Barely scratches the surface...

From Pip Lincolne via a number of other sources but initially from Vogue: these 73 very basic questions appear to be doing the rounds and I’ve enjoyed reading about other Substackers, so here we go. Bearing in mind it barely scratches the surface.

1- What is your favourite time of day?
Raising the blinds on a new day, it feels like hope reborn. But then again, walking with the dog at night – the eternal blackness of the sky and the pricking sparkles of the whole universe. Grounding.

2-What is your biggest weakness?
Attuned to an atmosphere – it can be frightening and exhausting. When I’m with people, it can be a kind of intuition. I learn very quickly to observe and then withdraw…

3- How do you relax?
Meditation daily. And a long warm bath.

4- What is most important to you?
My family and my dog.

5- One thing in your bag at all times?
Only one? My small pocket diary with pen inserted in spine. My lifeline with the world.

But then there’s my hankie, 3 pairs of glasses including sunnies, my lippy, my wallet. I adore handbags and accessories generally.

6- What inspires you?
Compassion and creativity.

7- What colour was your prom formal dress
That was a hundred years ago – who knows?

8- How do you describe yourself in three words?
Hopeful, sensitive, old.

9- What do you notice when you first meet someone?
Their facial expressions, their hands, whether they look me in the eye, the way they speak and if they actually say anything worthy.

10- What are your friends like? Weathered like me, dimensional and very much my kindred spirits.

11- What is a new song you love right now? Solomon Hayes One Good Day.

12- What is your favourite season?

All of them. Each has intrinsic beauty and as I always say, a season turning so regularly is a hopeful event.

13- What are you scared of?
Scared is too strong a word. Cognisant perhaps? Wary? It would be loss. Of family, friends and pets.

It may be why I’ve written about grief across my three genres - fantasy, historical fiction and contemporary fiction. I’ve taken time to learn about grief and loss. My grandfather was a funeral director, and my cousins took the business over, so the experience of loss has been present in our lives and I’m relatively familiar with its impact on society. No one wants to lose their most loved. No matter how much one knows about grief and loss, it is still a difficult thing to navigate. Worth mentioning too, that no particular way of grieving is the right way…

14- How many kids do you have/want?
Two. A pigeon pair, now in their forties.

15- What is your favourite flower?
Freesia. The ethereal fragrance in such an unassuming and robust little plant is French perfume at its most natural.

16- Tea or coffee?
Tea. Herbal. Preferably camomile although my friend Willie introduced me to pomegranate tea which is very exotic and marks special moments. Many an afternoon spent on the verandah in the sun while the dogs played and we yarned about so much with a pomegranate tea by our sides.

17- If you could play any instrument, which would you play?
A Taiko drum.

The boom – that thump that floods down through the earth and up through my feet and legs. It would be mindblowing.

18- Favourite holiday?
Beach. Shells. A small cottage where I hear the waves. Seabirds. Boats. Swimming. Walking.

19- What places do you want to visit?
Places I haven’t seen. Nepal, Bhutan, India, Scandinavia, Scotland and the Isles, Ireland.

20- Must-have beauty products?
Moisturiser (not that it has kept one single wrinkle at bay) Number 50 SPF cream, eyebrow pencil, mascara, foundation and lipstick. I look like the Walking Dead without any cosmetics as I’m a natural blond with pale eyebrows and eyelashes.

21- Favorite thing about yourself?
I love my family to bits.

22- What was the name of your first pet?
Can’t remember. Dad and Mum had a dog when I was born (a spaniel) and it was love at first sight for dog and baby apparently.

23- Favorite apps on your phone?
I prefer to have as few as possible but Photos, Camera, ABC News, Instagram and MiCBT.

24- Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I will be almost 85. Hopefully with all my marbles and physical abilities. If not, I will be dust on the ocean breeze.

25- Next tattoo you want to get?

Hate tattoos.

26- Which three famous people would you invite for tea?
Queen Camilla, Rosamunde Pilcher, Dorothy Dunnett. DD because she is the greatest female historical fiction writer ever, IMO. Pilcher because she is the most lyrical family saga writer I have ever read. Queen Camilla because of her love of books, literacy, gardens and Jack Russell Terriers and she too has Essential Tremor and she does Seniors ballet.

