Ally has tagged me, using the evil Facebook, with an assorted-things-about-you kinda thing. As I am feeling mildly brain-dead today, having used up all my remaining braincells when restraining myself from purchasing every single thing in the Grimm’s Spiel und Holz range, I thought why the hell not. (Although that assumes I can think of twenty-five things; seriously, do you know how much brain power is taken up in physically removing one’s finger from the ‘buy it now’ button when there is so much colour on offer? I thought not. If you are, like me, something of a magpie, I speak from my heart when I say: go ye not to the aforementioned site, and certainly, go ye very not to any retail outlets selling such gorgeous things.)

Anyhoo. I digress.

1. I would quite like to do some research on the relationship between various late-nineteenth/early-twentieth century children’s fiction and magic.
2. Were I to undertake so rash a project, Quercus would almost certainly either divorce me or bury me under our still-to-be-built patio. For lo! he hath endured the woe of a five-year PhD by proxy, and that, ladies and jellyspoons, is more than most men could manage.
3. I would like to be a potter. I have a wheel, sitting in one of our sheds, and when we have space and the clarity offered by not living in a project house, I hope to have a bloody good go with it, with a view to using an evening class as an opportunity to fire things, largely, so that I could try selling a few bits and bobs on t’inter.
4. I like odd numbers, particularly three, nine, and thirteen. Seven is also good.
5. I have quite a large collection of vintage SNCF cards and posters, picked up during jaunts across France. I am particularly fond of the ones I have for Carcassonne, and for various parts of Brittany. To me, these cards et al belong on the wall in our kitchen. As our kitchen has only recently acquired plaster, they are currently living on the stairs wall, where spiders are having a field-day making homes around the various different frames.
6. I really like making wine. I haven’t made any for two years, and it strikes me that this year it’s time to get back to it.
7. If I could drive any car – money, safety, and availability notwithstanding – I would probably have a 2CV.
8. I can’t quite decide who I like better: Gotan Project or Thievery Corporation.
9. My father looks like Cary Grant, aka Archibald Leach.
10. Meanwhile, my mother hated the fact that as a young woman, she quite resembled Doris Day; in later life, she looked like a prettier version of Judi Dench, but thinner. This makes watching the fantabulous Judi’s films a bit of a bittersweet experience for me – in some shots, the likeness is uncanny. Different nose, but really quite similar.
11. My favourite flower is probably the stargazer lily.
12. I like nothing better than a really dark night, with really bright stars. Fortunately, there is no street lighting near the Earthenhouse, which makes for darkness quite frequently.
13. The night after Quercus and I got married, we had a bonfire in the field opposite our newly-acquired house, with a few people who’d stayed on for a day or so. It was very, very cold, with hard frost, and very, very bright. Also, the Leonids were clearly visible as Quercus and I sat by the fire late into the night, drinking hot chocolate and toasting mallows of the marsh. That moment, particularly the bit when Quercus gallantly disappeared into the hedge to get me a longer stick with which to toast, is one of my favourite memories.
14. According to a dubious online testy whatsit, I type eighty words a minute.
15. I am growing ever fonder of knitting, particularly using double-pointed needles.
16. I long to make a patchwork quilt. I have one my mother made when she was pregnant with me – it has holes in, and I am hoping to break myself in gently by plugging the gaps.
17. My mother’s ashes live on top of my wardrobe. I want to make a ceramic urn, sort of ginger-jar-shaped, and transfer them, but, er, haven’t got round to it yet. We always used to joke that when she died, her ashes would be on my mantelpiece, and she would rattle her lid disapprovingly if I did something she didn’t like. I haven’t got a mantelpiece, but it’s close enough.
18. When I was little, I wanted to be an Egyptologist. Either that, or to work in the Radiophonic Workshop.
19. I love the Moomins with a passionate intensity which might explain how it is that I come to own not one, not two, but three copies of Moominland Midwinter.
20. I loathe critical theory with a passionate intensity which might explain why my undergraduate critical theory reader has ‘balls’ inscribed down the outside. This might also go some way towards explaining my tutor’s view that I wasn’t very committed to his module.
21. I can speak French, a bit of Spanish, some German, some Italian, the odd word of Russian (ironically, enough to say ‘I’m Russian’), and various bits and bobs of other languages, including Anglo-Saxon.
22. Talking of which, is it terribly boring of me to have thoroughly enjoyed translating said chronicle as a finalist in my first degree?
23. I have a longstanding interest in magic and witchcraft, and I once saw a man light a candle just by looking at it and raising a hand.
24. Baking makes me feel safe.
25. This year, Quercus and I will have been together for ten years.

In theory, I am now meant to tag twenty-five people, but, being a) lazy, and b) a bit of a Billy-No-Mates, I can’t be arsed; if you fancy a go, then knock yourself out, and leave a comment to let me know. If you don’t, well, er, don’t, then. See if I care.