Manic Monday

Lisa has come up with another bunch of intriguing questions for today's Manic Monday.

1. If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be and why?

Hmm, this is a tough one. Childhood was not much fun for me a lot of the time, as my family was under a lot of strain, something which I'd rather not discuss in detail. But if there was one thing I could change above all else, it is where I was raised. I grew up in a tiny village in West Wales, in a very unpleasant situation. Essentially, if your face didn't fit in that village, they made your life a misery. My dad was born and bred in the place, which I'd rather not name. Not only was my mother from the next county - not a very welcome thing in the eyes of the local hillbillies - but shock and horror! She was was part Irish, and a Catholic at that. To the bigoted chapel-goers of the village, she was a wicked infidel. To make matters worse, she dressed in modern clothes for the times, tight dresses and high heels, instead of work aprons, mob caps and chunky brogues. So to say we were ostracised and mistreated is putting it mildly. But my dad refused to leave. It was his birthplace, and he was the only member of our family who was accepted there. So we ended up stuck there, in a very unpleasant situation.

2. Do you think that the world will be a better or a worse place 100 years from now?

I have no idea. It could go either way. It could deteriorate further into conflict, warfare, poverty, mass criminality, global warming, etc, or people could have such a gutsful of all the bad things happening now, that society could work really hard to eradicate many of these issues. It is so hard to decide. But with the threat of global warming, rising sea levels, etc, without meaning to sound like a morbid pessimist, I can't help but think things may well get worse in a century's time.

3. At the beginning of a relationship, do you trust your new partner unless there is something specific to make you do otherwise, or do you withhold your trust until he/she has earned it?

I don't trust people readily, having been burnt once too often. So a new partner would need to earn my trust. To unconditionally trust someone from the moment they come into one's life, is not just naive and foolish, but could potentially open a person up to all manner of dangers. After all, look what happened to the girls who trusted Ted Bundy when he pretended to have a broken arm and needed help to carry his library books. An extreme example, I know. I tend to take my time to get to know all new people - friends, colleagues, partner, etc. Although I don't advocate total paranoia (oddly enough, it tends to drive people away), the best and most enduring trust-based relationships are forged slowly.