Mexican Matchbox Wedding Favours

After eighteen months of planning, relaxed and intense all at the same time, our wedding went wonderfully. We tried to mix the Mexican details in with the very British setting of the grand but cosy Highbury Hall in Birmingham. These were some of my favourite parts – papel picado, tequila on every table, Mexican music and singing and dancing all night long!

Mexican Lotería Matchbox Wedding Favours, with Muñequita

One of the first things we got excited about was the favours, little glittery matchboxes with Mexican lotería cards for decoration (a game a bit like Bingo). Daniel had seen them on Etsy and they were so lairy I loved them! Of course, in full-on money-saving mode I decided to make them myself. I took it slowly, starting them in July while I was off work, and finished them in February. By making them myself we paid about £40 for the eighty matchboxes. They were about £90 for 80 matchboxes so with postage from the US on top I basically saved a bomb. You could save even further by printing the lotería pictures out from Google Images onto card and filling them with sweets or little printed out notes.

Materials we bought :

• Matchboxes – 50p for 20 from the Bullring Market
• Glitter card – £1 per value brand pack from Hobbycraft, you’ll need maximum three for eighty matchboxes
• Glitter glue – £1.50 per colour, I used five colours from Hobbycraft
• Glue – £2.00 from Hobbycraft
• Guillotine – £24.99 from Amazon

Materials we had sent from Mexico :

• Muñequitas – 100 little dolls
• Lotería – 3 packs

• Measure your matchboxes and cut your glitter card with the guillotine. Our matchboxes were bright orange, so it was really important to get the sizing right so that it couldn’t be seen around any edges. You should also be able to measure the paper to get the best number of pieces out of it so there’s as little wastage as possible. As an exporter it reminded me of my CapePack days trying to work out the optimum cartons per pallet for transport. Also, cover your work surface with newspaper because the value card leaks glitter everywhere!
• Cut your lotería cards with the guillotine. Filter out those you don’t want, for example we took out El Negrito, and the ones with boring pictures like La Campana and La Mano (the Black Man, the Bell and the Hand). I also tried to get a good mix, there will be more Estrellas than Ranas for example (Stars and Frogs), so I did a bit of sorting and counting to get more or less even numbers of each design.
• Stick the glitter card to one face of the matchbox, once that side is dry glue a different colour to the other side and leave a couple of days to dry completely. Mine were left to dry next to a sunny window for about two days in the middle of Summer, then transferred to a Tupperware box with a sheet of kitchen roll between each layer. I checked them every three or four weeks to make sure that the glue was sticking and that they weren’t rolling up at the edges.
• Glue the lotería pictures onto what will be the top of your matchboxes and leave to dry. I put my piles of pictures in order so that I used the most exciting pictures, like El Borracho and El Nopal (the Drunkard and the Cactus), and went along them in order. I also tried to get mine contrasting, I would not glue a picture with a yellow background on to a gold glitter side, or with pink background onto a red glitter side etc. These were left for two Wintry days to dry by my sunny window.
• Glitter glue around the outside of the lotería picture to hide the edges, leave to dry. I left mine one week at the sunny window in January, to be completely sure they were dry. Again I used contrasting colours, eg., gold glitter side with blue picture background with pink glitter glue / blue glitter side with yellow picture background with green glitter glue.
• Fill the matchboxes with all your goodies and enjoy your guests’ reaction to the colours and the little surprises inside!

Matchboxes

Tools

Glitter paper

Lotería

Muñequitas

Glitter glue

Finished!

Wash hands

THE DARK SIDE OF PEÑA NIETO (TRANSLATION)

Discussing with some Mexican friends yesterday, we originally thought that the cancellation of the railway deal was a good thing because it would promote more competition among Mexican companies, but with the “Casa Blanca” revelation, it’s is either a distraction tactic away from Ayotzinapa investigations, or more likely – as it came to light just days after he cancelled that deal on the railways – that as the head of the railway company funded it, it was given as a bribe and the cancellation of the contract was a way to save face, like “we know this thing about the house is going to break, let’s try and divert the real story.”