27- Favourite designer?

Chanel, Carolina Herrera, Ralph Lauren.

28- Favourite scent/s?
Chanel Number 5, Diorissimo. I used always to love Caleche by Hermes as well but haven’t seen it for around for years.

29- Which person would you ask 73 questions to?
Friends.

30- What is your favourite thing to eat?
Chocolate.

31- What was your favourite movie as a child?
Anything with Hayley Mills in it. And Mrs. Miniver.

32- Movie that makes you cry every time you watch it?
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

33- Favourite thing to wear?
Jeans with ballet flats or Vivaia shoes.

34- Most adventurous thing you’ve done?
Travelled around the world solo at the age of 19. Or perhaps it was becoming a radio and TV presenter. The first two were marvellous. The TV bit was terrifying – didn’t enjoy it at all.

35- One movie you can watch over and over?
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

36- What is the coolest thing in the world? The ocean, trees, birds, aquatic animals, insects, primates – oh gosh, anything that has been focused on by Sir David Attenborough.

37- What are your three favourite albums?
Not into albums much…

38- Sweet or savoury?
Mostly sweet.

39- Cats or dogs?
Dogs!

40- Favourite actress?
Can I have more than one? Katharine Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn. Dame Judi Dench. Emma Thompson.

41- Favourite place ever?
Maria Island, Tasmania. Especially out of season.

42- What show are you currently watching?
Alone Australia (set in Finland).

43- Favourite male singer
Haven’t got one.

44- Favourite female singer
Haven’t got one.

45- Who do you turn to when you’re sad?
My dog.

46- Do you like cooking or baking?
Is there a difference? Semantics, surely. One cooks/bakes in one’s kitchen…

47- Favourite snack food?
I’m not a snack food person.

48- Secret talent?
Hoping for the best. Beats the alternative.

49- What are you most excited for these days?
Waking up.

50- What does your name mean?
Caution, wisdom, foresight. Ironic. Maybe my parents hoped…

51- Hobbies that you will never give up.
Never, until they give me up through body deterioration – stitching, gardening, walking and swimming.

52- What makes you mad?

Racism first and foremost, or perhaps I should say any sort of discrimination, including elitism. Selfishness and lack of empathy. Bad manners. Lies.

53- Which song would you like to hear to be happy?
Slip into Something Comfortable by Kinobe.

54- Favourite word in English?
Only one? I’ve got a whole thesaurus! I’ll start with: serendipity, splendid, coddywomple and gallimaufry.

55- Something people don’t know about you
Anxiety…

56- What old song track are you into right now?

None.

57- Window or aisle seat?
I hate flying and I do need to have access to a loo…

58- Favorite piece of clothing?
My old red jeans… and my beautiful nude-pink Calvin Klein ski jacket with creamy beige velvet collar and fur-edged hood. It’s elegant…

59- Optimistic or pessimistic?
Cautiously optimistic.

60- Something from your childhood that you still have?
Apart from books? My Britains’ farm animals. I would take my pocket money and Dad’s hand on a Saturday, and we would go to a small toy shop in Charles Street, Launceston where I would pick out animals. Slowly I built my farm, and Dad made me fences, sheds, and stables for all my horses. I spent hours playing with everything and now my grandson plays with it all when he visits.

61- Favourite part of the day?
When I’m not busy and can sit with my dog and a cup of tea.

62- Do you believe in fate?
Yes.

63- Diamonds or pearls?
Pearls always. They make any woman’s skin glow. Maybe I should wear mine daily, regardless of activity, and to hell with what folk might think.

64- What is something you can’t do?
Boating in any weather above 10 knots since I permanently lost my rightside balance in an acute vestibular event. It’s frustrating and immensely sad, as I was reared amongst boats.

65- What do you usually eat for breakfast?
Porridge made with traditional oats and milk and topped with Greek yoghurt, blueberries, cinnamon, flaked almonds and honey. It’s a low GI meal that sets one up. Best meal of the day.

66- Favourite colour?
Blues of the right hue for my skin.

67- What makes you happy?
When things are drama-free and my family are well.

68- What is your advice to people?
Be kind and have no expectations.

69- What is your favourite ice cream flavour?
Berry.

