Monday 16 August 2021

My Favourites

Hilary Rose has an interesting column in Times 2 today - so I thought I would share her thoughts with you and the thoughts it then stirred up in me.

She says politicians, when asked about their likes and dislikes don't always tell the truth - she thinks they like to project a certain imagine.   She gives an example of David Cameron who when asked which was his favourite football team gave one answer and then later forgot and said another. Then apparently  Gordon Brown first refused to name his favourite biscuit and then later changed his mind, saying it was any biscuit which had a bit of chocolate in it.

Why should they you might ask, but she (and me too) would argue that they are public figures - they chose to be so, so should be prepared to answer when  they are landed with answering a few questions.

The article is actually praising The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak (my local MP here in  Richmondshire - and a very good local one at that whatever one's political views on his handling of the economy.)

Apparently he happily named Taylor Swift and Mariah Carey as favourites, said his favourite song is Blinding Lights by The Weekend, and loves watching Bridgerton.   She criticises BJ for his crumpled fashion style, his jokes in Latin which few understand, writing biographies of Churchill and Shakespeare and praises Rishi for 'sticking to English' and saying his favourite books are fiction.  I would argue with her that he is entitled to write whatever books he likes and full marks for having the ability - but lets keep  it on the lines of her argument - let them all be truthful and speak the truth when asked.

I could go on - she says Rishi knows which football team he supports (Southampton) and definitely owns a hairbrush.

I wouldn't criticise anyone for loving the  classic painters, preferring classical music,  for loving Dickens and Shakespeare - but what puts me off is folk (especially our politicians) who rather than tell us they read chiclit (if they do) pretend they read something a bit more highbrow.   If they can't tell the truth on things like this how can we believe them on the big issues they deal with every day?

So let's have a go amongst ourselves.   Answer the following questions if you fancy joining in.   I will give you my answers to add to them tomorrow. 

1,   Favourite book.

2.   Favourite work of art.

3.   Favourite song.

4.   Favourite piece of classical music.

5.   Favourite meal.

6.   Favourite film or play (or both)

7.   Favourite TV Programme

8.   Favourite football team? (if you are a supporter)

9.   Favourite biscuit.

10. Favourite pudding. 

See you tomorrow. 

28 comments:

Tasker Dunham said...

I don't really have favourites, only crazes. But I don't spend my time making model buses.

CharlotteP said...

1. The Scapegoat by Daphne Du Maurier
2. Val d'Aosta by John Brett
3. Only You by the Flying Pickets
4. Vedro con mio diletto by Vivaldi - has to be this recording, though!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF4YXv6ZIuE
5. Something someone else has cooked for me!
6. Chariots of Fire
7. 'Allo 'Allo (still makes me laugh)
8. Football?
9. One with more thick milk chocolate than biscuit!
10.Good quality ice cream.

Makes me have some sympathy for politicians...some of these could vary depending on the mood you're in - though not the football team, obviously!

10.

Sue in Suffolk said...

Much too hard to choose a favourite in anything!

Karen Michael said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Derek Faulkner said...

Sorry, but I don't agree that MP's should have to answer every question that they are asked. In their position I'd be inclined to give different answers to the same question.

Ellen D. said...

I don't have a lot of "favorites" so I cannot make a list like this. I do love lemon meringue pie, tho!

the veg artist said...

1. Molly Keane's Good Behaviour
2.The Annunciation Diptych by van Eyck -it really is a painting!
3/4 Farewell to Stromness
5. No real favourite
6. Shawshank Redemption
7. Vera/Shetland
8. not into football
9. Ginger (gluten-free in my case)
10.Not into puddings at all.

thelma said...

Favourites are difficult creatures to pin down... it is interesting to see what comes to mind though.

1) Geoffrey Grigson - The Englishman's Flora
2) 'Watersplash by Henry Herbert La Thangue
3) Diamonds on the Sole of her shoes. Paul Simon and the Ladysmith Black Mambaza
4) Mozart Clarinet Quintet
5) A family fondue
6) Pride and Prejudice
7) Detectorists
8) ----
9) Buttered digestives (and cheese)
10) Eton Mess or apple crumble, with cream of course.

Susan said...

i agree telling the truth is important. Politicians that do not tell the truth one to many times lose their credibility. As for me, I have multiple favorites and picking just one in any category just does not work. My favorites change with the seasons and often with each new year...

Northriding said...