Then we talked about his government, he’s young and he’s surrounded by young advisers, they don’t have the political experience and knowledge to advise him properly, someone should have said “No, you need to actually go to Ayotzinapa, not meet them half way, these families are grieving and they are angry, don’t make them come to you”. He needs to be made accountable, the Financial Times has mentioned that he needs to take responsibility, word is getting out there but he’s doing his usual trick of side-stepping the important issues that affect his people.

LATIN AMERICA FOCUS

Tomorrow Mexicans will again take to the streets in mass protest against the disappearance of the 43 students, the government response, absence of justice and indignation towards the Mexican state.  Pressure is surely mounting on president Peña Nieto, including in the form of this article I have translated into English below.  The original from the Mexican magazine Proceso can be found here.

Since he was the governor of the State of Mexico and now as president, Enrique Peña Nieto has tried to hide – placing the blame onto others – several scandals from his political and family life which, with the passing of time, have become a burden, a dark side to his career, which like a shadow follows him everywhere he goes and keeps growing bigger and bigger until it overtakes the original figure.

From memory, one can recall at least three episodes that tarnish his political and personal biography…

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Todos Somos Ayotzinapa

The students are declared dead, Mexico is in mourning.

Shortly after I published Vivos Los Queremos, my suegrita told me of the announcement that three informants from Guerreros Unidos confessed to receiving the students from the police, killing them and burning their bodies. The three hitmen, Patricio Reyes, Jonathan Osorio and Agustín García Reyes confirmed their involvement in the disappearance. They were taken from the police cars and bundled into a truck, fifteen died from suffocation. Those that survived were taken to a rubbish dump outside Iguala, where they were interrogated and shot. According to the Aristegui article, the bodies of the students were then surrounded by tyres and wood, and burned for 15 hours until there was barely anything left to identify them. The order from their boss, El Terco, was to crush the bones and throw them in the San Juan river near to Iguala. Last week the river was a cordoned off according to The Telegraph, but no significant finds were made.

Murillo Karam, the Procurador General de la República is now the new focus of Mexico’s anger. I’d like to say it’s the equivalent of our Attorney General. His speech detailing the fate of the students excluded a key point in the events leading up to their death, the involvement of the State, the people that were elected and that we were supposed to trust. Karam then ended with a flippant reaction about the questions he received from the press : “Ya me cansé” (“I’ve had enough”). This off-the-cuff remark has snowballed into an internet phenomenon “If you’re tired, then resign” and the Guardian reports other people using it to vent their frustrations with messages such as “Enough, I’m tired of living in a narco state” or “Enough, I’m tired of corrupt politicians.”

Quien no ha hecho justicia no tienen derecho a cansarse – Nobody deserves to rest if they have not done justice

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2014/velada-muestra-descontento-ante-resolucion-de-la-pgr-1052567.html

On Saturday night the capital burned. A peaceful flashmob was organised in the Zócalo at 17h00, Un Minuto por Ayotzinapa, protesters united and lay on the floor for one minute, remembering the poor students executed by the state. The peaceful protest was interrupted during the evening by anarchist groups seizing their opportunity, El Universal reports that they burned several cars and trucks, and made their way to the government buildings, successfully setting fire to the main door. Anarchists may also be to blame for a fire on the metrobus a few days ago, an attempt to distract or to justify the government’s (in)action.

http://www.24-horas.mx/1-minuto-por-ayotzinapa-flashmob-en-el-zocalo-vine/

Where is the top man in all of this? President Enrique Peña Nieto (EPN) has not postponed his state visit to China, his country is in mourning and he has left them, there is no support from the one man that is supposed to speak out for these people. The social media demands his resignation, how dare he desert his country in crisis! He’s a master of political distraction and future promises, the United Nations have even passed comment on the president’s behaviour and so far ineffective security policies. Mexicans abroad have staged mini-protests around the world, Netherlands, Brasil, USA, China, UK, international media is taking notice and with the President out of the country he’ll find it difficult to defend himself. News has also broken recently, of a hugely expensive mansion owned by EPN, is this another attempt to distract us from the real problem here? If he’s seen to have an expensive house then it might just make us forget about the atrocity of Ayotzinapa.

