Another week, another HodgePodge – to join in the fun, click on the Wednesday HodgePodge button to take you over to Joyce’s blog.
1. It’s National Bike Week…do you own a bicycle? When did you last ride a bike? 

I do own a bicycle, but last year during our building work a lot of things got put in the shed where it is kept and I wasn’t able to get at it. So last time I rode it was sometime in 2011, I really need to get it out, serviced and start using it again. I really love being able to cycle down to shops to get the odd thing or run ‘local’ errands, and would love to be able to cycle to and from Guiding meetings rather than taking the car so much.

2. What’s something you learned in school that wasn’t part of the curriculum?

That’s a really tough question. My schools had so much in the curriculum that was included amongst the normal Maths, English, PE, PSE, Science. Tolerance was taught, other faith beliefs were taught, treating people well, leadership, teamwork…

I guess one thing I learned is about war and refugees. My primary school took in a great many refugees from Bosnia during the Yugoslavian war in the 90s. I think this was mainly because an local aid organisation was run by a parent who was on the PTA at our school – because he was convoying aid to Bosnia, I’m guessing he advised and assisted families when they sought asylum in the UK. I didn’t understand for a while why some of these kids seemed to misbehave and I remember one girl who we were nervous of because she could react quite violently at times without warning. It is lovely now to see some of my friends who came as refugees now able to go back to their home country and show us the beauty of their homeland. I also learned a great deal about the Muslim faith from kids at my school. I remember a girl who was from a Bangladeshi family of asylum seekers pointing to the word ‘pig’ in a book we’d been assigned for reading and confiding to me in the playground that she didn’t know what to do when they asked her to read this story as that was a very bad word she wasn’t allowed to say at home. I remember my friend who was Scottish but his grandparents were Pakistani. He taught us about Eid and I got to learn how his mother had incorporated their faith with the Scottish culture they were surrounded by. That was really cool to see and his family were super lovely!

I’m so thankful to have gone to an ‘inner city’ school with diverse cultures.

3. What’s a food you’ve never tried, but want to try? What’s a food you’ve tried and will never try again?

Hmm. I don’t think there is anything that comes to mind. There are things I’d like to try making myself. Like butternut squash risotto or soups. Cooking with polenta or quinoa. Making halloumi burgers. I’ve never tried tofu, and intrigued to what it is like.

Food I’ve tried and will never try again: Melons (tried these several times, and I just cannot stand them. I wish I liked them but I simply don’t). Grapefruit.

4. Have you been more demanding on yourself lately or less? Why? Do you think that’s a good trend?

I don’t think I have been anymore demanding on myself than usual. Certainly I’m super busy just now and if life was like this all year round it wouldn’t be good, but this is ‘normal’ for this time of year. I’m pretty good at managing my time with putting my ‘sabbath days’ in at least once a week, and making sure I have at least one evening a week in the house doing…well….not much!

5. Who is your favorite book, movie, or TV show villain? 

I don’t like villains! I guess Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter, because I think he’s a more typical realistic villain and does have a little bit of good in him deep down. I like to think that there is something good in everyone.
6. How concerned are you about identity theft? 

Probably not concerned enough, but I am careful with certain things – like putting my full name (including middle names) and full date of birth online.

7. I saw this last question on Dawn’s blog a couple of week’s ago and asked if I could share. Everybody hop over and say hi, but first answer this…would you rather have an ordinary home in an extraordinary place or an extraordinary home in an ordinary place? 

I’m not sure how to answer this question. I’d rather just be where I’m meant to be. I live in an ordinary home in an ordinary place – though I do love the city of Edinburgh!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Yesterday I got to spend the day with my friend’s wee girl as it was a local school holiday and Tuesday is the day my friend uses to study for an online course she is doing. We had a lot of fun and so glad the weather stayed nice for us. Recently I’ve realised how much Miss Sweetroot and Mini Kahuna pick things up from me, with Mini K starting to say ‘Awesome!’ and ‘Ohh maan!’ in the singsong way I do whenever he hears me say it. It’s when that happens you realise that your actions and the things you say in front of them, how you respond to situations….all of it is being watched and learned – for good or for ill!

Today I’ll be in sunny (well, probably rainy) Hampshire for the first day of my tutor training. So, please do leave a comment, and I promise I’ll comment on your HodgePodge post when I’m back in Edinburgh on Thursday!!

**Update, thank you Rebecca for linking up for me, and oops sorry HodgePodgers – somehow the answers to the first 2 questions disappeared…that is now rectified!!**

1. May is National Blood Pressure Month…what sends yours soaring, either literally or figuratively? What calms you down? When did you last have your bp checked?

There are so many things that send my blood pressure soaring. Selfishness. People not taking the time to think of other people. Prejudice. But most of all….drivers who do not use their indicators on roundabouts. GRRRR.

