So I am 52 living in Birmingham, it is not somewhere I ever envisioned living but life always has other ideas for us! I lived in Monmouth South Wales for 20 years and then I met Rob via Facebook, we met up (outside Iceland) and then June 2011 found me moving to Brum, I have to say it has surprised me, I love its diversity and Birmingham city centre itself is something to behold and if you love shopping then ladies trust me it’s worth a trip but I would suggest going on the train, the traffic and parking is the stuff of nightmares😱
I have two grown up daughters Helen and Rosie and a gorgeous grandson Alfie who is a very grown up 4!
Helen and Rosie took me to Birmingham town centre for my 50th birthday 2 years ago and we had such a lovely day, lunch at Jamie Oliver’s, one of his restaurants, not his house obviously and we hit the shops!
I would also highly recommend a visit to the Bullring shopping centre and Grand Central. Helen and I visited Selfridges famous food hall, oh happy day, the smells and sights, food galore, I was drooling! We ended up at Yo Sushi as I adore sushi and it was my first time having a proper sushi experience, it was delicious and fun and if you love sushi and never been then do it! Helen bought some sushi take out to take home for Rob as he hasn’t had sushi before and he was thrilled to bits, awe bless him 😂🍱
I have been away on my annual jollies ‘up north’ visiting the folks! I was born in Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire and lived in a town called Stalybridge known by the locals as Stalyvegas due to its many pubs and clubs although I think those have some what diminished in recent years. Stalybridge used to be a thriving cotton mill town back in ye olden days and consequently is a very damp place to live and was therefore ideal for the cotton industry! The town reopened its canals which had previously been filled in way back when, however I don’t think this has worked out too well thanks to some of the local youth, hence vandalism etc. Such a shame as it is nice to see the barges on there and the Canada geese which seem to frequent the sides of the canal. During my visit ‘up north’ my step father had me posing on his Triumph Bonneville for the above photo, okay so I wasn’t clad in black skimpy leather with an oiled chest but I still don’t think it is a bad photo for a 52 year old, me that is not the bike! It was a quite depressing moment when my mum proudly or is that unproudly 🤔presented me with my old school reports! I mean really they still exist, I thought I had destroyed all evidence of the institution that is know as secondary school! It wasn’t good reading, I think one can safely say I didn’t do too well at school, however I did manage to leave with 3 CSE’s (that’s what they were called back then) English Literature, English Language and Biology, so I know about bodies and stuff and how to write and spell! I was also good at music but wasn’t really encouraged to do anything with that maybe it was my dulcet tones or violin playing which apparently sounded like a cat being strangled, I personally think my playing of Little Brown Jug was superb! Anyway I ate far too many Magnums and Cornettos and climbed too many stairs and had to endure far too much time on the motorway amidst road works, apparently they are building a SMART motorway whatever that is, the only time it will become smart is if you drive into some kind of vortex and arrive at your destination instantly! To top it all it isn’t going to be completed until 2022 very smart I must say! It was an experience but always nice to see the folks and park my bum on the seat of a Triumph however briefly, the comforting thing is that I can still get my leg over😳😆 One things for sure……
who also made me an admin, again an honour, I feel blessed to be part of these wonderful groups, they have opened a door for me and if I can help even one person with their struggle with depression or anxiety or both then my heart will be that much lighter.
