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https://sites.google.com/site/mp3sstory/

10th Interview with HG

Interview from Jersey (anyone is welcome to send me interview questions):

1. Do you every go to rock pools and try and see the sea creatures?

I used to, we don't have rock pools on the bay but nearby bays do, I used to do low water fishing in Jersey and we used to find all sorts of sea creatures.

2. What sea creatures have you seen in rock pools or the sea? Did you keep any for a while in a bucket or jar? 

Yes I have kept sea creatures in a jars and buckets, blenny, razor fish, star fish, all sorts of stuff.

3. Have you visited an aquarium? What fish did you see there?

Yes I have visited various aquariums and seen rays, seahorses, starfish -which we were allowed to handle, all sorts of things, sharks, pretty fish all sorts. I was even offered a job at seaworld but the pay was bad.

4. What's the oddest fish you have ever seen?

The barrel Jellyfish we have had washed up here.

5. Have you seen jellyfish? Where?

Yes, here and at grev d' lecq, I remember everyone exiting the water at Grev when the jellyfish sailed into town! :) we have had barrel jellyfish here the last few summers.

6. What kinds of boats do you like to sail in?

All sorts! I love sailing, I have just been offered a sail for Cowes Week, the biggest international sailing convention, but I am going to turn it down as my rehabilitation is still in progress and I am not ready to sail this year, certainly not dinghys anyway, although I have been on the boats a bit, mainly doing work but not sailing.

7. Do you get seasick?

Not really, I got seasick one time on a yacht between Jersey and France but I think I was ill anyway, I used to see everyone getting sick on ferries between England and the Channel Island in rough weather but I was never sick.

8. Do you swim underwater?

I can but due to my health at the moment I don't tend to.

9. What is the longest you have ever swum?

Good question, due to asthma I don't swim for long ever, I do about 20-30 lengths in the pool but my sea swims are not long or I get too tired and can get ill.  I love swimming.

10. Do you like low tide or high tide best?

I like high tide as it is easier for a swim and wave jumping and keeping an eye on my bike and clothes, , but my friends prefer low tide for some reason. I like the tide right up to the wall, but the others like to walk down the hard sand to swim.

11. Have you walked to Elizabeth Castle?

Yes, many times, I had fun with the interactive history out there and I used to threaten to go and live in the hermatige often too. Who was the guy who used to live out there as caretaker and get drunk and have mishaps with his rowing boat? Haha, didn't he have to be rescued at some point? :) I think they rescued many packs of beer off his boat but couldn't find him for a while? :) He was quite popular. And no, it wasn't St. Helier Himself! 

12. Have you walked or swam around or to Green Island?

Oh yes, we used to picnic there at the weekend, I loved Green Island because the beach on the other side was like an empty paradise beach, oh those were the days, it was such fun.  Yes I swum off there many times and the rocks and waters round there were very interesting. I remember it getting hard to park at green island for some reason though.

You are making me long for those old days of green island and low water fishing and picnics! :) For some reason I don't do all that stuff any more  but I am still going through rehabilitation and it takes so much of my time!

Thank you for interviewing me.

Sixth Interview with HG

Despite being far from home on holiday, I have more interview questions to answer:

1. Sea or Pool? I know you like swimming, but which do you prefer? The open sea at a beach or an indoor pool? Why?

Sea, although it is difficult to get a regular swim due to the weather. Our local pool is small and gets clogged with old ladies who stand in the lanes and chat during the morning swimming sessions, how annoying. I have just started sea swimming for the year but will still pool swim along with my gym sessions. The good thing about the beach is there is always room, we have miles of sandy beach and it is good to do a quick sunbathe too, I am not a lying on the beach person, nerves and ADHD mean 10 minutes is enough. 

I live a few minutes from the beach, so it is easy to fit in a swim and sunbathe.

  2. Travel – where is the furthest place you have ever travelled to (outside the UK) Have you ever visited Ireland, Scotland, Wales? Where did you go? What was it like?

The furthest place I have travelled is New Zealand, but back then I was unprepared and was with someone who was scornful of my disability and resulting anxiety, so I was under too much stress to fully enjoy it, but it was an interesting experience. 

