There are some rules to this award, and I hope Mary won't mind my cutting and pasting them direct from her blog, just so's I don't make any mistakes. To accept the award, you have do the following:
-Name and thank the blog that has given you the nomination [Done!]
-Make yourself a follower of the blog that nominated you [Hmmm. More tricky. This is the technical department's, er, department, I think. Emma & Sue, can you help?]
-Answer the 11 questions that get asked [Really tricky. I'll come back to this one]
-Give the award to 11 blogs with few followers [Er... and this one]
-Make 11 questions [Er... and this one, too!]
-Informing 11 blogs nominated [Clearly, I can't do this one until I've done the previous one!]
Right, there are definitely some tricky bits here; and the reason they're tricky is that An Awfully Big Blog Adventure is a cooperative blog. Mary's questions are as follows:
- Why did you decide to start a blog?
- Which book do you remember most clearly from childhood?
- Did you have a favourite song as a child?
- Favourite song now?
- If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be?
- What is your earliest memory?
- What is your favourite journey?
- Mountains, forests, desert or seaside?
- When you have a day all to yourself, what do you do?
- What is the one thing that bothers you more than anything else?
- Give one fact about yourself that most people don't know.
I can only answer the first of these questions on behalf of the entire team. It was Anne Cassidy who decided to start this blog, and her reasons are explained here.
As for the other questions, they can only be answered by individuals, and this is a community. So what I'd like to do is to answer them on my own behalf, and then ask not only my fellow contributors but any of our followers and commenters - regular or otherwise - to answer any of the questions you fancy in the comments below.
Book I remember most clearly from childhood - probably The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, simply because I re-read it so often, and still do.
Did I have a favourite song as a child - I don't think so. There are lots of songs from my childhood that I loved & still love, but there was no clear favourite.
Favourite song now - again, it's pretty well impossible to pick one. If I really have to, tonight I'll go for America by Simon & Garfunkel, but tomorrow it'll probably be different.
If I could live anywhere in the world, where would it be - you know, I'm really the worst person to be doing this. I honestly don't know. Somewhere warm, by the sea, I should think.
My earliest memory - this one's pretty disgusting, I'm afraid. I must still have been crawling, because my visual point of view in the memory is about my cousin's knee-height, and he's only a year older than me. I remember him being sick on the floor, and noticing that it looked like scrambled eggs, and wondering if it tasted like scrambled eggs, and putting my hand out...
My favourite journey - another 'I don't know', I'm afraid. The Antrim Coast road is beautiful on a sunny day, so perhaps that.
Mountain, forests, desert or seaside - can I have all of them? Maybe seaside, but not a resort - a warm deserted beach.
When I have a day all to myself, what do I do - if it ever happens, I'll let you know.
What is the one thing that bothers me more than anything else - right now, a government that drives through regressive policies for which it has no mandate and ignores or demonises anyone who disagrees with it. Sorry, was that too serious?
One fact about me that most people don't know - I once shook the hand of Andy Williams
Now before you all rush off to the comments section to give your own answers, here comes the really really really tricky bit. Give the award to 11 other blogs? And ask them 11 questions???
I can't do all that on behalf of An Awfully Big Blog Adventure. We're a community. So here's what I propose. I'm going to suggest ONE blog and ONE question, and ask the rest of you - contributors and readers alike - to suggest your own ideas. If we get more than 11 of each, I'll ask the rest of the editorial team to help me make the final selection, and my own suggestions will carry no more weight than anyone else's.
My nominated blog is Cathy Butler's Don't Eat With Your Mouth Full. Cathy's contributions to ABBA are thought-provoking, witty, and always highly readable. Don't Eat With Your Mouth Full offers random musings and food for thought on a wide range of topics, along with a glimpse into the life of the writer of many of my favourite posts on this site.
And my question? How about:
What don't we see enough of in children's books at the moment?
Over to you!
John's website is at www.visitingauthor.com.
He's on twitter as @JohnDougherty8
His most recent books include:
Finn MacCool and the Giant's Causeway - a retelling for the Oxford Reading Tree
Bansi O'Hara and the Edges of Hallowe'en
Zeus Sorts It Out - "A sizzling comedy... a blast for 7+" , and one of The Times' Children's Books of 2011, as chosen by Amanda Craig
Coming soon:
Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face and the Badness of Badgers, illustrated by David Tazzyman & published by OUP
He's on twitter as @JohnDougherty8
His most recent books include:
Finn MacCool and the Giant's Causeway - a retelling for the Oxford Reading Tree
Bansi O'Hara and the Edges of Hallowe'en
Zeus Sorts It Out - "A sizzling comedy... a blast for 7+" , and one of The Times' Children's Books of 2011, as chosen by Amanda Craig
Coming soon:
Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face and the Badness of Badgers, illustrated by David Tazzyman & published by OUP
1 comment:
Oh dear - sorry, John, it's just all so complicated in this heat! Will come back to it...
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