interview meme

questions from maga_dogg

1. How is it humanly possible to use 'darling' as an adjective and keep a straight face?
Have I ever done this? I don't think it is; when I have used the word in that sense, it's definitely been at least intended to be with self-conscious irony. Particularly effective with gushy hand-clap and posh voice.

2. Say you can spend autumn anywhere except Cambridge. Where and why?
A small Scottish island - no particular one - or simply on the northern coast of Scotland, in a small house by a pebble beach. I would have a coal fireplace inside, and walk along the beach wearing warm scarves in the wind, watching the grey skies and the tossing sea; or on the less windy days I would sit on a rock and write feverishly into cheap notebooks. When it rained I would sit inside reading novels and hearing the sound of it hammering on the roof - or run barefoot along the edge of the sea, depending on mood, and most likely catch pneumonia.

3. Speaking of which, is King's genuinely the college with the most minging students, or is this opinion just the result of our self-effacing irony?
Actually, most of the people I know at Kings are alright, in a curly-haired, hippyish sort of way. I'm not sure whether any college actually has a reputation for throwing out minging students; if it does, I'm not up to speed with the gossip. That said, the Pembroke first years are a bit of an unsightly bunch. Don't quote me on that.

4. Ever punch anyone for real? Elaborate, with reference to the Mohists. (Oh, and are you practising wristlock number 1 in that userpic? Your technique's a little out).
Unfortunately, no - although I once slapped a girl in the year above when I was fifteen. She and her little friends had been following me for weeks trying to goad me with their unimaginative insults and I just lost it. My technique was appalling, but it shocked her into silence if nothing else. (the icon isn't actually of me - it's a picture of Italian model Maria Carla Boscono. I imagine she's just delicately holding her wrist in a fragile sort of way, rather than in any sort of militaristic stance.)

5. What's the first time you can remember that you cried at the beauty of something?
This is easier, on reflection, than I thought it would be: I was nine, I'd just finished Lord of the Rings, and the Grey Havens chapter reduced me to tears. It always does. That quality of unbearably beautiful melancholy is one I've always been a sucker for - hence my answer to (2).

If anyone wants to continue the meme, post here and I'll interview you...