How much do you really know about the person behind the blog?
In the same way that I rarely appear in my own photos because I’m always the one behind the camera, I spend a lot of time blogging about my family but rarely talk about myself.
So I’m rectifying that today, at least in part. Here are ten unusual facts you (probably) didn’t know about me.
1. I appeared on TV as an 11-year-old, as a team captain on an early 1980s children’s quiz show called Finders Keepers – a combination of general knowledge and Battleships. We won.
2. I closed down the iconic teen pop magazine Smash Hits. Okay, I didn’t actually shut it down but I did make a series of recommendations for the BBC’s Top of the Pops magazine that led directly to the demise of the already ailing title.
3. I’m type 2 diabetic, asthmatic and extremely short-sighted. Sorry about the poor genes, kids.
4. Heather and I celebrated out wedding in three different countries. We were married in Malaysia – it was a sweltering 38°C on the day! – then had parties with friends and family, first in Australia and then (twice) back in the UK.
5. My academic history has had its share of highs and lows. I did very well at school, barely passed my degree and then later was top of my class when I took an MBA.
6. Via one of my other blogs, I once wrote a post that received nearly 250,000 views. (It was about Game of Thrones.) That’s as close to being a famous writer as I’m ever likely to get.
7. By the age of 21, I had been admitted into hospital for no fewer than five operations. None since, though.
8. I’m not a big celebrity chaser but famous people I have met over the years include children’s TV legend Floella Benjamin (that’s now Baroness Benjamin of Beckenham to you), McFly (before they were famous), Apprentice winner Tom Pellereau and former Tory MP Louise Mensch.
9. In my younger and more impetuous days, I wrote off two cars. One was most definitely my fault, the other – when I was rammed from behind at a red light by a drunk, uninsured driver – most certainly wasn’t. I’m a much more circumspect driver these days, although I do still love my fast cars.
10. Over the years I’ve written content under a number of pseudonyms, including having letters published in magazines under the nom de plume of Juanita Jones. Make of that what you will.
How many of these – if any – did you know? Outside of my immediate family, even my closest friends know at most three or four of these, so you would be in good company if you scored none.
What unusual facts do you have about yourself?
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