I live in the middle of the world, where all cultures meet.
It's sunny at least 359 days a year, and this beach is five minutes walk from my house.
The desert is haunting and wild, austere and unmerciful, but is a quiet place to
cool a crazy head, and I can drive there in twenty minutes.
Despite the fact that I am away from home, I have amazing friends, and they are all
happy to spend 590 Dirhams each to drink Champagne with me on Christmas Day.
The shopping is exotic.
Moorish architecture is one of the most beautiful styles in the world, and I am surrounded by it.
I have a maid who mothers me and lets me get grumpy and yet stays
calm and still cooks me beautiful curries.
I also have a wonderful family, but they are sick of seeing pictures of themselves on the
internet, so you'll just have to take my word for it, that they exist, and make my life good.
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Now, as a condition of accepting this prestigious award, I have to answer some questions, and then pass on the love. Firstly:
1. If you blog anonymously, are you happy doing this? If you aren't anonymous, do you wish you started out anonymously, so that you could be anonymous now?
No, because I want to be famous for my writing and photographs. And I have no shame.
2. Describe an incident that shows your inner stubborn side
I refuse to believe that I cannot be famous
3. What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?
A fatter version of my former self
4. What is your favourite summer cold drink?
Taittinger Champagne... no, Pastis and water on ice... no, Tanqueray and tonic... no, icy cold Albariño... no, Coopers Pale Ale..., no, water...no, definitely not water...
5. When you take time for yourself, what do you do?
Sleep, or pretend to sleep.
6. Is there something that you still want to accomplish in your life?
Everything. It is definitely not time to die.
7. When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever, the shy person, or always ditching?
All of the above.
8. If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment in your life, what would you see?
Tomorrow.
9. Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog, or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people and events?
It's all about me, baby.
10. If you had the choice to sit down and read a book or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?
A book - the brain of Sarah moves very slowly, and I need time to digest. Also, there's no small talk in books.
Now to pass on the love:
I am going to pass this on to three people who also appear to live the good life:
1, Sally, at My Custard Pie, because she obviously eats like a queen, and feeds all and sundry with her gorgeous treats.
2. Alexander at Fake Plastic Souks, because he never gets his tongue out of his cheek, and he has a lovely "shiny" that makes me jealous (you might have to scroll down a bit to find out about the shiny, and then it will take you months to figure out what it actually is, so I'll let you know - it's a property - I think an apartment at JBR, but can't be sure)
3. Dbs (whatever that means), at think.stew, because he makes up words, makes me laugh, and makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
So go visit them, tell them I'm really smart, and go visit Bruce too, but be warned, he makes up more words than Dbs, and then uses a whole heap my Mummy wouldn't like too. But he will make you laugh if you can still embrace your inner 14-year-old.
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