An interveiw with Minge

I've agreed to being interviewed by my wee Dutch boy, The March Hare. To be frank, I asked him to do it. He was interviewed by his cousin, Canagal. In agreeing to be interviewed, he had to agree to invite others to be interviewed as well. I have to agree to the same. If you want to be interveiwed, please ask, I'll probe you, extensively. Of course, in turn, you must agree to offer an interview to readers of your blog. So come on, ask me! I'm dying to get going! This is all done in order for us all to get to know one another better. Let's see if it works. Here's the interview with Minge:

1. Your profile says that escaping reality is your main interest. However, your blog is filled up to the brim with sharp observations of the real world around you. How do you deal with this contradiction?

Life's full of contradictions, it really is. I escape reality at any given moment and as often as possible, since life is, to be honest, quite shitty, at the best of times, and I think most people can relate to that. My blog may well be full of observations of the real world. I cannot escape from that. It's the world I live in, but it's also a world I long to escape from. I realise, though, that this isn't exactly healthy, so I endeavour to live in the real world, and without actually wanting to, be a real part of it. I could easily fill my blog with imagination, ramblings, desires and pure fantasy, but I could not justify that to myself, the man who longs for an alternative reality yet who must live in the real and physical world of 2006. I'd feel I was cheating in some way. There are one or two posts of pure fantasy, thus far, but only one or two. I try to shield myself from the temptation of fantasy, a paradox, I think, since this is also some kind of escapism, to escape from a world I desire to live in to the world in which I actually inhabit. I'd hate to be normal and ordinary, but there is a sense of morbid fascination there, and I do glimpse behind the veil that separates me from the real world from time to time and comment on what I see. My fantasies are not necessarily a private thing, but I feel that filling my blog with them would send me deeper into fantasy and further away from reality and that this would be detremental to by state of being. Although I hate the real world, I have no option but to live in it and make the best of it, so I do. I do not ignore it, though I long to. I am here in this turmoil of mediocrity and here I must stay.

2. You seem to have either loads of inspiration, or loads of time for blogging. So what is it that you actually do for a living, and a second part of the question: when is your birthday?

I'll answer the first part of the question first. My birthday is the third of June. I was born in 1972.

This vile world does inspire me, it really does. I'm amazed by it, every hour of every day. Also, I do have loads of time for blogging. I do not go to work. It's a long story and I shall try to recount the condensed version.

Since leaving the world of education, I worked for various companies, largely in the financial sector, two of which were Post Office Counters Limited and a Building Society. In both jobs, I was the victim (I hate that word) of some three armed robberies. They took their toll: depression, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) et al. In the early days, I didn't leave my bedroom for a very long time and didn't leave the house at all for a good six months. I'm a lot better today than I was then, but I still have difficulties in coping with certain social situations, especially meeting strangers. I have this awful fear that anyone I don't know may be planning or plotting something terrible. It's not like complete insanity, it's just a flash more than a prolonged thought, but it's there nonetheless. Therefore, I prefer to be at home and feel safe. I'm constantly in a state of fear, sometimes mild, sometimes accute, though I don't actually know what I'm afraid of. I can't explain it. Life is scary. I think the trigger for it was this: After the first armed robbery, people said to me, "Oh well, lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice. It won't happen again." But it did. Sure, lightning didn't strike in the same place twice - I was in a different job, a different part of town, but struck I was. Life is full of risks, but by and large, they're not risks I'm prepared to take. A good friend of mine told me the other day that I was very confident. I don't feel it. I think it's an act. If I appear to be shy, timid or unsure, I'll appear to be weak or different and, perhaps an easier target. I don't know... Perhaps this is a load of old rubbish.

3. Originally you're from Darzet (a so called Darzatian I presume?), but you live way up north in wee beautiful Scotland. How do you cope with that, and a second part of the question: what are - to your opinion - the five greatest differences between the Scottish and the English? And a third part of the question: have you really, actually eaten Haggis once?

