My first post of the shortest month is the longest I have ever published. Full marks if you make it to the end and I promise never to do it again. And this is also the first time I have been involved in one of these circulars, so let’s hope I get it right. Joe of Sleepless Nights took up my request to interview me. You’ll find the results below. And on the off-chance that you'd like me to interview you, here are the rules as I understand them:
1. The first Blogger to say in my comments box, “Ask me” will (eventually) be asked just five questions.
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions - so make sure I have an email address for you if it doesn’t appear on your Blog. I get to choose the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to those questions.
4. In the same post, you will include this explanation and make an offer to interview someone else .
5. When someone comments asking to be interviewed, you get to ask them five questions.
And so to the questions and my answers:
1. Beatles or Stones?
Definitely the Beatles. I was born in Liverpool so what other answer could I give. But I have to add that I couldn’t stand Ringo Starr. When asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world, one of the others said, “He isn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles.” I still can’t abide the self-opinionated ass-hole.
2. How did I first persuade Emma to undress for the camera, and what was her reaction when asked?
I’d bought a Polaroid and asked Emma to pose in her bikini. She was too shy to do it in the garden, so she posed on the bed. Then I asked her to take of the top and wear my shirt to cover her boobs. When I asked her to take off the shirt, I was surprised that she agreed, but the ice was broken. A couple of months later I bought a Russian 35mm camera, ostensibly for family pictures, and I fitted out a darkroom. I showed Emma a few tasteful glamour pics from magazines and asked her to try to reproduce the poses. Again, she was comfortable in front of me and pleased with the results. Then it was a gradual move towards nude studies and later to more sexually explicit shots.
3. How did I discover the world Blogging and what was the first Blog I read.
I can’t remember the first Blog I ever saw. It was probably the result of Googling something quite innocent. Then - reacting to news of increasing divorce rates in the UK on my browser‘s home-page - I Googled “happily married” and found the Blog “A Perfect Marriage” (now sadly extinct) from which I followed links to several others. Vaguely interested, I bought a book on Blogging and was tempted to start my own Blog. Addiction starts that way.
4. If I take Emma out for a celebratory meal, what sort of restaurant to I choose?
If in town, we go to our friend’s three-star restaurant - traditional Welsh fare. Out of town, we prefer Chinese, if the restaurant looks classy enough. Emma quite likes Indian, but I prefer to taste the food I am eating.
5. What is my all-time favourite piece of literature (in English).
I suppose it would be cheating to say the English translations of Un Nos Olau Leuad or Madame Bovary. I am tempted to go for John Cleland’s Fanny Hill. If it weren’t for all that sex, it would rate highly as a work of literature. Otherwise it has to be Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat or Fitzgerald's version of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam - joint first.
And so to the questions and my answers:
1. Beatles or Stones?
Definitely the Beatles. I was born in Liverpool so what other answer could I give. But I have to add that I couldn’t stand Ringo Starr. When asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world, one of the others said, “He isn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles.” I still can’t abide the self-opinionated ass-hole.
2. How did I first persuade Emma to undress for the camera, and what was her reaction when asked?
I’d bought a Polaroid and asked Emma to pose in her bikini. She was too shy to do it in the garden, so she posed on the bed. Then I asked her to take of the top and wear my shirt to cover her boobs. When I asked her to take off the shirt, I was surprised that she agreed, but the ice was broken. A couple of months later I bought a Russian 35mm camera, ostensibly for family pictures, and I fitted out a darkroom. I showed Emma a few tasteful glamour pics from magazines and asked her to try to reproduce the poses. Again, she was comfortable in front of me and pleased with the results. Then it was a gradual move towards nude studies and later to more sexually explicit shots.
3. How did I discover the world Blogging and what was the first Blog I read.
I can’t remember the first Blog I ever saw. It was probably the result of Googling something quite innocent. Then - reacting to news of increasing divorce rates in the UK on my browser‘s home-page - I Googled “happily married” and found the Blog “A Perfect Marriage” (now sadly extinct) from which I followed links to several others. Vaguely interested, I bought a book on Blogging and was tempted to start my own Blog. Addiction starts that way.
4. If I take Emma out for a celebratory meal, what sort of restaurant to I choose?
If in town, we go to our friend’s three-star restaurant - traditional Welsh fare. Out of town, we prefer Chinese, if the restaurant looks classy enough. Emma quite likes Indian, but I prefer to taste the food I am eating.
5. What is my all-time favourite piece of literature (in English).
I suppose it would be cheating to say the English translations of Un Nos Olau Leuad or Madame Bovary. I am tempted to go for John Cleland’s Fanny Hill. If it weren’t for all that sex, it would rate highly as a work of literature. Otherwise it has to be Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat or Fitzgerald's version of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam - joint first.
