Tuesday 10 February 2009

The letter meme

The "Letter Meme" has been going the rounds and I decided to let Deslily give me a letter. The idea is to name ten things that you love that start with that letter. Pat gave me the letter 'M'.

The Letter meme:

1. Mousehole. Pronounced 'Mowzal', this is a fishing village in Cornwall.



I'm not actually from the village, I'm from Penzance, about 5 miles away, but I had uncles, aunts and cousins who lived there and thus spent quite a lot of time there during summer holidays. It's the kind of place that gets under your skin, full of history and a sort of unchanging atmosphere. I love it.

2. Maps. This one is self explanatory. I just love maps. Any maps. Be they road maps, antique maps, maps in fantasy books - doesn't matter, I love 'em all.

3. Merlin. As in the BBC series. I love this all round family show to bits. It's nicely acted, beautifully filmed, and doesn't take itself too seriously. And it has Anthony Head. I can't think of a single thing not to like. :-)

4. Music. I like classic pop, c/w, folk... typical child of the 60s really.

5. Masterchef. This is the BBC's cookery competiton show. Good cooks competing for the title of Masterchef. I never miss it.

6. Murder mysteries. I'm just getting into crime books and I don't like them all by any means. But when I pick carefully I often find them unputdownable. I think perhaps I might be a 'closet' crime fan.

7. Mountains. I'm not sure we have 'serious' mountains in the UK. The USA has them though and I really loved The Blue Ridge mountains, The Great Smokeys and The White mountains of New Hampshire. 'One day' I hope to be lucky enough to see The Rockies. I don't think I could ever live anywhere that was too flat - I have to have hills.

8. Mushy peas. Delicious with fish and chips and a slice of bread and butter. I am becoming seriously old in my tastes.

9. McCaffrey (Anne) The best writer of dragons ever, in my opinion. Her early books affect me like no others.

10. Marigolds. Not the rubber gloves used for washing the dishes. Nor even really the African variety beloved of park or town bedding all over the UK. No, I mean your old fashioned, cottage garden, 'pot' marigolds that seed themselves, flower unstintingly all through the summer and autumn, attract butterflies... and you can even eat them. And they just look so cheerful and pretty. I call that a really spiffy plant.

13 comments:

monix said...

Cath, I love Mousehole, too. I have only been there on daytrips but it is one of my favourite places in Cornwall.
I love old-fashioned marigolds as well. I had a tiny patch of my own in the garden when I was small and grew marigolds and purple iris. Looking back, my mother probably gave me those, knowing they would grow whatever I did to them!

DesLily said...

lol just wrote my comments on the other blog! lol.. but, as always we tend to agree on most things!

Anonymous said...

I've never been to Mousehole, although I love Penzance and I haven't read any Anne McCaffrey books. Apart from those I love all the others (I haven't been to the US but I do like mountains).

Ana S. said...

I love your list, Cath! I love maps and music and mountains and marigolds too. I've never watched the Merlin series, but it sounds great. And Mousehold looks lovely!

Jo said...

I Love merlin too! Anthony head's great but I'm quite partial to the actor thatv played merlin. Nice smile. How shallow is that?!

Cath said...

Hi Maureen. Mousehole is one of those timeless places that the modern day doesn't really seem to have intefered with very much. Do you have The Mousehole Cat for Millie, for when she's a bit older?

Yeah, it seems so, Pat. Still trying to find a moment for a natter on AIM. Consumed by writing at the moment, but that should finish after the weekend... providing I pull my finger out!

Margaret, if you ever get the chance to go to Mousehole you really should. Truthfully, if you ever do go back to that part of Cornwall, let me know and I'll recommend a few places to go to.

Nymeth: Another map lover! I've come across a few other lady map lovers too. It seems this myth about women and maps is just that: a myth! And if Merlin ever comes to Portugal you should try to catch it. It's great fun.

Jo: LOL! Shallow is *good*. We all need a bit of 'shallow' in our lives or life would be really boring. Colin Morgan is a real sweetie, imo. To tell the truth I think the whole cast of Merlin is perfect - particularly ASH of course, but Richard Wilson is a hoot! I'll be visiting your blog in a moment.

Juliet said...

Hooray for Mushy Peas! I'm the only person I know (or was until just now!) who likes them - my family and friends look on with undisguised horror as I enjoy them with fish and chips, but I don't care. Delicious!

Danielle said...

Love the photo! Too bad I can't wish myself there right now! Do you ever get snow? Or is that a silly question?

Susie Vereker said...

Mousehole, yes. Indeed yes to all your other Ms especially maps but not so sure about marigolds, Merlin,McCaffrey, and negative mushy peas!

Cath said...

Juliet: Another mushy peas fan! Personally I think we're the discriminating ones.

Danielle: yes we do get snow, just had about a week of it as a matter of fact. My previous post showed some photos of the first batch - the second was a lot heavier.

Susie: it seems Mousehole is universally popular! But not so mushy peas. LOL.

Susan said...

Cath, you and I share so many M things! Mountains and maps and marigolds! And my husband has been to Mousehole!!! I just asked him, and he knew right away what I was talking about. He said he could live there too. He had holidays in Cornwall as a child, and really likes the area. Still waiting for Merlin to come over here. lovely meme, Cath!

Susan said...

my husband loves mushy peas. I can't eat them. I think its' a British thing. You don't want to know what i think of them!! and I didn't know Anthony Head was in Merlin, please let it come over here soon!!!

Cath said...

Susan: it seems M is good letter for both of us. LOL. It's hard to describe the magic that is Mousehole, but some places have an atmosphere all of their own which make them unique. I feel so privileged to have had such easy access to this village as a child and teen, especially in the 1960s when modern life was not as overwhelming as it is now.

I think you either like mushy peas or you don't. And I understand when people don't to be honest.

Oh, I do hope you get Merlin soon. It's such fun. And yes, it does have Anthony Head from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (we're currently rewatching all 7 seasons of that.) But don't expect a Giles like character. He plays Uther Pendragon and portrays him as volatile, dangerous, angry, but also rather vulnerable where his son, Arthur, is concerned. It's a heady mix and has captivated quite a few people. If the TV series never gets to you (though I think it will) I would recommend the dvds.

And just so's you know... I just ordered Moon Called from AM. *Your* fault! LOL.