Johnfromleeds

John's Biography

Character: Quite a simple sort, only two brain cells, mutually incompatible. Mary says that she knows that men all think about sex every two minutes, but I am the only one she knows who thinks about lunch every two minutes as well. She says I start thinking about lunch before I have finished breakfast. So with only two brain cells, only one partially working at a time and most of my thinking concentrated on food; please be assured that any seemingly coherent statements made are the result of purely random clattering on the keyboard.

Biog:

Cicero said one 'if you have a library, and a garden, then you have everything you need'; perhaps today we might add a fast internet connection!

My name is John, I am retired I stay at home and look after my wife Mary. We are both great readers. We also look after Joan, a senior who is housebound, shopping, laundry chores etc We enjoy Edinburgh, Scottish, British, Canadian and European politics as a spectator sport. We don't understand American politics at all! Perhaps someone can explain it to us?

Freethinkers, well we have to be as we cannot get anyone to actually pay us to think! But we are open to offers. . For stimulation we do the Times Crossword (the easy one). I am learning French, German and Russian. . We are particularly interested in history, especially European history after all we are living through it! If you don't know the history of something then you don't know how the present situation came about. You are ignorant of the possibilities of change. . I want to see the world through your eyes and I want you to make your world mine, for we all have a unique perspective that we can share.

We have three cats Fluff, Puddy and Kitten, one of whom is mad and attacks the others. We also have at least one cat burglar (probably two or more!) We call him George the cat Burglar he comes silently through both cat flaps and flees whenever we go in the kitchen. We are also visited by a Great Big Black Hairy Thing, (feline, I think) who is yet unnamed. We dog share. A friend has a dog when she isn't supply teaching and we have her the rest of the time. . We live in England in Yorkshire so Edinburgh and London are both 200 miles away about 2 hours by train. We visit old friends and art galleries and the theatre. We collect opera on DVD. We went to Paris (managed to get in between riots!) Paris is 1 hour away by air. We like cooking but mainly simple recipes in the slow cooker..

Interests: Cats, reading particularly history, cooking, A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness.-Elsa Schiapirelli, current events and the ever-changing spectacle of everyday life. . I don't know how many books we have Mary had 4,000 and I had 3,000 but that was 12 years ago. . I am afraid that we love obituaries particularly of old aristocrats, diplomats, politicians, actors and of course most interesting of all common ordinary mortals.

Most things we like are either illegal, immoral or fattening, not quite sure what is worse. Like Beckets risus pirus, 'the laugh laughing at the laugh'. A firm believer in life-enhancing inactivity.

Favourite Book: The one I am currently reading Favourite Poem: Kipling's If http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_if.htm Favouite Film: the St Trinians early series http://users.bestweb.net/~foosie/trinian.htm

Family Motto: Quare exsisto difficilis , ut per aliquantulus susicivus nixus vos can exsisto cruentus impossible

(Why be difficult, when with a little extra effort you can be bloody impossible! )

He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave. (Sir William Drummond)

A good book is the precious life blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up to a life beyond life” (John Milton, Areopagitica).