Happy Blog Birthday To Me ...

Champagne and gin for all! Today, this day, is The Quirky Kook's second blog birthday. Hurrah!

And, like any other two year old, it's a bit messy, unpredictable, prone to tantrums and badly in need of a sponge down with a damp cloth (or perhaps that's just the laptop screen). *Tuts* Nevertheless one cannot let a two year milestone pass without reflecting on what might have been ...

Basically I might never have discovered Twitter.

*Appalled face*

But I did discover Twitter and with it, on it and through it blogs, bloggers and blogging. And yes, I know I was late to the party but for that I blame my incoherent snobbishness with words. I mean "blog" ? .. *rolls eyes* What kind of word is that?

Nevertheless word rage aside, I discovered that people (I prefer not to think of them as bloggers for obvious reasons) wrote about anything and everything they chose to. Sometimes beautifully, sometimes not. Sometimes with rib-cracking humour. Sometimes with gut-wrenching, tear pricking honesty. 

I've been a newspaper, magazine and web journalist, writer, copywriter and general pen dogsbody for nigh on 30 years. But writing for pleasure? Without any financial inducement? *quizzical look*

What a bloody weird idea.

But, wait, I can write about what I want to write about... ooooh. *wide eyed look*

Enthralled with this whole new world I blogged my first ever blog.

And then I couldn't stop blogging.

Over the past two years,  I've learnt there's a whole lot more to blogging than I ever expected. Apart from popular blogging communities like Britmums, Mumsnet, Netmums and Tots100, there's a genuine camaraderie between bloggers who bind together like the ingredients of a cake when one of their own needs their help or simply a hug. It is an inspiring community of people (men and women) that I hope I'm a small part of.

I've also learnt that Spam is not simply a canned meat made infamous by Monty Python and that I'm unwilling to sell my soul (even if it is for fifty quid) to give a certain supermarket any kind of endorsement. Which was unexpected frankly, I AM a trained journalist after all and, of course, every little helps.

So here we are, two years later. I can almost tell people I'm a blogger with a blog that I'm blogging on without cringing.

But not often.... Damn that word.

*Raises glass*

*Slides off chair*