From Friday Five

 

Welcome to day 146 of the lockdown in Manchester, in the north of England. We still have additional restrictions for another week at least but things in the rest of the country are easing up. Apparently we can go to the casino now. I’m sure gamblers will be delighted by that. Personally I don’t gamble so it doesn’t make a difference to me. 

I am taking a week off work starting from Monday, mainly to celebrate Mrs PM’s 50th birthday on Tuesday. I overheard her telling a work colleague last week that “you are only 50 once” and then she added “Thank God!”.

I completely disagree with that sentiment. I would love to be 50 again. As I march inexorably towards 60, I look back on the day I was 50 with envy. I would love to be 18 again, if I can be honest. I would change a few things I can tell you. That said, I am still content with life at the moment despite my creaking bones and advancing years. 

But enough about that nonsense. Let’s answer some silly questions from Sunday Stealing. 

1. What makes it easy to talk to someone?

It helps me if the person is friendly and funny. I find that if a person is generally interested in what you are saying and is actually listening to what you are saying then you can have a great conversation. I try to do that myself. There is nothing worse than somebody talking at you rather than to you. I once had a conversation with a guy at a wedding who basically spent half an hour telling me how brilliant he was. Whenever he let me speak (which was rare) he topped whatever I said, telling me that he had done something better, bigger or even made a bigger mess of it than I had. When he left to get a beer, his wife, who was sitting next to him, leaned over to me and said 

“Did you manage to get a word in? I’ll bet you’ve never met somebody as brilliant as my husband.” 

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. 

“Is he always like that?” I said. “With EVERYBODY!” she laughed.

I tried to avoid talking to him for the rest of the night. His wife, it turned out, was far more interesting to talk to.

2. Have you ever had a great conversation with a complete stranger?

Yes indeed. The guy from question 1 was a complete stranger as was his wife, for example. I am a little shy (though not as bad as I used to be) but I just bite the bullet these days and can chat to anybody really. It depends what mood I am in though. If somebody else instigates the conversation I am happy to oblige.

3. Do you like to argue?

Not at all. I like to debate, which is different. I tend to walk away from arguments or just stop answering. Conflict is not something I like as a rule.

4. Some people like to talk about things, and some people like to do things. Which are you?

I think it depends on what the things are. For example, I love to talk about travel and I love to travel. I can happily talk about my travel plans (subject to coronavirus restrictions) but usually I will stick to those plans and actually do it.

5. Who is easier to talk to – men or women?

Men but only because I am still a little shy around women. A conversation with a man is completely different. Women tend to engage in deeper conversation, I have found, and want to know details, feelings, emotions and thoughts. Men tend not to talk about such things. 

I do love talking to women though, particularly close female friends.

6. What is your favourite place?

I have been to a lot of amazing places and they are all special in their own way. I love the city of Hong Kong so I will say that.

7. What is your favourite place in your home?

The lounge and the back room are both equally my favourites. The lounge enables me to relax and watch TV to wind down and the back room, where I am now, is the place the introvert within me like most, as it provides music, an office and an escape room for me. 

8. Would you most want to live in a city, a suburb or the country?

I think I would have to say a suburb. I live in a suburb of South Manchester and it has perfect access to the city centre and the countryside. It is the best of both worlds.

9. What is special about the town you live in?

I’ve talked about the city I live in so I will focus on the area I live in, which I like to think of as a small town within the city itself. It is about five miles south of the city centre and has most things that I need within easy reach. It is a nice area and sought after by people who move to the city. The people are friendly, the pubs are great, the shops are nice and there are various other facilities such as a cinema, a bowling alley, supermarkets, gyms, parks all within walking distance. Also it is easy to get to other parts of the city both by public transport and by car. It is relatively close to two local towns, Altrincham, where I used to live, and Stockport. 

10. How much time do you spend in nature?

I like to go for country walks away from the hustle and bustle of the city but I don’t always get the opportunity to do so. I probably should spend much more time in the country and we aim to rectify that to a certain extent this coming week by visiting some of the local countryside in Cheshire and the Peak District, all of which are nearby.

11. Do you make up a dinner plan for the coming week?

I think we do actually, which is a little sad. Sometimes perhaps we should be a little more spontaneous in that respect.

12. Do you make up a grocery shopping list and stick to it when shopping?

We have a notepad on the kitchen table and add things to it during the week as we think of them. Just before the weekly shop, we take a look just to see if we are running out of things. In that way we are quite organised.

13. What is one thing that you always buy, but never write down on a list?

Fruit, milk, cheese, ham, fruit juice, cat litter, vegetables, bread, fish. There are other things I am sure but that is the list off the top of my head.

14. Is there anything that you always think you are out of and come home with it to discover you already have a year’s supply on hand?

For me, usually it is men’s toiletries. I often don’t add things like shampoo to the list, for example, and when I get to the shop I think “Have I got enough shampoo or will I end up having to use whatever Mrs PM has bought?” The thing is with Mrs PM’s shampoo, it has to be a specialised shampoo that accommodates whatever whim she has with her hair at the time. In the past, when I have been in the shower and noticed that I have no shampoo and struggled to read her shampoo bottle wondering whether it will be fuel for my unmanageable hair and allow it to become even more uncontrollable than it already is by adding extra body to hair that has so much body that it could freely give it away to loads of people. 

And so I buy shampoo for myself, get home and discover that I already have six bottles and have to face Mrs PM who now thinks that I am some kind of shampoo pervert. 

15. Do you get your groceries delivered?

No – and for the simple reason that they always ALWAYS mess up the order. They substitute things that have run out of with poor replacements and cock it up to such an extent that I have a sweepstake to guess which thing will be wrong. I am certain that they use online grocery shopping to get rid of stuff that nobody would normally buy. 

“Oh, I’m sorry sir, the soft and fluffy toilet roll that you ordered is out of stock. We’ve substituted it with our own brand called Sandpaper Roll which is about a tenth of the price and made out of paper that is so rough it may take your skin off. It still does the job and you’ll be pleased to know that we have plenty of that in stock.”