A note about travel, in the church of england, you get all the wealthy old people who have been everywhere, and because I am disabled and poor, they used to amuse themselves by saying to me 'oh, have you ever been abroad? Where's the furthest you have travelled?' the reply 'New Zealand' tended to shut them up. Haha. 

I have visited Ireland, Scotland and Wales. I absolutely adore Ireland, well who doesn't? I did a train trip across Ireland one time, I lived in Wales and worked on a sheep farm, beautiful mountains but I hated the job, the farmer was a psycho. I like Scotland, the people are friendly and kind like in Ireland and the scenery is lovely too. 

 3. Town or Country – which do you prefer?  Why?

Country, definitely, the peace and quiet and farms, I trained in agriculture and worked on farms, although due to my health, I can't work on farms now. I love open  landscapes, hills and cottage gardens with bird song in the early morning. I do also enjoy towns, I like art and architecture, so towns are a good source of those, I also love museums and local history, call me boring but I find it all fascinating.

 4. Birdsong – can you identify any birds a) by sight b) by song? Which ones.

Yes, I know a number of birds by sight or song, my adoptive parents are bird fanatics and I am learning from them. I know the birds of prey, and some common garden birds. I know a few bird songs, mainly robin and blackbird, of course, the blackbird has such a lovely song during the season.
 5. Summer is coming. Do you like ice cream? Do you have a favourite ice cream?

Yes, I like ice cream, I tend to get my ice cream from a little place run by locals on the seafront, they are nice and they know me, the other place I go for ice cream with my friend in the car is on the viewpoint above the town, there is an ice cream van owned by a local company and they do really good ices, not horrible liquidy stuff, real solid tasty stuff, we sit up there and enjoy the view and eat our ices. And my favourite flavour is rum and raisin. I like solid ice cream, not whipped stuff.

 6. Web Addicted – can you survive without the internet? Or do you feel withdrawal symptoms (I do!). What parts of the internet do you use – web browsing, Facebook, Twitter? What do you tend to look at online?

I am not severely web addicted, I find it a relief not to be online sometimes. I do find the internet very helpful though.In fact the internet is fairly essential for me as I strive to run an efficient business and also prepare for exams and do prep courses for my university degree, things like that. I do a lot of interactive learning online and also communicate with people who are studying languages and interested in the international community. I don't bother with facebook much, I am too autistic for that kind of thing, but twitter is great for human rights activism and news. I also blog, as you know. Life is so full, and the internet is just part of that, I guess I need it for my life but I also like to be doing other things such as music, sport and work.

 7. Egg – do you like eggs? What egg dishes can you cook? Which do you like the most?

Eggs again! I occasionally do fried eggs as part of a healthy fry-up, and boiled eggs for sandwiches, I like eggs but my tummy doesn't, so I don't have many.
 8. Activity – how do you keep fit?

My work is physical, as you know, so that helps, I also bike around, I deliver papers by bike every morning normally (not this week as I am away) I also do swim and gym whenever I can. I can't run as my legs and back and lungs are too shot, but I used to love running and I feel useless now that I can't.
 9. Christianity – what’s most important for you about your faith?

My faith has been so shattered by the events of the last 7 or more years that it is barely there, I don't go to church any more as it distresses me and it seems that the diocese can catch up with me through any church and have me treated like dirt and thrown away. Their attitude while they claim to be Christians and a Christian church is the death blow to my faith, the way they have left me suffering is the last straw.

Fourth interview with HG

I think the interviewer has an inkling that I have a cat, I also think I have been asked the languages question in another interview.

1. What’s your favourite name for a cat?

We used to have a cat called Caliban. I don't think you can beat that! 

2. Do you have a cat? What do you feed it?

We have a cat, he can be a monster but his name is not Caliban. He is asleep on my bed, upside down as I write this, he is irresistable like that and I want to tickle his tummy but he would not be amused. He is fed from an auto-feeder which holds up to three weeks feed, he has scientific formula cat food that is supposed to keep him healthy, and he is strong and quick and in good condition for a 14 year old. I have to be careful when he wants to play 'swipe through the bannisters' because he is so quick that I can end up with shredded skin.

 

3. Do you ever vote?

No. Maybe this year was as close as I got to considering voting, but I didn't need to as our guy got back in anyway.

 

4. If you voted, would it be Conservative, Labour, Liberal, UKIP, Green, Monster Raving Loony or Other? Why?

I would have to vote conservative because of the huge damage that the current and last government have done and are doing to the voiceless vulnerable in the benefits system.

