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Post by thesentientpasty on Feb 24, 2019 22:53:08 GMT
Sleepyjohn. Where are you? Is everything ok?!
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Post by lazydaisy on Feb 25, 2019 11:23:35 GMT
So do I miss him here. He does post a lot on fbook and Twitter these days. I should give him a shout from us all.
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Post by SleepyJohn on Feb 25, 2019 12:47:10 GMT
Hi all - Daisy contacted me on Facebucket suggesting I say might 'hello'. It's incredibly kind of you all to ask after me. I might try and visit here more often this year. Mind you, last year was one of those privotal times when everything flips over. My job went south due to 'organisational restructuring'. A few people got the boot, and after 14 and a half years I was pretty angry to say the least. I kind of saw it coming, but hung on for redundancy. Moving on is hard, but I'm not a bitter man.
A few months later I found a similar job here in Birmingham, so now I'm in Digbeth working (would you believe it) directly behind the oldest pub in the city. How old? It dates from 1368, founded at the same time as the Ming Dynasty. Ironically, I rarely drink there. Brum has a fascinating history, but it takes a long time to figure it all out.
On the plus side I've ramped up my musical exploits, and I regularly take part in my local pub's folk night, bang in the city centre. I'm trying to branch out to a few other venues, though I only play for free with a few friends. I don't write so much poetry these days, but a female friend suggested I should try that again. She's very talented herself. I mean, she's actually brilliant. I own a few decent guitars which I bought when I was better off.
I've been spreading my wings a bit more too: last year I went to Manchester a few times after a friend moved there to get married. I went to a couple of weddings, and though things are shakey sometimes due to elderly parent, precarious living and working conditions, etc., it's no worse than most peoples' experiences in today's Britain. I mean, things are pretty strange at the moment. Another trip to the North West is on the cards this year, combined with a bit of hill walking.
I got into genealogy last year because I didn't know much about my dad's family tree (I was desperate to know), and I found photos of my great, great grandparents floating around on ancestry.com - it was quite a ride! I mean, I knew I was descended from a lot of North Western farmers, domestic staff and rural poor, but I found links to Staffordshire, Shropshire and even London. The biggy (and I can hardly believe it myself) is that I seem to be directly descended from Anne Boleyn's sister, Mary. And from a map maker who hated Shakespeare. I dined out on this for a while until it became clear that it's incredibly common. Thousands of Brits are descended from that lot. I'm also a bit Scottish, but I think they were Border Reivers. Lock up your sheep.
Speaking tangentially of which, it's nearly St Patrick's Day, and Digbeth is about to host one of the world's biggest St Paddy's Day Parades. I don't usually go because it can get a bit riotous, but this year I just might.
All the best, your friend John
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Post by SleepyJohn on Feb 25, 2019 12:51:05 GMT
As an aside, I was chatting to DharmaBum (Mark) recently, and he seems keen to organise another idler meet-up. He lives in Norwich now. Or as he calls it, Mustard Town. I know these things aren't easy to arrange, but I wondered what you all think about that.
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Post by lazydaisy on Feb 25, 2019 18:51:11 GMT
Sounds good to me.
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Post by confused on Feb 26, 2019 14:05:47 GMT
MR SLEEPY!!! how good to hear from you. sorry about your job but at least you seemed to be ok now. digbeth eh? i used to go through that coach station a lot back in the day, en route to oop north. i would hope its had a revamp from its 70's glory since then, but who knows! but thats all i know of the place.
a get together somehow would be great. i've lost touch with most of the old idle gang, other than the degenerates in this place and a couple of other people, but it would be nice.
take care of yourself, and don't be a stranger.
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Post by SleepyJohn on Feb 26, 2019 17:08:38 GMT
Thanks Confused! Digbeth has a brand new coach station in a similar location: it's not too bad and handy for Brum's open air markets, a few decent pubs and eateries, but someone took me on a guided tour of Stirchley this year, and I much prefer it there. It's genuinely interesting: quirky cafes, art galleries and a cool little bar. In fact, despite the city's alarming social and economic problems, I've learned to love the place.
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