1. Favourite book. - Diary of Anne Frank

2. Favourite work of art. Peach tree in Bloom by Vincent van Gogh

3. Favourite song.Things we said today - The Beatles

4. Favourite piece of classical music. The Lark Ascending - R Vaughn-Williams

5. Favourite meal.Fish and chips with a large amount of vinegar

6. Favourite film or play (or both) - Witness (Harrison Ford) - play Richard II - studied it for A level and have seen it many times since

7. Favourite TV Programme Sherlock

8. Favourite football team? (if you are a supporter) Middlesbrough

9. Favourite biscuit. Ginger

10. Favourite pudding. How long have we got?? I'll go for chocolate cheesecake

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

If politicians only lie about which football team they support then we won't have much to worry about. Some years ago Liverpool had a player called Xavier; every time he was asked by reporters how his name was pronounced he gave a different answer - I sometimes think that politicians ought to adopt the same approach when asked irrelevant questions.

Rachel Phillips said...

Can you imagine asking Airey Neave, Iain McLeod, Douglas Hird, Clement Attlee, Hugh Gaitskell these question? No. For me they say more about the questioner than the questionee. I don't like this sort of thing and do I have any favourites to share? No. I agree with comments that if politicians are asked such daft questions then they should feel free to give daft answers, or better still, to refuse to answer altogether.

Anonymous said...

I would too, to protect my privacy, or even to be deliverately contradictory when asked banal questions.

Traveller said...

1, Favourite book. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. I am jealous of people who have not read this as they have it in front of them

2. Favourite work of art. Too difficult. As a poor student living in London I spent a lot of time in the National Gallery and decided I should pick one painting to be “mine”. I picked the Rout of San Romano by Paulo Uccello. Now, many, many years later, there are others I would choose but too late you only get to choose once.

3. Favourite song. nope way to difficult that but, if I went to a desert island I would need some Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Wagner

4. Favourite piece of classical music. Again too difficult Wagner would have to me there

5. Favourite meal….hmm can’t go for a meal but a cuisine perhaps…food of the Levant

6. Favourite film or play (or both) too many but The Day the Earth Stood Still (the original of course) is good

7. Favourite TV Programme - the news

8. Favourite football team? (if you are a supporter) Football? What’s that?

9. Favourite biscuit. Chunky ginger

10. Favourite pudding. Cheese!

Nice set of question

Heather said...

Impossible to take part in this as each time I think of a favourite in any category, another contender pops into my mind. Too many wonderful books, songs, works of art etc., and as for biscuits and puddings - I try not to think about them.

Debbie said...

1. Rosamunde Pilcher - "Coming Home". Set in WW2 -I re-read it once a year.
2. The Hireling Shepherd - William Holman Hunt. The colours!
3. Very tough one to answer as so many but Joni Mitchell "Chelsea Morning" always cheers me up
4. Prokofiev Classical Symphony( No1). This was the theme to "The Flaxton Boys" TV programme when I was a kid - filmed in Yorkshire. But a very close second is the theme to Brideshead Revisited - the opening notes make me go all shivery.
5. Seaside fish and chips
6. Film: West Side Story - Play: Hamlet
7. Don't have a TV.
8. Southampton - by osmosis after 37 years of marriage
9. Custard creams (if bought) or homemade ginger nuts
10. Anything involving cream, meringue and fruit

Marti said...

I so enjoy reading your blog but have never commented until now. thank you for asking these fun questions; it is lovely to share a bit of me with you: I live in the United States, born in California, presently living in New Mexico. 73 yrs old, long married (51 yrs), mother of twin daughters, grandmother of twin boy and girl, mother in law to a fine man from Stoney Stanton, England. First generation, parents came to America from Spain via Ellis Island.

1. Books - not one but 4 favorite books, read every year written by Niall Williams and Christine Breen , all having to do with their move to Ireland in the 80's. Christine inherited her grandfathers Irish cottage in County Clare. Titles of of the 4 books: O Come Ye Back to Ireland,When Summers in the Meadow,The Pipes Are Calling and The Luck of the Irish. These books began a love affair with Ireland and I was able to visit my heart's landscape in 2006. Surprisingly although I have Spanish roots, I have never visited Spain.

2. Art- Vincent Van Gogh's Undergrowth painted when he was in a clinic in Saint Remy June/July 1889.

3. Song- My Girl by the Temptations.

4. Classical Music- Four Seasons by Vivaldi.

5. Food - Grilled lamb chops marinated in garlic and rosemary.

6. Film- The Secret of Roan Inish.

7. TV program- Ballykissangel.

8. Football(Soccer) - The Unites States National Women's Soccer League.

9. Biscuit(Cookie) Biscotti dipped in dark chocolate.

10. Pudding (Dessert) Apple crisp made with our own home grown apples.

Marjorie said...

1, Favourite book. Nella Last's War

2. Favourite work of art. The Flag

3. Favourite song. Did she mention my name

4. Favourite piece of classical music. Rite of Spring

5. Favourite meal. Roast beef and Yorkshires

6. Favourite film or play (or both) Local Hero

7. Favourite TV Programme Qi

8. Favourite football team? (if you are a supporter) Canada's Womens' Olympic team

9. Favourite biscuit. Bourbon Creme

10. Favourite pudding. Apple pie

Tom Stephenson said...