 

5. Do you prefer eggs poached, fried, hard-boiled, in an egg cup, scrambled? What would you eat them with?

I don't often eat eggs due to having a slight reaction to them, not full blown allergy but discomfort. I do like a fried egg as part of a healthy fry up at the weekend, eggs with rindless back bacon, fried in fry-lite and with some slices of small wholemeal loaf and Bertolli. Yummy. I occasionally boil eggs for sandwiches but I see no point in scrambled eggs as they seem tasteless to me.

 

6. Do you ever have soft boiled eggs, and do you make bread “soldiers” to go with them?

No, I am not a toast and soldiers person, partly because I grew up without that kind of thing and no-one ever introduced it to me until Jersey when the churchwarden kept trying to show me how to knock the top off a soft boiled egg, but being dyspraxic, I can't really do it, and it is so much trouble. 

 

7. Do you ever eat prunes? Have you ever eaten prunes?

Yes, prunes are nice, I have had them sometimes when I was a child when prunes were on offer, my dad would buy them. They taste OK and they have their uses, but I don't tend to buy them. Actually I don't tend to buy tins at all, because I really dislike the metal that they are made of and opening tins sets my teeth on edge.

 

8. If you have, did you put the stones around the plate, counting them, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Sailor etc....?

No, not with prunes, we used to do that with plum stones when I was a child, I think.

 

9. What’s your favourite out door temperature (in centigrade please!)? What’s too hot? And too cold?

Interesting question, this morning I was chatting to my autistic friend, we are on a similar spectrum but he is a genius and he asked if I counted temperature in Centigrade or Farenheit, but my reply was that I can't count in either, I have a learning difficulty called dyscalculalia, which means I have very little ability to measure anything. I think when I read temperatures on a chart, when it says -3 that means cold, 10 or 15 means mild, and 25 or 30 means hot.

10. What’s your favourite soup? Do you make your own?

I like lentil soup, or chicken soup, I don't like tinned soup, I am OK with some packet soup but sometimes I have allergic reaction if there is powdered milk in it. I don't often make soup due to my life being about running around like a headless chicken.

I have occasionally made chicken soup, but to be honest, not very often. I can't stay home and watch it, I am more likely to make stew anywhere.

 

11. What foreign languages can you speak? How well can you speak them?

I think someone asked me this before. I was brought up speaking Hebrew as well as English but it has been so long that I only remember some of it, and it always amuses me when people in churches mispronounce it dismally when doing readings. I speak some French, and French will be part of my degree course. I studied French at Evening class in Jersey. I know a few words of Portugese and some Italian, I had a working holiday in Italy and also did a certificate course. I did an Irish Certificate as well.  I am not really a linguist yet, but I fully intend to improve my languages, and I have penpals in various countries, it is so interesting to learn about language and culture, and I am looking forward to University.

Third interview with HG

Yes, we are starting to chat a bit about Jersey in this one.

 Do you like ironing?

No! Anyone who regularly reads my daily blog knows I am obsessive about housework, but ironing is a job I avoid. And most of my clothes are simple non-iron, while my bedding is soft Jersey non-iron, like the bedding I had when I lived in Jersey! :) I love soft clothes and linens and I do very little ironing. I am happy with cleaning ovens and toilets, but I hate ironing. However, I can iron. 
Favourite activity in Jersey? What was it, who did you do it with?

Spoilt for choice with this question!  I had many  favourites, I had a great time on the tall ships, loved all the sailing, enjoyed karate and football, rock climbing, photography, basically the favourites are endless. But I can't really say on here who I did these activities with, as I do not want to cause any problems.

 How did you get about to places in Jersey?

Mainly I drove, I did do a bit of walking, running and even cycling, but not enough. In my last days in Jersey I had no car and was walking, or rather hobbling, because unnoticed, various issues with my walking had worsened and I didn't know what they were or why. Do you like old fashioned hymns? What is your favourite old fashioned hymn?

I used to enjoy some of the old fashioned hymns a lot, and would often listen to them or sing them, but due to the trauma I associate with Church, I don't really find them easy to listen to any more. I like 'Thine Be the Glory' and 'Amazing Grace' and a few others. I rarely hear or think about hymns any more, because I associate church so much with hurt and flashbacks. Do you like modern hymns? What is your favourite modern hymn?