The Mexican government is losing, the international press is gaining knowledge and a voice, my Daniel tells me that even the journalists that usually defend EPN and his government are struggling to find a way to support his action and convince their readers of his control over the situation. With his visit to China I feel he’s left his country to cope by themselves, he’s shown he doesn’t really care about his people. Perhaps he hopes that in a country with stricter media laws he might be left alone while he formulates his empty promise official response.

Vivos Los Queremos

It’s not on the news, but six weeks ago 43 Mexican students were bundled into a bus and taken away, handed over to a local drug cartel, and nobody has found them yet.

On 26^th September the mayor’s wife was holding a campaign event in the southern city of Iguala. At the same time, around 80 students arrived in the city from university in Ayotzinapa to hire a bus to take them to a peaceful protest in Mexico City, also in Guerrero. As they were leaving the city, they encountered a municipal roadblock – armed state police. Shouting and shooting at their feet to control them, the police killed six people at the scene, the rest cowered in their busses or in nearby undergrowth waiting for it to be over. Forty-three were forced into police cars and taken away. Later admissions tell that they were handed over to the Guerreros Unidos, a local drug cartel. Their fate is still unknown.

http://cosecharoja.org

The main offenders :

• Alcalde José Luis Abarca – It’s well known in Mexico that most anti-government protests in the country are led by leftist thinkers, and as the college that the students were travelling from has a history of left-wing activism, it was little wonder that the mayor would want to stop them disturbing the event. The Daily Beast recounts a previous incident from 2013 where Abarca and his men intercepted a group of activists, and violently murdered them himself, and buried them in a pit outside the town.
• María de los Angeles Pineda de Abarca – The mayor’s wife and really the main offender here, she and her husband had been missing since the day of the disappearance. The event she was running on 26^th September was building up to a campaign trail to replace her husband as mayor of the city once her husband’s term had finished. It has since become known that her brothers are part of the Guerreros Unidos and Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, the local drug cartel, and that her influence on all criminal activities in Iguala is extensive. Whether these students came to Iguala in protest or in peace, it was María de los Angeles that gave the order to “take care of them”.
• Guerreros Unidos – The local drug gang related to the Beltrán Leyva cartel, their calling-card is described by the Huffington Post as a gory murder leaving the victim with no face and no eyes. A banner has appeared, a narcomanta confirming their involvement in the disappearance : “Release the 22 or else we will reveal the names of all the politicians who work for us. The war is just beginning”.
• El Estado – The Director of Public Security in Iguala, Felipe Flores, has been missing since the news of the disappearance broke. More than thirty civil servants have been arrested in connection with the operation. Governor Ángel Aguirre Rivero was forced from his post, and on 1^st November, some would argue that the state government  of Guerrero unequivocally admitted their guilt. Some students protesting over the disappearance had spoken to friends and families of the missing, and have reported via Aristegui that the municipal government had offered 100,000MXN (4500.00GBP) for their silence on the issue. “Llega gente del gobierno diciéndonos: ‘sabes qué, ¿necesitas algo?, ¿te podemos ayudar en algo? Mira, firma estos papeles, te vamos a dar 100 mil pesos’. ¿Para qué? Para que nos calláramos – The government said to us, ‘you know what, do you need anything? Can we help you in any way? Look, sign these papers and we’ll give you 100,000 pesos’. Why? To shut us up.”