I am sorry Weave, but I have a policy of never responding to any of the many surveys we all are asked to contribute to these days, if only for buying a tine of beans from a particular supermarket, or a lightbulb from anyone.

I'll answer 3 though - Velasquez's infanta.

Janie Junebug said...

1, Favourite book. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

2. Favourite work of art. Starry Night by Van Gogh

3. Favourite song. Yesterday by Paul McCartney

4. Favourite piece of classical music. don't know

5. Favourite meal. don't know

6. Favourite film or play (or both) It's A Wonderful Life directed by Frank Capra

7. Favourite TV Programme don't have one

8. Favourite football team? (if you are a supporter) don't have one

9. Favourite biscuit. don't have one

10. Favourite pudding. don't have one

Granny Sue said...

1. Favourite book. So hard to choose, but probably Cross Creek by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.

2. Favourite work of art. Anything by Monet

3. Favourite song. Pretty Saro, one I love to sing.

4. Favourite piece of classical music. Mozart, Symphony in G Minor
5. Favourite meal. Macaroni and cheese, without a doubt.

6. Favourite film or play (or both): The African Queen; and Arsenic and Old Lace as a play.

7. Favourite TV Programme. No TV here, but I totally loved the BBC series A Horseman Came Riding By.

8. Favourite football team? (if you are a supporter)

9. Favourite biscuit. Cookie here in the US, so I'll say gingersnaps.

10. Favourite pudding. I have only ever had one, plum pudding.

Joanne Noragon said...

Dear Weave, by this time of night I can't remember too much, so I'll just enjoy answers tomorrow.

elf said...

Book: The Hobbit
Painting: Embarkation for Cythera (sp?) I’m sure they’re going somewhere magical with good conversation and maybe dryads!
3. Best Friend (Google it; the new one, but not with a schoolmarm hat on!)
4. Dance of the Blessed Spirits
5. Pizza
6. Midsummer Night’s Dream
7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
8. CFC!!!!! (Chattanooga Football Club!!!)
9. Almond shortie
10. Pistachio, but I think it’s something different in England? Ours are kinda yogurty and made with a powder of flavor and gelatin
Thank you Pat! We share a play xo

Bovey Belle said...

I may as well - belatedly - join in:

Book - Probably the Diaries of the Rev. Francis Kilvert as I return again and again to them. I still have a soft spot for Tess of the D'Urbervilles too.
Painting: John William Inchbold - A Study in March (In Early Spring). He captures the light perfectly.
Song: Folk - Silver Whistle by the Silly Sisters (Maddy Prior & June Tabor).
Classical: The Lark Ascending by Vaughan-Williams
Meal: a good king prawn Madras
Film/Play: Dr Zhivago as I love a good love story.
TV Prog: Escape to the Country
Don't follow football.
Biscuit - a good choc chip and ginger one
Pudding - a good Tart au Citron

The Weaver of Grass said...

Such interesting choices. I gave you mine - they are robably different if I think of them today

Kelly said...

Oops… late to the party… lost my original answers so trying again. (And I’m American so my ideas of biscuits and “pudding” may be odd)
1, Favourite book: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

2. Favourite work of art: Imogen Cunningham photographs

3. Favourite song: Hallelujah (love Leonard Cohen!) . k.d. Lang’s version is amazing, too. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P_NpxTWbovE

4. Favourite piece of classical music: Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons

5. Favourite meal: roasted root vegetables over rice

6. Favourite film or play (or both): The Big Chill

7. Favourite TV Programme: don’t watch much tv, but lean toward costume dramas and gardening stuff. Anything with Monty Don.

8. Favourite football team? (if you are a supporter): nothing. Don’t enjoy participating in them nor watching others. Would rather read 🙂

9. Favourite biscuit: shortbread or chocolate chip cookies with black walnuts

10. Favourite pudding.: egg custard

Debby said...

1, Favourite book: cannot honestly answer that one...everytime that I read another good book, it moves into my favorites. Something very memorable though is The Immense Journey by Loren Eiseley.

2. Favourite work of art: Wyeth's 'Wind from the Sea'

3. Favourite song: 'The Book of Love' by Peter Gabriel

4. Favourite piece of classical music. I like Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Spring is a special favorite.

5. Favourite meal. I think that I could eat green salads every day of my life. I also love Thai food.

6. Favourite film or play (or both) I do love "The Dig" before that, "A River Runs Through It".

7. Favourite TV Programme. We watch a lot of DIY television in this house, so one of those I suppose. I don't understand the attraction of most television shows to be honest. People seem to get an awful lot of entertainment out of these reality programs.

8. Favourite football team? (if you are a supporter) Not a sports fan.

9. Favourite biscuit: Probably snickerdoodles.

10. Favourite pudding: Rice pudding

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