Bringing sunshine...

This was already, of course, an award winning blog, but I have just won a second: a Sunshine Award, courtesy of the irrepressible Eccles.

The Sunshine Award is for those who 'who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere.'

And of course, reminds one of this.

Doubtless there will be those who castigate me for accepting this, Eccles not being universally popular. But there seem to be lots of pots and kettles involved in all that, so I will ignore any such censure.

Let nobody be churlish enough to suggest that Eccles is merely returning the favour, because I nominated him for a Liebster Award some time ago.

As usual, this award comes with strings attached - or at least conditions to fulfil:

1 illustrate the Award in the post 

2 Link to the blogger who was kind enough to nominate you.

3. Write 10 pieces of information about yourself.

4. Nominate ten fellow bloggers “who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere.”

5. Leave a comment on the nominees’ blogs to tell them of the award.

So without further ado, having done 1 & 2, what I now have to do is to reveal ten facts about myself.

Bear in mind that I am mendacious:

1) I first got to know Mrs T in a school production of The Mikado.

2) Despite my Romanism, two sentences that regularly bring me up short, in terms of examination of conscience, were written by Anglicans (C S Lewis: 'I would have thought that a man with your advantages…' and T S Eliot 'the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason.'

3) My maternal grandfather squandered the family fortune on fast cars.

4) My paternal grandfather was a conscientious objector in WW1; and my father was one in WW2 (though he later recanted, when he learned the true evil of Hitler's regime).

5) My kids have nearly as many aunts as Bertie Wooster - and nearly as terrifying.

6) I once, as a teenager, got the zip of my trouser fly entangled in the mesh of a supermarket basket, leading to much embarrassment when I tried to put the basket down at the checkout.

7) I worked for the post office on the railways in the Christmas vacation, and dropped a mailbag under a train, resulting in one of the steel D-rings at the top being turned into tin foil.

8) The R&B band I played in at University played covers (ranging from Tom Petty to Elvis Costello, the Stranglers to The Monkees)  really really quickly, and managed to make them all sound the same.

9) This year, we celebrate our thirtieth wedding anniversary.

10) My kids really did believe there was a Father Book, from which I knew the answers to everything. 

The next task that goes with this award is to nominate ten other blogs (though some I would have nominated have already been chosen….):

1 The Muniment Room

2 Catholic and Loving It

3 Cum Lazaro

4 The Sensible Bond

5 Porta Caeli

6 Bara Brith

7 Valle Adurni

8 Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley

9 Gateshead Revisited

10 That the Bones You Have Crushed May Thrill.

So now I am off to leave comments on all those blogs to let them know of the great honour I have just bestowed.


UPDATE

I found, on visiting my chosen recipients, that one has already been awarded this prize; I won'\t tell you which, so you have to go and look at all of them.  However, it does give me the opportunity to add a further blog, which should have been in the original list:

10 (bis) Twelve Mini Pilgrimages