I like some modern hymns, like most people, I have hymns I like and dislike, and again, I have the same issue of trauma that hymns can trigger, I like 'All to Jesus I surrender' and 'Shine Jesus Shine' and a number of others. Have you every seen people fainting at a church service as part of the service? Yes, I remember it being set up as a kind of show, the people laying on hands manipulate people to fall over, it still scares the hell out of me to recall the amount and depth of manipulation and some of the damage it does to vulnerable people. I suffered other kinds of deep psychological damage in such services and 'healing sessions' and know others who have been put at risk this way. I even had someone making a series of direct complaints to me about being harmed by such things in a church in Jersey, because the horrendous handling of my case meant s/he didn't dare to complain to the Dean or Diocese!!!

Which Jersey Churches did you visit (ie. see)?

Now the questions get harder, I try to remember and my mind goes terrified and blank. I will start by saying I always intended to visit St. Saviours Parish church for the historical side of things, but never got around to it. I did manage to visit the chapel at Hogue Bie a few times when I went to be enthusiastic about the archeology side of things there, awesome!  And the story about the sunlight at sunrise? Am I remembering right?

I think I visited most of the parish churches and also some of the Methodist churches, the big Methodist church in St. Helier is quite impressive, and of course the glass church, and although I often heard tourists muttering dissapointedly about the glass church, I did like the glass angels and how light the church was.

I can't remember the name of the closed church that sometimes had concerts but it always seemed such a shame it was closed, I remember the concerts there, maybe I will talk about that another time though.

The Town Church, of course, but I didn't find it very inspiring and the atmosphere itself there is not good, without even anyone being there.

And I seem to recall concerts at a little Methodist chapel in St. Aubin, and then of course the Fisherman's chapel, I think I went there even before I lived in Jersey, so peaceful there, a good place to light candles and pray.

So I got a good and interesting look at churches in Jersey, but always regrettably never managed to stop at St. Saviours Church, even when I went to the Parish Hall, I think it was a question of nowhere to park and I was always in a hurry.

 Which Jersey Churches did you attend (not the same question)?

You are so mean, I don't remember a thing, next question please! 

Churches I attended, it may sound like a lot, but I found churches in Jersey very hard, especially when I was being slandered and shunned, but not just that, they are not like mainland churches and some of the leanings frightened me, so I didn't settle comfortably in a church, especially not when I was being insulted, shunned or attacked for reporting abuse.

I attended St. Andrews church, that was a core church that I attended, and they did joint services with St. matthews sometimes, but didn't do their own evening service, so I would go to the evening service at St. Matthews, great music!, and in the beginning when I lived near St. Lawrence church and was working on Sundays, I would go to early morning communion at St. Lawrence before work, it was so peaceful there.

I also sometimes went to early communion at St Ouens church on the way to work, and later attended a few other services there.

I recall attending a 'longest night service just before Christmas and that was at one of the Churches in the East of the Island and I went to evening  college with the Vicar's wife, that fact is not widely advertised by the church, because of course the Vicar's wife there cannot claim I was mad and bad and trashed the classroom. Haha, I am digressing.

Of course, in the early days, the churchwarden and his wife used to drag me to spend the evening with their little circle of friends at the Town Church, I found it all very boring and it was extremely extremely cliquey there, snooty is a harsh word but not out of place. Anyway, I mustn't get negative.

I attended St. Clements church for a while.

I also briefly attended St. Brelades church.

And was also kindly invited to attend an evangelical church, and I did visit them, another invitation was to a Methodist chapel, very kind, and also a Baptist church, who treated me terribly when they heard from the church of england.

I was also kindly invited to, and helped by, the Catholics in Jersey, who not only helped to strengthen my failing faith, but inspired me to later renounce the Church of England and become a Catholic.

I don't really want to remember any more, the way I was slandered round the churches in Jersey is inexcusible, it is a whole Island of churches completely forgetting Jesus' teachings and example, and to actually repeat that slander back to me and attack me in public, there are some very shameless and soulless people in Jersey (and the Diocese of Winchester).

The first interview with HG...

Just to annoy the pants off a few people, this interview didn't mention the church or Jersey...
Interviewers are still being invited, if anyone would like to send questions in.