70- Do you prefer milk chocolate or dark chocolate?
Both but mostly milk. Either Lindt or Haigh’s. Husband always tries to bring one or t’other home from the mainland.

71- What is your favourite fruit?
Berries. And pears. And grapes.

72- Vintage or new?
Bit of both.

73- Who is your favourite superhero?
My husband – an amazing man with super-powers of caring. My son for being a Superson, Superhusband and Superfather, my daughter-in-law for being a Supermum and Superwife and friend. And my loved daughter for being Superbrave and Superstrong in the face of a very difficult neurological diagnosis.

These are real people, not comic characters. It matters…

Other Things:

I’m still swimming, trying to raise money for cancer research (Please donate: ). On Saturday last, I popped to the bay at the end of the street but stopped to talk to a couple of acquaintances and was surprised at how the cold southwesterly wind cut through the neoprene of my wetsuit. I walked into the water and began to swim north, and within a few metres became chilled. My son, ex-surfer and diver, tells me it was because my core temperature had already dropped whilst chatting for 30 minutes on the shore. So it seems I must get my wetsuit on, hurry to the beach, jump straight in, swim and then get home and changed ASAP. Maybe I’m just age-ing…

Anyway, all in a good cause! And just to make you laugh – here’s my Daffodil Day swim cap! Lordy, I could be seen from Outer Space. And if that doesn’t encourage you to donate, nothing will!

I paint for an hour each day. One day, I paint gumnuts in watercolour on unattractive paper. Another day, I attempt the dinghy painting I’ve wanted to tackle for ages and never had the confidence. I decide that there’s no point waiting, just get in a have a go. Disappointingly, the coffee-coloured paper buckles because it’s not stretched on a board and taped. If the painting is any good, I’m hoping pressing helps.

Each night I write more of Phoebe’s Prime. I rather like Phoebe. She’s got a great deal of courage for a seventy five year old. To sell up, move interstate where she knows no one, buy a house unseen and plan to reinvent herself. She’s had a tumultuous life for a quiet woman and I want to see her emerge safely from her journey. But who knows? I’m what they call a pantster writer. While I may have a very loose storyline, I tend to let the thoughts and story come naturally. It can be an exciting journey. Over the years, some of my characters have died with no idea at all from me, so gird your loins.

Husband returns from his Adelaide conference with a full bag of luscious Haighs’ choccies. Must now walk 20,000 daily steps to be able to eat the chocolate!

I sit in my friend Willie’s kitchen while the dogs romp and roll outside in her magnificent city garden. There is a huge ‘work in progress’ on an easel in front of the fireplace – a beautifully rendered old Gingko trunk filled with such depth, as if I could run a finger up the bark and find it rough and cork-like. It reminds me of The Hobbit, perhaps Treebeard himself. Outside, the temperature reaches 17 degrees, and precious spring bulbs burst open, the chooks cluck and the gardener mows. It’s the sound of seasons changing. Our chat is like our times on the coast, just a different location, and I cherish it.

She loans me two Tove Jansson books, The Summer Book and The Winter Book, having read them herself and loved them. I read the forward of the first and it sings to my soul and I suspect I may have to order both as keepers. The feeling that one has when one finds a book that fits like a hand in a glove – it’s comfort, warmth, a desire to go to bed at sunset, snuggle down under the blankets, laying one’s head on the pillows and reading one page and then another and another in perfect peace.

The Womble meets his first mob of cattle – curiosity abounds on both sides of the fence. The yearlings approach and the dog stands so still, only his nose vibrating as he smells the air. Then the cattle canter away as we turn along the verge. They return to us, staring at this little white bundle. They communicate in some odd way – being of a similar age to the pup, I suppose they’re saying let’s play, let’s run! Can you imagine a JRT with cattle?

I attend my last ballet class for 5 weeks. How will I keep up when I return – how stiff will my foot be when I begin again? Physio required! I’ll attend class in the moonboot and sit and block movements, perhaps take videos to learn. But as I write this, my ankle throbs and aches in certain positions. Will it improve? Arthritically perhaps not, but at least the longitudinal tendon tear will be mended and will no longer catch on the bone spur which will be gone.

Ah, does any or all of that scratch the surface? Who knows?

Music this week? It has to be this because its mentioned above and it makes me happy.