A-Z of Me (Part 4)

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Hello again. There was me thinking I wouldn't have time over the weekend, and it turns out I had time yesterday and today! Mini is at rehearsal and Midi is in the bath. So I'm listening to Nickelback. I was going to do housework. Well, I've done a couple of things on my list. I can do some more later or tomorrow. Well, here I am again with the next five letters of the alphabet. I keep thinking of other words which would have been better for previous letters. Then I think of lots of other things but I forget them again so I just make it all up as I go along. Today's post is brought to you by the letters P to T. P is for Pedant. Yes, I have no qualms about calling myself a pedant. Not with everything, just some things. I'm sure most of us have that one thing (or a few things) which really grate on us but seem insignificant to most. I have previously talked about my love of language. This is where I can be quite fussy. I am all for accepting the natural evolution of language, accepting that there are those who try but for whom English is a second or other language, and those with learning difficulties. If, however, English is your first language, I expect you to know that 'could of' makes absolutely no sense and that the correct phrase is 'could have'. That one really bugs me! There are some parts of language which are particularly difficult. Knowing where to put apostrophes is not always straightforward. Knowing the correct preposition such as 'different from', that's fine. Most of the time, if it can be understood (in an informal situation) then I will try to ignore mistakes. Saying 'brought' when you mean 'bought', or vice versa, is something that, usually, you can work out what is being said. If, however, you say 'except' instead of 'accept', then you're actually saying the opposite of what you mean. So, anyway, that's a pet peeve of mine. Not those who have difficulty with language, but those who should know better. I also get annoyed with spelling/grammar checkers which insist on using American English when I'm trying to write in British English! Q is for Quintessential. This is another word I like. I mainly hear it in the phrase 'quintessentially British' or 'quintessentially English'. It means, in these instances, someone who, or something which, encompasses all the things associated with Britain or England. I like tea, cucumber sandwiches, Doctor Who, and complaining about the weather. So, this might lead someone to see me as quintessentially English. I don't know if I am, though. I prefer to think of myself as eclectic in every way (which is the word I chose for the letter E). R is for Religion. I am not religious but I do have an interest in religion, theology, religious philosophy, mythology, and other things one might associate with beliefs and suchlike. I call myself an eclectic witch or Pagan but I don't really follow any path or practice anything in particular. I enjoy reading and learning of all religions, though. I'm currently researching (and have begun writing) for a project, the working title is 'The Revered, The Reviled and The Reveller', about Paganism through the ages. I keep getting distracted with other interesting information which isn't necessarily relevant to my idea. S is for Sporcle. Sporcle is a website with quizzes. I've been a member on there for a few years. You can challenge other players if you're connected to them, and you can earn various badges by completing different sets of quizzes or by playing so many quizzes at certain times. I do like quizzes. I went to one last night with Midi. We came last. We called our team 'Team Se7ern', and we came 7th out of 7. We agreed that we'll call ourselves 'Team One' next time! We thought there would only be the two of us but there was another team who had too many players so we borrowed two of them. We have a fair amount of general knowledge between us. Unfortunately, the other teams all had more. They mostly had a wider range of ages. The team who won included one person whose team always wins. I think he has a photographic memory! We enjoyed ourselves anyway. And I was glad that we came properly last. If we aren't going to win, we'll at least lose in style! T is for Theatre. This is something in which I've always had an interest, and my boys have followed in my footsteps. I was in a youth theatre for 13 years. Midi is in the same group (he's been going to the same place but different groups since he was 8). Midi did go to one of the groups in the same place but that disbanded as only he and one other person turned up in the end. However, he's now old enough to join one of the other groups along with Midi. Mini does, however, go to a different theatre school. He started in January this year and he seems to enjoy it. It's a proper theatre school with its own agency. Mini will also be on stage next week with the local Scout groups when they do their 'Gang Show'. Mini will be in a sketch as well as in the chorus scenes. One more thing about theatre is that Midi recently won an award. He'd been nominated every year since he joined the groups 9 years ago. This year, he finally won it! I am very proud of him, of course. I'm proud of both of them. Midi does drama because he enjoys it, and it's helped with his confidence. Mini is more serious in that he actually wants to be an actor. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx That's all for today. Midi has come out of the bath so I'm going to do things with him if he wants. TTFN