Fue el Estado – It was the State

True to form Mexicans across the country are turning out in protest at the State’s handling of the situation. Why has it taken a month for the national forces to step in and help the search? Why is information suppressed to the point of paying people to be quiet? Why were the mayor and his wife allowed in office knowing their ties to the cartel? There are so many questions here and the people want answers. Graves have been found, but state police tampered with the evidence in the early stages so there’s no way of knowing if the bodies found already are indeed the students. Slowly slowly, across the country, other stories of similar abductions are coming out of the woodwork, Aristegui recently reported on over 300 students missing in Coahuila during the last three years, and again – nadie ha dicho una palabra.

While in office, the mayoral couple had political immunity against any crimes they may commit, but on 30 September they fled their posts, renouncing this privilege. The mayor and his wife were arrested on 4^th November, they had deserted their posts to hide out in a working-class area of Mexico City. As time goes on, Mexico are losing hope on their cry of “Vivos se los llevaron, vivos los queremos”. They were taken alive and we want them back alive. Government buildings have been burned, protests grow in numbers across the country, their slogan ringing out across the country. But the government doesn’t listen, not sending federal forces into Guerrero until late in October, and even then the support is minimal.

Yet another tragedy in the Mexican War on Drugs. To date around 110,000 people have died since Calderón’s gung-ho declaration, a copy-cat reaction to the US War on Terror. In a society that lived in blissful ignorance of the cartels action, the deployment of the army has led to a sharp increase in civilian involvement. This student disappearance is political corruption hung out for the world to see, but the world doesn’t want to, and the government is actively working to cover up the messy part they have played.

The whole of Mexico is shouting into a void, newspaper articles on page ten, buried deep in regional news on the global websites, nobody is talking about it in office canteens or in school staffrooms – it’s front page news in this country that’s shouting to the world to recognise and act. These poor souls can only be resting in the hills around Iguala, given to the cartel by two petty little people intent on furthering their own influence over the people they are supposed to serve.

http://sexta-azcapotzalco.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/ayotzinapa-solidaridad-desde-colombia.html

Most of my information and reaction on this subject comes via articles that my suegrita shares on facebook. Some further reading : Aristegui, The Daily Beast, Guardian, BBC, La Jornada, El Proceso, Huffington Post, Yahoo MX, El Universal

My Second Pozole : Mexican Independence

Mexican Independence Day, the day that Hidalgo and Allende stirred Mexicans into war against Spanish rule with the Grito de Dolores, and that is re-enacted throughout Mexican villages and towns and cities.

Latin America Focus has some wonderful photos of this year’s celebration in Mexico City, and one day I’d love to be there to experience it for myself. Normally the UOB Mexican Society will have a party to celebrate, which we went to last Friday at the usual Mexican House. We tasted so many regional dishes and took our own rajas con crema, we laughed, ate and danced all night, and even had a little gritito ourselves. Our marking of this date at home last week was a bit more subdued.

My second pozole

Knowing from My First Pozole that it takes about three and a half hours to make, I found a few ways to speed this up for a Tuesday night after work. Firstly, using smaller chunks of pork and chicken to get the meat cooked and ready to shred in under an hour, then buying the hominy maize ready-cooked in a tin rather than dried and requiring an overnight soak and hour’s simmering. The broth is seasoned with onion and garlic, peppercorn, bay leaves and salt. Bring it all together with toppings of chopped radish, red onion and lettuce, season again with chili powder and serve with a side of hard-shell tortillas / tostaditas covered with cream and grated mozzarella.

Ingredients

Pork and Chicken

Ready to go!

My recipe is a simplified version of Thomanisa Miers’s in Wahaca: Mexican Cooking at Home (I actually found this version in the Guardian newspaper). Our maíz blanco came from www.mexgrocer.co.uk, 800 grams for £3.20, the meat came from the market at less than £1.00 per item, the Old El Paso shells were £1.49 for eight, then everything else is basic store cupboard ingredients. We actually had a lot left over, so I’d say we cooked enough for six people, so a really yummy recipe for about £1.45 per head.