What calms me down…watching one of my favourite American TV Dramas. How I Met Your Mother particularly calms me – I think it’s the happy carefree theme tune! I always bounce about and sing along to it!

I last got my blood pressure checked a year or two ago by my practice nurse, they’ve actually not bothered checking for a while which is probably not protocol! I’m on a drug called depo provera which gives you a risk of high blood pressure, but seen as how the last time they checked it was 89/60 (or similar) – bordering on hypotension – I don’t think they’re too concerned about me having high blood pressure!!

2. You just found $1-what do you spend it on? How about 10$ 100?

If it’s just $1 I’d probably stick it in a charity bucket that I felt supportive of. Similar with £10. If it’s £100 I’d probably be taking it to the nearest police station. That probably sounds really goody-goody – but it is honestly what I’ve done in the past (though it was £25 my friend and I found on the street – and because of some other things going on, we thought it might have been drug related).

3. Mandatory labeling of genetically engineered (GE) food has been proposed, but not enacted in the US. How much attention do you give food labels before you buy? Are you in favor of labeling if it means an increase in food prices? Is this an issue you’ve been following and feel strongly about, or is this the first you’ve heard of the controversy?

I’m very much in favour of labelling – I think we should all be told where our food has come from and how it has been grown. I try to stay well away from GM foods, and to be honest, would not be shocked if in years to come we find a link to GM and processed foods and learning disabilities. My friend Caroline has spoken about food a lot on her blog, since living in the UK and South Africa and now living back home in North Carolina, one of the posts she wrote when she returned to the USA which echoes my thoughts a lot is this one – The Price of (in)Convenience. One of the things I have found unpleasant and concerning on my visits across the pond is the size of the food (like how much hormones did they inject into those animals to get a slab of meat that big?), the processed nature of so many things. The amount of recipes which use packet mixes and concentrated tins of soup disturbs me greatly as a Health Scientist.

4. May 15th marks the birthdate of Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz. At this point in time, are you more in need of brains, courage, heart, or a trip back home? Explain.

I think courage. I feel like I’m constantly battling a fear of failure or rejection.

5. “There’s no place like home” is an oft repeated line from Baum’s book. When was the last time you felt the truth of that statement?

Usually whenever I fly back into Edinburgh Airport. Those Scottish voices and SMILING airport staff who are friendly as they seriously check your passport and luggage before you get on an international flight. In other countries, the airport staff sometimes simply don’t bother to so much as check your ID if you’re flying out of their country but treat you like crap as you arrive in (yes Newark Airport, I’m looking at you). I’m thankful to live in a country with decent gun control and though we may be a country of moaners and complainers, there is an empathy for the fact that how we live affects people elsewhere.

6.  Steak…yes please or no thank you? What cut do you prefer and how do you like yours cooked? Sauce or no sauce? Besides your own kitchen, where’s a place you like to go to get a great steak?

No steak for me. I have an intolerance to red meat sadly. A lot of people mistake me for a vegetarian, but I’m not. Though it’s true that I’ve never managed to eat lamb or veal because pictures of cute fluffy lambs that I like to go ‘awww’ at when I see them in the countryside come into my head!

7. When was the last time you were in a genuine hurry?

I feel like I’m always in a hurry. Mondays are especially hurried – if I don’t leave work bang on time (or early) and get a bus straight away, it causes a huge problem. Usually I only have a 20 minute turn around from arriving home to when I have to leave to open up the church hall for Guides. In that 20 minutes I have to cook my tea, eat my tea, unpack my work bag to put whatever I need for Guides in its place and get changed into my leader uniform.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Last Friday I had to farewell my beloved car, Cassie. It was a sad moment, but I did have fun clearing out my car on Wednesday afternoon. I found so many random things – passes for the Christian conference festivals I used to go to almost every year in Somerset (about 400 miles away!), the magnetic red nose Cassie sported for Comic Relief in 2009 all the way down to my South Africa training in Watford (350 miles away), mixtapes – my friends all had their ‘favourites’ they’d request. Cassie was very beloved by friends and family too, shown by the fact that my youngest brother who hasn’t spoken to me in over a year suddenly appeared on my facebook when I posted that my car had been taken away. “What’s happened to Cassie?’ he messaged, followed by the comments that Friday was indeed, ‘a sad day for motoring’. He might not thank me for a birthday present or wish me a Merry Christmas or Happy birthday. But my lil bro loved my car! Ha ha!

Cassie with her red nose somewhere between Edinburgh & Watford in March 2009

It’s time for the weekly HodgePodge, and as always you can click on the blog button to take you to Joyce’s blog where you’ll find a place to add your own link and find this weeks HodgePodgers!

1. When the children of today grow up, what do you think they’ll say about this period in time? What do you most hope they remember?

