A game of tag

I have been tagged by Anna MR. Hello Anna MR! How are you, dear linguistically-talented lady?

Here are the "Rules":
(Note from Anna MR: Please adapt or ignore as you see fit).

1. Let others know who tagged you.
2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.


1. Drinking Champagne gives me a post-facial glow the next morning (but so much better than a real facial, which can cause breakouts). It's very, very odd. But very, very satisfying. Also, no hangover. No other form of alcohol does this (not that I am drinking any at the moment)...

2. I have been looking at people in the street and wondering what they looked like when they were five years old. This is something I started to do this week. Odd behaviour, I know. But I am fascinated by people's ways and how they get from innocent baby (or are babies innocent?) to the adults we deal with daily.

3. I've discovered dark secrets about people through trying my amateur hand at things like tarot and graphology. I don't know whether it's just intuition working but something's afoot, and I rather like it.

4. I wish I'd studied different A-levels and gone to a university with spires to read English. Instead, I did sciences and maths, which are not my forte (not helped by my school going rapidly downhill in the late 80s) and studied for an honours degree in psychology (interesting subject, nonetheless).

5. I have seen ghosts. Clearly. (With a friend who saw exactly the same things on one occasion).

6. My unfinished novel attracts and repels me at the moment. I know that if I pick it up, I'll despair that I have to do work work sooner or later, which gets in the way of its flow. The not-being-able-to-carry-on is too painful. Hence, a paradox. I'm at the story's halfway point.

7. An uncle has traced my family tree back to a prince. This uncle can be a bit of a joker but he has done his homework according to my cousins, who can be his biggest (if loving) critics. Maybe there's a palace tucked away in the mountains, with my name on it... Sigh.
8. A Canadian penpal I started writing to as a 14-year-old is now one of my dearest friends and is someone I consider a kindred spirit. We have known each other for more than 20 years... We first met in person when we were around 19, got on amazingly well, had a blip of not writing in our early 20s and then picked up again, strangely having been drawn to the same jobs and similar people.

So, that's me done. I shall in turn tag:

Pony Person
The Scottish Lemon
The Struggling Writer
In Search of Adam
Misanthrope and Glory, as he was the first person, I think, to comment on my blog.
Life is beautiful, as she hasn't written anything since May.
The Inner Minx as I have lurked there.
Yumi Yumi, a random discovery.

NMJ, you got off lightly – I think someone got to you before I did!