Eight Things

I have been tagged with a blogging meme by Jon Baas. The rules state that I must share eight little known random facts about myself. So, here we go!

Eight little-known facts about me:

*1. I spent my education on a boarding school where, at the age of 11, I had to speak French because the school was founded by Napoleon. Fortunately, a couple of months after I arrived, we were allowed to speak our own language.

*2. My family descends from Spanish gypsies. Although we have been in the Netherlands since the 1700s, our family line goes back to the Beticos, a group of Spanish 'Gitanos.' Even my last name, Vlemmings, refers to Spanish gypsies. Vlemmings comes from 'Flamenco' which comes from Andalusi Arabic 'fellah mengu,' meaning 'peasant without land.'

*3. When I was 16 years old, I almost died from a double pneumonia. I haven't been sick for a single day since that time.

*4. I know everything about Formula 1 Racing. And I mean everything! Every statistic about the 58-year old history of Formula 1 is in my head. I am a walking racing encyclopedia.

*5. For six months I have lived on a small island off the coast of the Netherlands.

*6. Many years ago I was a table tennis champion.

*7. Looking back I realize I have been living a rather exciting but also dangerous life. I have been jumping out of airplanes, I have been involved in car racing, I have been hang gliding and base jumping. I did most of these things when I was young and foolish, some of them without my parents even knowing.

*8. I suffer from a slight form of 'Entomophobia,' a fear of insects. I am not afraid of flies and mosquitos and I also realize that most insects pose no threat. It's the fearsome looking insects that give me the shivers. Grasshoppers, earwigs, spiders etc. Probably because I have seen them under the microscope.