I’m sure they will remember facebook, the TV programmes they watched, the fun (or rubbish times) they had with friends and family. I hope that the kids in our country will remember the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

2. National Teacher’s Day is celebrated in the US of A on the first Tuesday in May, this year May 7th…share how a particular teacher positively impacted you.

In high school, I had a geography teacher from my second or third year to fifth year of high school. He was definitely my teacher for at least 3 years. I remember this teacher was one of the few that took time to find out the story before yelling and handing out punishments. He respected young people (not a lot of teachers do sadly). Like I remember one day he caught me kicking a door. I was angry  that my friend had been suspended for something that wasn’t really her fault and the other girl involved in the incident had gotten off with no punishment at all. Basically the other girl was a ‘teacher’s favourite’. He told me off, but then afterwards went ‘Why are you so angry? What’s the matter?‘ when I explained, he empathised, said it was not an excuse for kicking doors and said he’d try to do something about it and apologised for yelling at me on first reaction. I also remember him letting me and my friend hide in the store room cupboard so we could chat and have a cry. He gave us harder work to do because we’d always have our stuff finished well before anyone else. He was the only teacher who didn’t try to talk me out of leaving school early and when everyone kept saying it was silly to expect to get an ‘A’ in my first year of doing Highers, he said to me “No. I’m putting down an A as your target grade, in fact I expect for you to get a A (band 1).” He rarely yelled and laughed along with us when we called him ‘Basil’ (we thought he looked like Basil Fawlty) and he was a massive Monty Python fan – we got to watch it on last day of term each year! He taught me that not all teachers need to be on a power trip, the difference it can make to talk to people who seem to be expressing feelings in negative ways, to be flexible on ‘rules’ and to encourage people to work hard to reach their full potential.

I’m pretty sure it’s because of him and one of the other geography teachers (who is sadly now retired) that I went to university with the intention of becoming a geography teacher myself.

3. What’s a dish your mama made, that if set in front of you today would whisk you right back to childhood?

Blue eyed soup. Actually just vegetable soup, but it makes your eyes go bluer when you have a bowl of it.

4. Mother May I was a game we played when I was growing up…no pieces, parts, or plugs required. What games from childhood do you remember loving that were also pieces, parts, and plug-free?

Red Letter. Sharks (basically tig, but for some reason my friends and I decided we’d pretend the playground was shark infested waters. The person who was ‘it’ was a shark). All the pattacake songs ‘My boyfriend gave me an apple...’ ‘Pepsi Cola‘ ‘Down, Down baby‘ and clapping!

But the best games had simple parts – I loved skipping with a giant rope. Elastics was from my Mum’s childhood and she spent ages collecting elastic bands from work  to have my own ‘elastic’ so I could teach my friends at playtime. ‘Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales, Inside, Outside, Puppy dogs tails‘

5. Besides your own mother, tell us about a woman who influenced you as a child?

I guess my Nana. She was one of the kindest and  nicest people you could meet. She was always calm when something happened, but the rest of the time she’d be worrying about what could happen or what people would think. At university she used to send me stamps or money for chocolate, and my friends loved me to read her letters out loud because they were so ‘granny-like’. Tales about how the phonebox up the road had been vandalised or how the council had missed the rubbish collection day! another time, she had misread my letter and thought I’d dressed up as a car for Hallowe’en. (I’d dressed as a cat). I miss her dearly and a huge sadness is that she never got to see me graduate university. She was so proud of the fact I’d gone to uni.

6. Mamma Mia! What’s the best play or musical you’ve ever seen?

Les Miserables. I’ve seen many great musicals, but Les Miserables is beloved and popular for very good reason.

7. What are three smells that make you feel nostalgic?

Horlicks. I remember my Nana and Mum making this disgusting malted drink at night when I was teeny tiny. The smell just makes me want to boak!

Sexwax. This is the brand of wax you use for putting on surfboards. The smell takes me right back to Australia. I love the smell – it’s almost like strawberry bubble gum without being sickly sweet.

Sweat, soft leather, polish – I think. There’s just a smell that dance studios have. I remember it well. The smell got more potent after we steamed up the windows of the studio after hours of practice. ick!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

This weekend I got to travel up to Aberdeen AND THE SUN CAME OUT!!! First of all, my friend (who works for Hilton) arranged for both of us to get rooms at an incredible rate so we could drive up the night before our ‘Soul Sunday’ where a whole bunch of us were meeting on the beach. He knew the staff and so they wanted to do something fun for us. This is what we found in our rooms. We’ve been told they were named Nellie (M’s elephant on the left) and Dumbo (my elephant on the right).

I also got to try out skateboarding on a longboard really for the first time. I was terrible but had a lot of fun trying, and hope to do more boarding soon…