A few weeks ago my lovely fellow blogger Stevie at A Cornish Mum posted an A to Z about herself. It was great fun to read and she urged her readers to have a go. Always keen to accept a challenge, I thought I would give it a go. So here it is, my A to Z of me!

A  I spent most of my summers as a teenager in Austria staying with my Austrian penfriend Hanni. She lived in a lovely village house in the mountains. They were amazing holidays. I vowed to marry an Austrian and live there forever. Of course I never did.

B  It’s obviously going to be for Baking. I’ve always baked. My mum only ever baked fruit cake that was usually burnt around the edges. My dad was a very happy man when I took over the baking reigns and he got a slice of Victorian sandwich for a change!

C  I love Cornwall. I particularly love the village of Porthleven and the far west area of Penwith. My dream would be to upsticks and move there. I am at my happiest when I’m in Cornwall.

D  I’m a real wuss when it comes to driving. I don’t do slip roads, don’t like roundabouts and not keen on turning right. So basically I’m pretty much stuck to just driving on a straight road!

E  Me and Mr R got engaged in Paris. It was supposed to happen on the top of the Montparnasse Tower, but we had “words” and I refused to go up. Mr R surprised me and asked me to marry me in the Jardin du Luxembourg the next day and which just so happens to be one of my favourite places in Paris.

F  Focaccia. Read yesterday’s post to find out why!

G  Graham. My wonderful husband. We met on an internet dating site seven years ago. His first words when he met me was “Aren’t you small !” He is 6ft 6 and I’m 5ft nothing!

H  We live in a three story house. It seemed like a good idea twelve years ago when me and my ex bought it. It’s a real pain though when you realise that you need to go back up two flights of stairs after forgetting something!

I  Since blogging and tweeting I have had a couple of interviews with journalists and have been featured in magazine articles and on blogs.

J  My favourite shop is John Lewis. It’s my idea of retail therapy heaven. You can’t believe how excited I was when they opened a store in Swindon. I worked there one Christmas and me and Mr R spend most weekends visiting it. It’s got a bit embarrassing that they know our coffee order by heart in the cafe !

K  My favourite room in my house is my kitchen. I spend most of my hours in there. The only downside is that it doesn’t get any sun in the afternoon.

L  For almost two years I’ve had to contend with an ulcer on my leg. Nobody is entirely sure what has caused it, but it’s been a right pain. I go to see my practice nurse twice a week. She’s an absolute star and keeps me feeling positive. One day, fingers crossed, it will heal!

M  I love maps. I could look at maps for hours. I always have a map on my lap when we go on a journey. I need to know where we are at all times. Give me a map over SATNAV any day. I am proud to say that I’m a good map reader!

N  I worked as a nurse from 1977 to 1992. At that time I was a senior sister on a ward in a private hospital in London. I nursed several “celebrities”. Some lovely, some very rude!

O  I’m rather partial to an olive, ideally eaten with a long ice-cold glass of gin and tonic next to a pool or the sea on a Mediterranean island. The black ones are best!

P  I’m going to cheat a little here because I can’t choose between them. Paris and Porthleven are both very special places to me. They are obviously totally different from each other, but I could never tire of either.

Q  When I was 17 I knew all the words to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Many a student party included a rather drunken rendition of the anthem !

R  I really enjoy reading. I don’t have a favourite author, or genre, but I probably wouldn’t pick a historical novel. I belong to my WI’s book club which has encouraged me to read books I wouldn’t normally pick.

S  I  am immensely proud of my two sons, Sam and Jack. Both grown up now and flown the nest, although Jack is home for the moment before moving into his next home. Both have great careers. Sam has recently married Sam (which can be confusing!) and is a doting dad to the adorable Maci-Rose.

T  I have been a teaching assistant  for 16 years. I love my job. I work with fab people and the children are just amazing. How much longer I can cope with sitting on diddy chairs is anyones guess!

U  I have always thought that I’ve got ugly knees! Even when I was a size 8, many many moons ago, I had fat knees. My mum took me to the doctors once to ask why my knees were the wrong size!

V  One of my favourite city destinations is Vienna. I visited the Austrian capital one very cold January. I loved the culture, the architecture, the coffee shops and the Weiner Schnitzel. I’m hoping that I can return one day with Mr R. Just as long as we go when it’s not -10C !

W  For almost a year now I have been a member of a newly formed WI and I love it despite getting some stick from friends who think that the WI is the domain of the blue rinse brigade who spend their lives making jam and singing Jerusalem! Just incase you are remotely interested, you can click on North Swindon WI to take a look at our website.

X  The first X rated film I ever went to see was The Omen. I was only 17 at the time and you had to be 18 to get in. But those were the days before ID and I must have looked old enough to be fool the ticket seller.

Y  I would love to sail a yacht around the Greek Islands. I once went on a dinghy sailing course in Poole harbour, but that’s as far as my sailing experience goes.

Z  In my twenties I had a boyfriend who I considered posh. We went to dinner parties and discussed culture amongst other things.We went to watch art house films and holidays were spent exploring Greek ruins. I started to read literature and would only read Penguin books with orange spines. One of the authors that I read was Emile ZOLA.

Phew…that was quite hard, especially the last three letters! If you keep a blog, why don’t you have a go. It really makes you think about what makes you, you!