The verdict : one second helping, two empty bowls and one very happy Mexican.

#100happydays Days 90 – 100

Day 91

Day 95

Day 92

Day 93

Day 99

Day 98

Day 94

Day 97

Day 96

Day 100

Day 91 – Another afternoon of playing cards in the hospital with my Mom and Daniel.

Day 92 – My first day of Garden Leave turns into Balcony Leave on the eighth floor. Enjoying the quiet and the sunshine in the flat.

Day 93 – I’m staying with my Mom for a few days after her operation, and my early morning run takes me right into the countryside around Wythall (Worcestershire).

Day 94 – Reteaching my grandmother how to play some of the card games she taught me as a child is both very sad but I spent a lovely lunchtime with her.

Day 95 – Daniel had to do some paperwork with the Mexican Embassy so we took a daytrip down to London. Then while he’s in the embassy I took the opportunity to catch up with a friend from university before she gets married in a few weeks and won’t have time for anything!

Day 96 – Daniel makes me happy every single day. I love the little conversations that we have, the Spanglish and the gestures are our own little language. And he’s been wonderful during this period of redundancy. Now that I’m hope properly from my Mom’s house it’s back to a lovely little normality.

Day 97 – I’d forgotten I had this skirt. Found it in a bag that my Mom brought round a few weeks ago, it was too big but having put on about 5kg it should fit again now.

Day 98 – Waiting for some very stressful news at the hospital, we finally got a call from my cousin at 20h05 to say that everything is OK.

Day 99 – My Guides again, one of the Brownies made me a heart-shaped something out of pipecleaners. It went straight in my hair, naturally.

Day 100 – Having a look through the photos at my grandmother’s house. Then seeing her face light up when she sees them in hospital.

#100happydays Days 84 – 90

Day 84

Day 90

Day 85

Day 87

Day 88

Day 86

Day 89

Day 84 – Mexico vs Croatia, I always enjoy watching Mexico with the Mexicans, they always get so excited! This was an afternoon in the Walkabout in Birmignham with all the Mexicans, they wouldn’t put it on the big screen, despite there being way more Mexicans than Brazilians, Brazil got centre-stage.

Day 85 – Sometimes I get to Guides a bit early on a Tuesday, and I sit and enjoy the silence of the church grounds. Then the girls arrive and all hell breaks loose.

Day 86 – After losing my job I was going through the interview process, and on this day I had an offer made to me, but everything inside me was saying “don’t take this”. So I had to get a few pieces of advice. Work was very good about it and allowed me to use the side office to make all my phone calls. The Morph doorstop kept my smiling through a very rough day.

Day 87 – Aaagh the night before this photo, there was quad bikes racing around the road outside our flat. This was taken at 21h30 and there was no sign yet so I was enjoying the quiet night.

Day 88 – I got a job! Well, the one that I really wanted! A different job to the one on Wednesday, I declined that one, twice. So I look forward to starting with them on 4th August, that gives me the whole of July off!

Day 89 – Saturday, my grandmother is in one hospital with dementia and my Mom is in another one having a full hip replacement. I was very happy to see my front door after a long day of hospital visits.

Day 90 –  Back at the hospital with my Mom, my sister and I fight to the death in the Battle of the Crutches. Very, very fun afternoon with the family.

#100happydays Days 70 – 76

Day 70

Day 71

Day 72

Day 73

Day 74

Day 75

Day 76

Day 70 – Getting ready for the World Cup with my favourite World Cup song! Ok, it’s four years ago – and France – but it always makes me giggle!

Day 71 – Nutella, and ice lollies and wine, basically. Something happened at work, so that was all that could make me happy that day.

Day 72 – Silly conversations, who would win out of Zeus and Huitzilopochtli?

Day 73 – The simple summer morning sunshine across the city. Beautiful!

Day 74 – Guess who I am supporting? Love casual Fridays!

