Self

I spent this afternoon painting a self-portrait (which is above, and with which I'm currently not very happy, so it may get a bit of an alteration before long) and I thought it would be a good excuse for being unashamedly egoistical doing a self-portrait in words too. I saw the '100 things about me' idea on Sarah's blog, and I thought it was ideal for me. These '8 Random Facts' memes are great, but each fact has to be interesting... like Miss Bates before me, I opt for 100 very dull things indeed. Well, perhaps I choose rather more than her. Do have a go yourself!

1. My name is Simon David Thomas.
2. I was born on 7th November 1985...
3.... in Billinge, Merseyside, UK.
4. I've since lived in Eckington, Worcestershire; Chiselborough, Somerset, and Oxford.
5. I have a twin brother called Colin.
6. I'm vegetarian.
7. I'm a Christian.
8. The countries I've been to, outside of Britain, are Ireland, France, Belgium, Spain, Qatar (briefly), The Philippines.
9. In The Philippines a group of us taught sock puppetry to a group of teachers...
10. I hadn't been on a commercial 'plane until I was 19.
11. But I had been on a four-seater 'plane at our local airfield
12. Blue has been my favourite colour for as long as I can recall.
13. I've never broken any bones.
14. In fact, I've never been to hospital, except to be born and visit others!
15. My favourite singer is Kathryn Williams.
16. I cried a lot as a baby - Mum used to say "If you want to tell which one's Simon and which one's Colin, just lie them both down - the one to cry first is Simon" - !
17. I love spending time in my own company, but only if it's my choice and not forced.
18. I love writing and receiving letters, but am quite slow at doing it.
19. I love weddings.
20. My favourite vegetable is red pepper.
21. My favourite animal is the cat (especially the kitten)
22. Next is the donkey.
23. I'm severely arachnophobic.
24. I don't like the heat at all - if you're cold, you can put on a jumper; there is nothing to be done if it's hot!
25. I have a slightly irrational love of staircases, especially spiral ones.
26. But this is balanced by an irrational dislike of personal storage units...
27. I very rarely read newspapers.
28. I play the piano, violin and clarinet, though it's been so long since I picked up a clarinet that it might not be worth including in that list...
29. Colin and I were once in a group called the 'Elgar Junior Singers' in Worcestershire
30. I don't feel myself in a city - only truly happy in the countryside
31. As far as I'm aware, I'm not allergic to anything except fake transfer tattooes.
32. Spring is my favourite season, and Summer my least favourite.
33. I was a teenager before I realised that hens and chickens were the same thing, despite being brought up in the countryside by the son of a farmer.
34. That grandparent was known as Grandad Tractor throughout our childhood.
35. When I was very young I wanted to be a 'tealady' - though this has recently been trumped by a child who wants to be a 'fire engine'.
36. I once proposed to a girl called Natalie, when we were both five, and gave her the ring-pull from a Coke can. Her Dad conviscated it.
37. Colin and I went through primary school with our initials sewn onto our jumpers.
38. We had to do sets of Work Experience at school - I spent time at an Interior Design company, and a Publisher. And decided against both.
39. My favourite film is The Hours.
40. I can't stand the sound of shelves scraping against ice in a freezer.
41. And I also hate watching weather forecasts.
42. My favourite Bible verse is 2 Corinthians 12:9 - "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."
43. The first song I ever bought was Five's 'When The Lights Go Out'. What a confession.
44. I always eat cereal without milk.
45. My favourite feature is my eyes.
46. They're blue.
47. I can list all the States of America in alphabetical order.
48. Sadly, I bite my nails.
49. I learnt to click my fingers on my seventh birthday.
50. I had a brace on my teeth for three years.
51. The only sporting trophies I have are chess ones...
52. I'd love to go to Venice.
53. I can't speak any other language except English...
54.... but multilingualism is the skill I most admire in others.
55. I love baking, especially if I can make up the recipes.
56. I was a pond monitor in first school.
57. 256 is my favourite number.
58. My least favourite word is 'onyx'.
59. I don't like peanut butter, parsnips or raw tomatoes.
60. I've been on television twice.
61. And was on the front cover of the local newspaper when I was born.
62. I love those TV programmes about house makeovers/buying/selling/building.
63. Despite an A Level in Maths, I still find my 4 times table tricky.
64. My first role in the school play, with Colin, was holding up the 'sea' for Noah's boat to float across.
65. I'm anti-hunting, but not anti-culling.
66. I used the word 'vicarious' inaccurately for years.
67. I'm very squeamish.
68. But I've never fainted.
69. I hate having dry hands.
70. My attention span isn't that long, and I almost always get weary of a film or play about three-quarters of the way through.
71. I planted a silver birch in a garden my Grandad (Tractor) helped to dig, and enjoyed having a growing race with it over the years. It's long since won.
72. Eeyore is my favourite character from Winnie the Pooh.
73. I love painting and drawing.
74. And I always doodle on scraps of paper, or the backs of old envelopes, when I'm on the 'phone.
75. If I had to pick any period to live in, it would be the 1930s, minus the World War.
76. I love torrential rain, when I'm indoors.
77. I sleep with my curtains open, because I like to wake up in the light.
78. Queuing is the British trait of which I'm most proud.
79. I used to go under the alias 'syntrix' on the internet.
80. My friend Andrew and I briefly made a comic in Year 3, including Sqare [sic] Eyes and Daniel the Spaniel.
81. I stopped reading the Beano on my 13th birthday.
82. Growing up in a Vicarage family has made me value privacy a lot, and make definite boundaries between my personal space and other spaces.
83. I don't think I'd be able to leave the house in the morning without having had a cup of tea.
84. I love Ceylon tea.
85. My favourite food is crusty white bread cheese sandwich.
86. I love Ikea.
87. I've kept a journal since 2001, and would hate anyone to read a word of it.
88. I've also kept a list of the books I've read since about mid-2001.
89. I hate getting my haircut, and did it myself for a couple of years.
90. Almost every film makes me cry...
91. I get very shocked if people eat food off their knife.
92. I'm half an inch shy of six foot.
93. I sometimes correct people's grammar when I barely know them.
94. Sight is the sense I'd least like to lose.
95. In fact, I'd rather lose the other four - because nearly everything I like is experienced visually.
96. I once accidentally invited myself on a couple's date - and went...
97. I used to Maypole dance at school.
98. I carry a book with me more or less everywhere I go.
99. I'm quite tired, now, and
100. I found that really hard!