I’ve won an award…

…..from Shannon at Giraffe Days who reads SO many books and writes great reviews. I love checking out her blog – especially when she goes on a book-buying binge as I love drooling over all her purchases (and I thought I had a problem )

The rule is that I have to share 7 things about myself that you might not know. So here goes:

1) I once got deported from Cyprus and banned from going back for 4 years!

Oh yeah! Back in 1994 when I’d left Israel (where I’d worked as an Au Pair) I got on a ferry and ended up in Cyprus (the plan was to go on to Greece but myself and a friend got so drunk on the ferry that we got off in Cyprus as our hangovers were not compatible with the swaying of the boat). We hitched a lift to Ayia Napa where I worked in a rock & indie bar for 3 months until the bar was raided by the police one night for employing 5 British workers. I was arrested and deported. I went back to Israel for another month before getting to the same ferry back to Greece – but when it stopped in Cyprus I couldn’t resist seeing if I could get away with stepping off on to Cypriot soil without anyone noticing. They didn’t and I spent a lovely day pottering round Limasol flipping imaginary birds at everyone.

2) I used to work as a table-dancer in Faliraki, Rhodes.

It gets better, doesn’t it? The hilarity was that I used to wear Doctor Martens (when everyone else had kitten heals and strappy sandals on) and most of my other attire was either ripped or tie-die. Oh, I also had a ring and a silver spider in my nose (I was 22 – it’s allowed!). Once I had finally managed to get into Greek waters this time, I stopped on the island of Rhodes to meet up with some friends I’d met in Jerusalem but I had about £3 left in the world so I needed a job and quick. I sat in a bar until the owner finally gave in and told me that my job was to mingle with the holiday-makers and get them to spend loads of money at the bar and whenever he blew a whistle I had to get up on a table and dance. Whenever I think back I laugh out loud thinking of what I must have looked like – I was so untypically touristy that I must have stood out like a sore thumb!

3) I have visited a total of 25 countries

I am as passionate about travel and culture as I am about books. I love going to different places and expolring (I also love lazy beach holidays where I can do nothing but lie horizontal with my book too). I have been to the following places: France, USA, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Czech Republic, Spain, Monoco, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Morocco, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales. Some of the above I have been to on many occasions as I love it there so much (France 8 times, USA 7 times, Greece and Turkey 3 times each etc).

4) I used to play the piano

I played the piano from the age of about six or seven through to age 18. I wasn’t bad at it, actually, and used to play it while the kids walked into assembley at school and then play them out again. I gave up after my A Levels before going off to Uni and have never played a note since. Actually, that’s not true – I tried having a go on a hotel piano when nobody was looking once and I couldn’t even make my fingers go in the right place. I can’t remember a thing about how to play – it’s a shame really.

5) I once owned 8 cats in a one-bedroom flat

When I was single I had my own flat in High Wycombe and it was just me and my old rescued cat, Izzy. Then I met Mr Whisperer and he moved in and we bought Phoebe as “our” cat. A year later we got Madison because she was so fluffy and cute and we couldn’t resist her and before we managed to get her spayed she got in the family way and the next thing we know 5 kittens have been born and we had 8 cats in a one-bedroom flat. We only have two these days (Phoebe who’s now 12 and Princess Saffy who is one of Madison’s kittens who is now 9 years old).

6) I am the daughter of two Teachers

Actually I am the daugher of two retired Teachers now. My Mum taught both primary school and also worked in a 17th century house where kids go on school trips and dress up for the day and actually live for a day as they would have back in the 1600′s. My Mum was the Lady of the house and used to supervise activities such as spinning, lace-making, butter-making, roasting meats on the spit and telling stories to the children.

My Dad worked in a secondary school in the middle of a council estate and taught PE. He was pretty strict and earned himself the nickname of “Bomber”!

7) I believe in ghosts

OK, not the white sheet types with holes for eyes, but I do believe in the after-life. I believe that we all come back many times to learn lessons and move on and that we have soul-mates that we reincarnate with (in different relationships each time).

8. I once cleaned an airport for the arrival of Bill Clinton

When I was living in Israel I was down to Eilat (the southern tip of Israel) for a couple of months and worked as a cleaner of hotels. This compirsed of sitting on a wall every morning from about 6am with about 20 other travellers waiting for the owners to turn up and pick us for jobs that day. Once I was picked to clean Eilat Airport for the arrival of Bill Clinton on 26th October 1994 when he was coming over for the signing of the peace treaty with Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein of Jordan. There were 3 of us and the airport was shut for a few days while we scrubbed and laid down the red carpet. Clinton also stayed in a hotel over-looking the marina where I was living on someones yacht but alas I never actually got to see him.

I hope you liked your little insight into the world of The Book Whisperer. I don’t normally like revealing too much about myself so you should be able to dine out on this little lot for quite a while.

And you thought I was just a book-nerd!