeless at this type of question because although I have read a lot of books my mind goes blank when asked to make a list. So I enlisted the help of a couple of internet lists for some suggestions. However, I’m only including ones that I have read myself and liked. Not in any particular order and if you asked me another day the list might be different.

1. 1984 by George Orwell – In these days of fake news I think it’s a must read.
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – I must admit I struggled with this book but it is a classic
4. The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams – It’s hilarious.
5. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – I read it or listen to it every year.
6. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen – A personal favourite of mine
7. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
8. The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
9. Little Women by Lousia May Alcott
10. The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux
11. A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierly
12. Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia by Billy Griffiths
13. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
14. 11/22/63 by Stephen King – I don’t usually like Stephen King but I’d recommend this.
15. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson- I didn’t love this book, it’s a bit violent for my taste but an excellent storyline.

How important is it for you to know a person’s real name? [Be this online, off line, social media or blogging]

It’s not that important to me. I’m happy to call them by whatever name they like to go by.

When at school what were your top five subjects that you were passionate about?

Why was this – what did you love about them?

Are those five subjects still present in your life today in any form?

I don’t think I was passionate about five subjects. I liked English and I liked History and what we called Social Studies. I liked reading and still do, I’m a blogger so I think I can say that writing is still part of my life. I liked learning about life in other places and about history and those things still interest me. I liked learning about how the government works. I still take an interest in political issues and believe that voting is very important.

No, I am not photogenic and I don’t really like having my photo taken. Even less so as I’ve got older. I looked a lot better when I was thirty. There are  early childhood photos of me because mum took them. Not so many during later childhood and my teens because I avoided having them taken. A few during my twenties and thirties and fewer as I’ve gotten older.

I try to keep an open mind about the paranormal but I think a lot of the “haunted” locations that are shown on TV are probably hyped up a bit. I have been in places that had a real atmosphere though and where I felt that spirits from the past might be present.

How are you with meeting strangers/new people who might or could become new friends?

Is there a process you adopt to identify if they are the right fit for you?

I am better than I used to be about chatting to new people. I used to be tongue tied with strangers. I don’t worry as much now about whether they will like me or not. I generally find that a couple of likes or interests in common help get a conversation going. I don’t really have a process for deciding if someone is a good fit. First impressions are not always accurate.