Day 75 – My sister and her wife, being idiots as usual. Lovely weekend. We also went to choose my wedding dress.

Day 76 – Finally trying out Caffè Chino in The Arcadian, a Chinese vintage tea room in the heart of the Chinese Quarter, lovely!

10 Statements on Most Common Assumptions about Mexico

From my good friend Miguel, cycling from Canada to Chile on a big eco-tourism, heritage, sustainable development, community, conservation project!

SUR LA ROUTE DU PATRIMOINE

When traveling, we all have, thankfully or unfortunately, predispositions and expectations. We have heard a lot about Mexico. Before our departure from France, but mostly here in the American continent, from the medias, from people, before entering in the country, here in the country from people talking about neighbouring areas…

Experience It Yourself!

Most of the time, unconsciousness and lack of knowledge drive to fear of the neighbourhood, that make new rumors, incorrect or partial information. Thanks to or because of bad information the TV and other medias, supported by governments.

Also, talking to people and informing about the country you are visiting is well worthy when traveling, in order to prepare your journey, immerse yourself in the culture, understand some traditions, situations, conflicts, problems that you will face soon, or not. It is all about learning from your virtual or living experience, keeping your critical abilities.

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Eight Years Later

Do you remember when the internet first came out properly, about ten years ago? Before facebook and Twitter and even before MySpace, at 20 to 22 years-old we were obsessed with Bejewelled, and Celebdaq, and Quizilla quizzes. Which Evil My Little Pony are you?, Which Care Bear are you? Which City should you live in? etc… All seriously, defining issues.

There was a massive thing going round about surveys, you answered the kind of questions that are now freely shared without even realising it in all the social media. So I was going over some old blog-posts earlier today and found one that I did in 2006 – eight years is such a long time ago. I’ve taken the Name and Birthday and where you were born questions out, because they haven’t changed, but I thought it would interesting to see how my answers differ now from back then (new answers in green) ::

