Versatile Blogger Award

Several weeks ago, the lovely Rhiannon from Wales to Wherever nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award. This award is, to quote Rhiannon’s blog, “given to deserving blogs with less than 1,000 followers and it typically recognizes the quality of the writing, the uniqueness of the subjects covered [and] the level of love displayed in the words on the virtual page”. So a huge virtual merci to Rhiannon and without further ado, allons-y!

Because who doesn’t love meerkats?

Rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you;
• Share the award on your blog;
• Share seven random facts about yourself;
• Nominate up to ten bloggers with less than 1,000 followers and let them know they’ve been nominated

Seven Things (no Miley Cyrus reference intended):

1. I have a long-standing love for chocolate in all shapes and sizes, with the exception of Snickers which I think are utterly revolting. Once upon a time, so the story goes, my cousin and I decided that being little (and therefore short) meant we were missing out on the majority of the Christmas tree chocolates. So to counter this, we built a tower of plastic boxes and clambered up them to reach the chocolates at the top of the (plus-size) tree. My parents soon discovered us atop our plastic box tower delving into the chocolate-festooned tree . . .
2. My favourite French words, in no particular order, are pamplemousse (grapefruit), chauve-souris (bat) and parasseux (which means both ‘lazy’ and ‘sloth’).
3. I haven’t got a very high success rate with New Year’s Resolutions, so these days I tend not to bother making them at all. There’s only one New Year’s Resolution that I can say I partially achieved (I got ⅔ of the way through the year, then A-Levels hit me) and that was learning the capital cities of each and every country. I’ve retained a fair few, but it’s something I’d like to relearn.
4. I love Marmite. But I refuse to pay €7.95 for a 250g jar. Sorry France, but that’s extortionate.
5. Of the UK’s fifteen national parks, my three favourites are: the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and Snowdonia.
6. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without any board games. I’m a self-confessed board game enthusiast (though I also love a bit of Nintendo Wii Mario Kart) and count Articulate, Scrabble and Monopoly amongst my favourites. I know the official two-letter word list by heart and have scored over five hundred points in one game, though I’m definitely not World Scrabble Championship calibre.
7. Aside from a few firm favourites like GBBO, The Apprentice and just about any of David Attenborough’s documentaries, I’m a huge fan of crime dramas. Nordic Noir is arguably the best – think The Bridge and The Killing – but home-grown programmes like Hinterland and Luther can give it a run for its money.

Nominees:

Since trawling through my list of followed sites didn’t really take my fancy, I’ve nominated a couple of firm favourites alongside other bloggers who’ve caught my eye recently. Look forward to reading your posts in due course – but if you don’t want to partake, no hard feelings.

• Travel and Trouvailles | Jessie’s year abroad adventures are interspersed with brunches, coffees and cakes – they’re also making me realise why practically everyone I know went to Barcelona this year!
• Present Perfect | Featuring insights into la vie française and a hefty dose of linguistic calamities from a fellow language assistant abroad.
• Yale Wanders | Whilst featuring a fair few far-flung destinations, Nicole’s blog also emphasises appreciating the places closer to home. I’m also a huge fan of her “Take 12 Trips” initiative.
• Unmasked Adventures | If you fancy a culinary adventure from the comfort of your sofa, Maddie’s blog is sure to tickle your taste buds.
• Testarossa | Ella’s creative outlet is home to food, budgeting, mental health and travel-related posts.