8 Random Facts

I've been delaying the '8 Random Facts' for a while, having been tagged by a couple of people. In fact, I had it in store for when inspiration didn't hit anywhere else. And, dear reader, you find me tonight rather uninspired... so let's hope the 8 Random Facts will not be an unmitigated bore. Also, can I suggest the term 'arbitrary', rather than 'random', since the latter has entered the vernacular for my generation, generally referring to anything unexpected or unusual. And it begins to wear.

Anyhow, without further ado, my arbitrary truths...

1) I am a Christian, and Jesus is the centre of my life, influencing everything I do. Hard to talk about it without sounding gushy and dramatic, but you should know me well enough by now to realise I ain't either of the above!

2) I'm quite famous, me. Have been on television twice. My first appearance was 1996, on Tomorrow's World - the crew came to my school, and asked my class what we thought would happen in the year 2000. I said (having just read my Gillian Cross) that computers would use subliminal frames to take over the world. The evidence supports my prediction, I think...
The second time was on Countdown last September. Great fun. I lost. But against the person who came third in the overall series...

3) You all know that I'm at Oxford University, but did you know I had to get through 6.5 interviews to occupy my Magdalen palace? Brasenose, Brasenose, (Jesus), Oriel, Magdalen, Merton, Magdalen. Jesus is in brackets because I was sent there, analysed the set poem for a while, waited outside the professor's room... only to be told they had no idea why I was there. Had been sent to the wrong college. But it all worked out well in the end!

4) I hate parsnips. Sooooo much. When I'd just had my brace put in (now, thankfully, gone) my family went to dinner with some friends. They all got roast dinner. I got a bowl of curried parsnip soup. The nightmares still return...

5) Most bloggers I visit have an 'and also...' interest, alongside books. Opera, photography, gardening, cooking... I'm afraid mine is less sophisticated. It's Neighbours. For friends across the pond, that's an Australian Soap Opera. And it's awful, but I love it. Anyone else watch a trashy soap? Confess!

6) You know that I have a Carbon Copy. Did you know that Our Vicar is also a twin? And that Thomas (our collective surname) means 'twin'? Zany.

7) Music, you ask? My favourite album is Kathryn Williams' Old Low Light. Check it out.

8) Alongside my televisual fame, I have also encountered some of my celebrity chums in person. Dame Judi Dench and Prince Charles, to name but two.