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF – The Survey
Your Heritage:	Real life: Brummie … Spiritual: Spanish / Birmingham, UK, Europe, the World
The Shoes You Wore Today:	Walking boots / Knee-high boots
Your Weakness:	Not being assertive enough / Not being assertive enough, strangely still rings true now
Your Fears:	Dogs, failure / Losing loved ones, losing my job, running someone over
Your Perfect Pizza:	The Works with sweetcorn instead of black olives / Goats cheese and caramelised onions
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:	Lose weight / Keep running, decorate the house
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:	Hmm.. / I never use instant messenger anymore, not even on facebook
Thoughts First Waking Up:	Why does my mom have to talk so loudly to my dad??! / Nooooooooo!!
Your Best Physical Feature:	Eyes / Eyes, hair
Your Bedtime:	Anywhere between 11pm and 1am / Between 22h00 and 23h00
Your Most Missed Memory:	ERASMUS / My Dad
Pepsi or Coke:	Fanta Naranja…? / Whatever it is it needs to be diet
MacDonalds or Burger King:	MacDos! / McDonalds, although I rarely eat them anymore
Single or Group Dates:	Single / Single, although I am now happily living with my Mexican now, but still enjoy dinner parties and pub nights with friends
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:	Nestea..? / Lipton Ice Tea, peach flavour
Chocolate or Vanilla:	Vanilla / Vanilla
Cappuccino or Coffee:	Yuck neither!! Espresso at a push / Still neither!
Do you Smoke:	Only when too drunk to stand.. / Nope, not even when drunk
Do you Swear:	Yeah! F*ckin’ yeah! / Try to avoid it, only at very strong emotions, pain, fear, instinct.
Do you Sing:	Haha! Only when very drunk! / In the car, in the house, at Guides, cooking, all the time!
Do you Shower Daily:	Sometimes even twice! / Always
Have you Been in Love:	Yes / Yes
Do you want to go to College:	I went. I’d love to go back / I went, the only thing I would want to do again is Erasmus, and study harder for my final exams.
Do you want to get Married:	Yes, to the right person.. / Yes, the right person is here and we’re getting married in a year!
Do you believe in yourself:	Sometimes… / More than I used to but still suffer from severe lack of confidence at work sometimes
Do you get Motion Sickness:	No, thankfully! / If I’ve been on a plane too long, or too many times in a short space of time
Do you think you are Attractive:	Not so much at the moment.. / In the face yes, could stand to lose the belly. Keep running!
Are you a Health Freak:	I’m hoping to diet and exercise now! / Not really, it’s always a phase, I lost a lot of weight and am managing to keep it off, but it’s hard. Keep running!
Do you get along with your Parents:	Everyone gets annoyed by their parents! / There was a very difficult period but we’re all seeing the light now and I’m sure it will be lovely again
Do you like Thunderstorms:	Yesssssss! / Yes! Looking forward to seeing them  from the new flat, the view over the city must be wonderful!
Do you play an Instrument:	The triangle..? / No, not even the triangle, the easiest of all instruments!
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:	Yes, not much though.. / Yes, lots and lots of beer!
In the past month have you Smoked:	Passively at the pub / No!
In the past month have you been on Drugs:	Neurofen count? / Wouldn’t dare
In the past month have you gone on a Date:	Haha! / With Daniel we went to Oxford, it was lovely!
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:	The Bullring rocks! / The Bullring is still brilliant
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:	No.. Milk Chocolate Digestives maybe… / No, Oreos, no. Chocolate eclaires, yes.
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:	No, fish doesn’t do it for me.. / No, still not a big fan of fish
In the past month have you been on Stage:	Pff, not since the Guide’s 40th anniversary do and I had to lead campfire songs! / Err, I don’t think so…
In the past month have you been Dumped:	Dumped, no. Shitted on, yes. / No!
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:	Me..??! / No!
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:	Err.. Not that I can remember.. I think my record was the Loch Ness ashtrays..! / I don’t think so
Ever been Drunk:	Y e s . . . / Yes, come on
Ever been called a Tease:	In what context? / Still, what is the context? I tease the Guides and the Brownies all the time
Ever been Beaten up:	All the time by my sister! / Again, even now in our late 20s early 30s, I still point you in the direction of my sister
Ever Shoplifted:	Not to my recollection.. / By accident, once I put a KitKat in my pocket while juggling other bags and didn’t realise until I was halfway down the road!
How do you want to Die:	Peacefully as an old lady.. / Peacefully as an old lady
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:	The Me that I want to be.. / I’m now grown up, sometimes I’m the Me I wanted to be, other times I’m just an idiot
What country would you most like to Visit:	Russia / Russia still, and now Guatemala
Best Clothing Style in a man/woman:	Any really apart from townie and kev-like / Grown-up, and nothing beats a sharp suit to make any man look so dapper!
Number of Drugs I have taken:	Number of types? 2 / Are we including alcohol and coffee and cigarettes? Then 5
Number of CDs I own:	Millions! / Two, the advent of digital music means I got rid of them all when I came home from uni
Number of Piercings:	4 / 4 still
Number of Tattoos:	0 / Still 0
Number of things in my Past I Regret:	A great many..! / If we dwelt on all our regrets, life would be very miserable

It’s strange actually to see how most of these questions are now answered on the pages of this blog, or on facebook, or on Twitter. First thought waking up is usually expressed on Twitter. Been on a stage, drank alcohol, sometimes down to the shoes worn today, are found in photos on facebook or Instagram. Goals to achieve, fears and weaknesses are discussed in blogs. Health freak, and believing in yourself comes in what motivational pictures you post on your facebook walls, or find on Pinterest. And again, you only post the pictures that put you at your most attractive, if it’s the eyes or the hair or your figure.

Things move on, and life changes in so many ways, I can see my innocence has been worn away over the last eight years, good for bad for good, it’s all learning how to be yourself!