Tuesday 13

I realised the other day that I have not had the time to do my Tuesday Thirteen for ages. I looked it up and the last one was on the 20th of November!!! I thought I would re-start today. Today's thirteen are things that mean something to me beginning with the letter "P". As usual they are in no particular order!!

1. Paris. I have visited Paris quite a few times. The first time was when I was 13 years old and on a school exchange scheme. My exchange pupil Christine, lived in Severes in the Loire valley but she had an aunt in Paris who we stayed with. Since that first visit I have been back quite a few times. Several of those were to visit Saskia who lived there for a few years. As a city, I am not particularly enthralled with it. I don't see it as the romantic place it's proclaimed to be. It has nice bits and not so nice bits, just like many other cities across the world.

2. Portugal. The first foreign holiday that Simon and I had without the children was to Albufeira, on the Algarve coast of Portugal. We had a brilliant time and loved that area.

3. Pandas. I love panda bears. They just look so gorgeous! Maybe, I have a black and white fascination going on?

4. Please. Manners are very important to me. I cannot bear rude, ill mannered people and children who haven't been taught to say please and thank you. It's a small thing but makes an enormous difference.

5. People watching. I could watch people all day long. Shops, airports, queues, stations, anywhere that you have to wait around, people watching is fascinating. There is "nowt so queer as folks"!

6. Plans. I am a real forward planner. I like to know what I am going to be doing tomorrow and next week and next month. I make lists although I don't always stick to them. Our holidays are always planned way in advance. I even like to have a plan for the day. Simon will tell you that the first thing I ask him on a Saturday morning is "what's the plan".

7. Pink. My favourite colour.

8. Purple. The colour of the decor in my bedroom when I was a teenager. The reason? It was Donny Osmond's favourite colour!!!

9. Prawns. One of my favourite foods.

10. Peterborough. The place that we have lived for the last 20 years. (nearly 21). Peterborough is a great city and we will probably stay somewhere in its vicinity when we finally move on from this house.

11. PMADS. Peterborough Musical and Dramatic Society. This is a now sadly defunct group, but was a huge part of our lives for more years than I want to count! Coralie joined them first of all, followed soon after by Simon, Verity and Saskia. Josh joined them when he was 4 and stole the show when they performed in a Broadway Medley. He looked so cute! The only members of the family that didn't perform were myself and Samuel. All the others performed in numerous shows over many years. I sat through a great many memorable performances, including Simon singing a few solo lines in one show!!!

12. Pork. As you know, I am a meat eater for my sins and I love roast pork. I also love pigs ...... the live ones and their cute piglets, so I have to make a conscious effort not to think about the two together.

13. Photos. I have taken thousands of photos over the years. In the days of film cameras, I used to have every roll developed, so I have lots of prints. Once I went digital that changed and I am more selective about what I print. I do keep more or less every photo on my computer though. I am not very professional and my prints are of the snap shot kind. I occasionally get a really great one. One day, I will learn more about photography.