Interview questions in Bold:

1. What is your favourite meal? Do you have happy memories of it?

This is a tough question. I have a number of meals I enjoy, and being a creature of habit, I tend to eat them regularly. I guess a good roast dinner is my favourite meal, and when my Mum was well enough she would cook a good roast when I was a child, so I guess that is a happy memory. I can cook a decent roast now, I am proud to say, so I tend to do a roast on Sunday if I have time, and if not, I do a quick chicken Korma, which I also enjoy.  When I was young we often had apple pie and custard after a roast, but I am always too full, so I tend to do a 'Healthy Eton' which is merangue with fresh fruit and fat free yogurt. 

2. What is your favourite book?

Argh! I do have a tough interviewer! I think I will randomly choose 'Insomnia' by Stephen King. I first read this when I was on the Streets, at a daycentre and it gave me a taste for Stephen King books, I am also very fond of another of his books'Duma Key' . I am not really a fan of horror but what I like about King is that he makes his characters and landscapes very real and imaginable, he has a talent with that, and the horror is generally not nightmare stuff anyway.

Other books and Authors I like include Shane Dunphy, who I often mention on my blog, and Cathy Glass and Casey Watson's books.

3. What is your favourite fruit?

Another tough question! At the moment I have a fruit bowl of clementines, bananas and apples, I am not keen on apples or bananas but I eat them regularly for energy and health, I do like clementines but I guess grapes are my favourites, I have tubs of frozen grapes in the freezer to keep me from craving sweet things, frozen grapes are a great treat and completely fat free, and can be added to cold drinks or ice cream.

4. Do you like marmite? (The killer question)

Argh! Err...No, my sister's boyfriend used to make me eat marmite because of the vitamin content but I am not a marmite fan, however I don't hate it, I just think it tastes like earwax probably does.

5. What are your earliest memories of friends?

Unfortunately I don't have many good early memories of friends, my family were very closed and we weren't normally allowed to play with other children and we didn't go to school, so there are few early memories of friends, and I remained isolated for the first 17 years of my life, and by the time I left my family I didn't know how to relate to people, so I have remained isolated.

During my early years, my family were friends with another unusal family and everyone in my family said that a girl my age from that family was my friend, but she was neurotypical and I was autistic and she wasn't very nice to me.

I did briefly have a pretend friend, copied from a book, but I saw little point of this and my siblings were quite nasty about it when they found out. So, sorry, no good memories.

6. What was the first book you read?

Good question, I am not sure. I remember we had Enid Blyton's 'Noddy'Books and they were among the first books but I cannot remember any more than that.

7. If you could be a character in Harry Potter, who would it be?

I am not keen on Harry Potter, it is like a click-Story that everyone needs to have seen and know about, and I have seen bits of it but am not very interested in it. I will be the Pheonix, if that's OK?

8. What countries have you visited in your lifetime?

eee, now you are being nosey! I will be visiting another country in a few weeks, no further comment! But I love islands that deport me for free! :)

9. What languages can you speak?

gibberish, some sign language, some Hebrew, French, Italian, Irish and a few words of German. I also speak nortylanguage, which is a bit like German and a bit like insanity. I have done Irish and Italian courses and as well as enjoying travelling, I enjoy online chatting and also pen palling with people in different countries, and languages are part of the degree course I will hopefully be starting this autumn.

10. Are you a dog person or a cat person (or both or neither)?

I am both, we have a cat and I love him very much, apart from when he bites, scratches or wakes me up during the night, all of which he does frequently. He is mad but very lovely, and I often write about him on my daily blog.  My friend has Collies and I love them too.

11. How tall are you? Would you like to be shorter, taller or are you just right?

I am 5'7 and that is just right. 

12. Do you like your hair long or short? Why?

My hair is short, and this is because it won't grow long smoothly, if I let it grow, it becomes very thick and messy, and also because my work can make my hair dirty, I keep it short.

13. Apple, Dinosaur, Saturn, Typewriter – which do you think could be the wrong one out? (Give up if stressed!) 

These are all the odd ones out from other things. But I will go for the non-word-processing one.

14.  If there was a fancy dress ball, who would you go as?

I would go as a hedgehog, complete with fleas, to keep away unwanted attention.

Thank you for interviewing me.