Yes, I'm a Dorset boy - and I love that word Darzatian. I think I'll start using it to describe myself! Living here in Edinburgh is easy to cope with. I've never felt more at home in any other city in the world. What's not so easy is being almost five hundred miles away from my dear Mother, my favourite woman in the whole wide world. I try and see her as much as possible, but it's not easy. The weather here in the south east of Scotland isn't an awful lot different to Dorset, but a difference there is nonetheless. It's always a few degrees colder here and snow occurs more often, but I have some warm jumpers and the central heating!

The five greatest differences between the Scots and the English:

1. Scottish people are far more left wing than the English.
2. Scottish people are friendlier, more talkative and more open than the English.
3. Many English drivers are maniacs on the road, whereas Scottish drivers are only mildly scary, at times.
4. Nationalism is more prevalent in Scotland than in England. You might find this link interesting.
5. The Scots know an awful lot more about England than the English know about Scotland.

I have indeed eaten Haggis, the original version only once, but the vegetarian version on many occasions. It's delicious and everyone should try it!

4. In some of your posts you say you feel so alone. On the other hand it occurs to me that you are in good company of friends. So are those posts just vague instantaneous snapshots, or should we really worry? And to compensate these sad posts: share with us your utmost moment of joy in your life, so far!

Not snapshots, no, but I do feel quite lonely, most days. There's a terrible old English cliché: one can be in a room full of people and still feel lonely. That about sums things up. There are so many things in my life which are secret, not because I can't tell anyone else, but because I shouldn't. It's very complicated. There are many aspects to me and many things go on in my life which not another living soul knows about. I wish that wasn't the case. Hang on though, it's not like I'm a secret rent boy or go out during the day robbing banks. Some of these things in my life are known to others, in most cases, only one other person, but there are things which are known only to me. I've never been like this before. I've always prided myself on being an open book. But now I'm a wasps' nest of secrets. I don't like this at all.

I have some really good friends, yes, but... How can I put this? I had some really good friends in Bournemouth, with only a couple of exceptions, I've lost touch with them all. The good thing about most of those friends was I could just turn up on their doorstep, have a cup of coffee, slice of cake or whatever, have a good chat and then go home again. I have very few friends here in the city, and none of whom would I feel comfortable visiting without having made an appointment to do so. Next thing, I'm afraid of asking anyone if I can come and see them. It doesn't really seem socially acceptable, inviting yourself to see someone - and I'm scared shitless of rejection. I just wait until someone asks me to come and see them or go out somewhere. It doesn't happen that often. I guess this is because I'm not the most vibrant of people. I don't know.

So, I just sit here, either at the computer or in front of the TV, or go out into the woods with my fabulous dogs, Meg and Mary. I'm never really alone, but lonely, I am.

The utmost moment of joy in my entire life? It's a secret. :(

5. Have you ever been to the Netherlands? (When yes: what was your best experience and when no: why not and when will you do so?

Yes, I have been to The Netherlands! The first few occasions, it was only en route to somewhere else, Germany, Austria, I think. However, the last time I went to The Netherlands was ultimately to visit Amsterdam. Or was that the time before? You see, I've also been with Phyllis on a business trip. No, I think I'm right, the last time we went to The Netherlands was to visit Phylly's pal Lindsay in Amsterdam. We had a fabulous time, although Phyllis refused to visit The Sex Museum. We went to Rembrandt's house, a fabulous eaterie called Nomad's, took a trip on the canals, the Rijksmuseum, rode bicycles around the city and lots more fabulous things besides. I hope to go there again sometime.

Amsterdam was a beautful city. I hope to return there someday. The people were friendly, the food and drink were delicious and I found a Sandra DVD I was after!

My best experience? I wish I could say it was smoking dope in a café, but it wasn't. Didn't even go in one! My best experience was at Nomad's. Or was it Nomads? I think it was the latter. Hang on, I'll just look it up. It is Nomads. Click here to read all about it. I had my palm read and it was surprisingly accurate. I was incredibly drunk, quite early on, which stopped me from appreciating the food as much as I would have done if I were sober. This means I'll have to go back.

Thank you, March Hare. This has been a throughly fabulous experience.

So, now, come on all you people. Want to be interviewed? Ask! Please!