Instead of speaking about myself, about where and when I was born and what I have done in my life so far, I prefer to focus on and share with others what is important and dear to me, apart from family and friends:
Books: Can't imagine a life without them. The books I would take to the famous island are: Keats's Poetry, Virginia Woolf's 'To The Lighthouse', William Trevor's Short Stories - all of them, Novalis' 'Hymnen an die Nacht', Christoph Ransmayr's 'Die letzte Welt' , Marcel Proust's 'A la recherche du temps perdu' (yes, really, I like his work very much and also it is so long that it would keep me busy for ages on that island) - and if my suitcase was big enough hundreds more books.
Art: Caravaggio, Lucien Freud, James McNeill Whistler, Gwen John, Edgar Degas and - again - hundreds more. Japanese woodblocks, Islamic art and architecture in general and the art of the Haida and Kwakiutl Indians in Canada/North America.
Travel: anywhere and always - with a preference for the Indian Subcontinent, deserts and all the unfortunately now unsafe Muslim countries.
Languages: I wish I could learn them all. I speak German, English, French and Italian well, a few others a bit less well and unfortunately thousands not at all. I find languages fascinating, they are windows to other worlds and other ways of thinking and challenge ours, which is always good.
Colours: I love all colours, but if I had to name a preference it would probably be turqoise, or navy blue, or sunflower yellow, or mint green, or... or...or..., I guess it depends on the day, the season, my mood, the moon or... or... or...
Animals: Birds, definitely. And cats.
Food: Just about everything, from Lebanese to Italian and from Peruvian to Vietnamese. Every country and every culture has interesting food to offer, and I am always very curious to try it out.
I
llusions: Peace in the world is one. Becoming wiser with age another.
Last and really least:
Music: A difficult chapter in my life; Bob Dylan - ALL his songs - I can enjoy, but not much else.
Before settling in Somerset (UK), I lived in Switzerland, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Italy.
I used to paint when I was young but later switched to writing. Now I do both as well as photography. Right now oil and pastels are my favorite mediums, but that can easily change.
Exhibition venues in Somerset in the last two years: Crowcombe Church House, Taunton LIbrary, The Chapel in Cotford St. Luke, the Gauge Museum on the West Somerset Railway Station of Bishops Lydeard, Ilminster Arts Centre.
