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Welcome to a cloudy and slightly damp Saturday morning in South Manchester. It is quite mild at the moment and now that Spring has arrived the temperatures are bearable. The clocks go forward today and we get one hour less sleep and this will make my morning walk a little bit more interesting for the next week or two because hopefully I will see a couple of sunrises on the way.

Shall we answer some silly questions from Sunday Stealing? 

1. Working on anything exciting lately?

I trust this question refers to life outside of work. One day I will tell you all about my job – but now is not the time (as I still work there).

In answer to the question, I am slowly working on two writing projects when time permits. The first is a set of memoirs from my boring existence on this spinning ball of rock. The second is a novel that I will probably finish but will almost certainly never see the light of day.

Of course, never say never, but at the moment these are just fun things to do.

I am also slowly learning the piano (very slowly actually) and that is quite exciting.

And of course I am slowly learning Spanish, which is also fun and exciting.

2. What was the highlight of the day today?

It is early in the day so nothing much yet. I went out for a walk this morning and had a cuddle with the cats beforehand. Mrs PM has gone away for a spa weekend with a couple of friends and so I am going out to the city for a couple of beers and meal later with a couple of friends, one who is the husband of one of Mrs PM’s spa friends. That should be fun.

3. What is your favourite thing to do on the weekends?

My favourite thing is not to work. My weekend now consists of Friday to Sunday since I am part time (semi-retired) and I love just being able to do whatever I choose to do on those days. On Fridays, Mrs PM is still working at home, so I usually try to catch up on outstanding tasks. I have amassed quite a list – from sorting out old stuff in preparation for changes we are making to the house later this year (not structural just decorating, relocation room functions etc.).

On Saturday and Sunday We try to do something interesting together, depending on the weather or just do nothing and be lazy. Whatever takes our fancy.

4. What are your favourite restaurants?

There are some good local restaurants and some good places in the city too. Here are a few in the city centre:

Yang Sing – Chinese restaurant

Little Yang Sing – Chinese Restaurant (sister of the Yang Sing)

Gaucho – Steak restaurant

East is East – Indian restaurant

Salvi – Italian restaurant

5. Do you follow any sports?

Yes indeed. I am a massive football fan but I support a team in the lower leagues; Walsall FC – the team from my home town. They are not very good but things are slowly improving. I like to watch Premier League football too.

I am a big fan of International Rugby Union and am currently smarting because once again England failed to impress in the Six Nations league (against France, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy). I am looking forward to the World Cup later this year.

I love watching cricket. I don’t really follow county cricket but I do go to a few matches at Old Trafford either to watch 20-20 matches or to watch England. This year it is the Ashes – when England face Australia and I shall be going to watch that when it comes to Manchester.

6. What is your biggest fear?

I’ve mentioned this a lot recently – it has to be heights. I won’t go over this again.

7. What is your biggest regret?

I try not to have regrets. You should look forward rather than backwards.

8. When you were growing up, what was your dream job?

I honestly didn’t have a dream job. I kind of fell into IT because I excelled at Maths and sciences generally. Were I to look back now, it would be a writer and if I could have my time again I would have switched my allegiance from Maths to English and languages in general (French, German, Spanish etc.).

9. Do you say ‘sherbet’ or ‘sherbert’?

I say sherbet – I think. I haven’t had it for many, many years.

10. Have you ever had a paranormal experience?

I was thinking about this the other day. Shortly after my dad died I thought I had a visit from him in the early hours of the morning. You can read about it here:

Talking to Ghosts 

The other day I was thinking about the house I live in. It was built in 1903 and I am sure that somebody must have passed on in the 120 years of its existence. Therefore, if ghosts exist, then there must be one or two of them roaming around my own house.

And I have never seen or heard from one. Cats are supposed to be sensitive to spirits and none of the six cats that have shared our house over the last 21 years have, to my knowledge, informed us that a ghost is haunting us.

With the experience I had with my dad, I could have been dreaming. But then again maybe not.

I won’t find out for sure until it is my time to move into the next world – or oblivion if that happens.

That sounded quite negative. 

Let’s cheer ourselves up! I hope I do become a ghost because I would have great fun moving around without a body – it would be a good way to live forever (which of course I plan to do). If I do become a ghost, I will do my best to let living people know that I exist.

11. What is your favourite food at a cocktail party?

I don’t go to cocktail parties generally but I do like finger foods that are usually handed out as appetisers before eating a Christmas Parties and similar things. I quite like anything with cheese (surprise surprise) but most things will do. I avoid seafood because although I can eat it, Mrs PM is allergic to it so I avoid it in solidarity with her.

12. Who is a book character most like you?

I would like to say Jason Bourne or James Bond (or James Blond in my case).

It would probably be the geek who supplies James Bond with all of his gadgets. So, assuming Q exists in the James Bond novels, I would say him.

13. Do you read reviews before you go to movies?

I try not to because if they say the movie is rubbish it will ruin it for me. I have seen quite a few films that the critics have slated but that I really enjoyed. The answer is therefore no.

14. How do you feel about cilantro?

I speak English – I don’t speak American English (although it is the language I am most fluent in). I had to look up “cilantro” and I discovered that it is really “coriander”. And I have to say I absolutely love it. It is one of the many spices that make Indian food really tasty. I once found a coriander pesto in the supermarket and it was divine – but I have never seen it since.

As an aside, here are a few other words that Americans get wrong. I am here to educate my good friends from across the pond. Here goes:

Eggplant – This is called aubergine in the UK.

Granola – We call this muesli.

Arugula – We call this by its proper name – rocket.

Cookies – What is a cookie? I’ll tell you what it is – it’s a biscuit.

French Fries – first of all, these are chips. Second, they are not from France – they are from Belgium.

Jelly – Jelly is a wobbly dessert not something you spread on sandwiches. We call it jam.

Zucchini – In England we refer to it by its real name – a courgette.

Popsicle – What on earth is a popsicle? I will tell you – it is an ice lolly.

Chips – This has totally confused me in America. As I said above, we call “French Fries” chips so when I ask for chips in America and get crisps I am most disappointed!

Candy – Candy? What is candy? We call candy sweets over here.

There are other differences but I aim to educate. You can thank me by not giving me crisps when you offer me chips next time I am over there.

15. Have you ever cried in public?

Only at funerals. Actually, that’s not true. I have been know to shed a tear in the cinema when a movie has been merciless with my heartstrings.