It’s a Small World: Making Friends from the Internet

Posted on February 9, 2019 by suzie81speaks

A few weeks ago I was forwarded a message by my Canadian blog friend – a short Facebook post that had been shared in a group that I am not a member of, but she is. The post was from a blogger who lived in my local area (although I didn’t know her), putting out a request for a blogging companion to accompany her to an event that she was attending at the end of the month. I contacted her and we messaged back and forth over a few days. We found that have a few people and things in common, including the fact that her husband works at the same place as one of my friends. A few days later, we met up at the event and immediately got on really well – she was warm and friendly, easy to talk to, I instantly liked her and had a really enjoyable evening. So much so, in fact, that I thoroughly intend on meeting up with her again in the future for lunch or coffee. Continue reading →

The Alternative Wedding Ceremony Playlist

Posted on July 11, 2017 by suzie81speaks

The final stage of the official, legally binding wedding paperwork was the return of the requested readings and music list so the full Order of Ceremony can be created. We were required to give details on all of the music that we were planning to use – as it is a civil ceremony there is no sacred music allowed – and this needs to be checked in advance to avoid any vetos happening on the day. In total, we had to provide a list of tracks totalling about 45 minutes, which will be used while the guests are arriving, when I walk down the aisle, when we sign the register and as we exit. Continue reading →

Notice of Marriage Shenanigans

Posted on May 19, 2017 by suzie81speaks

“So, can you tell me if you are related to your fiancé?”

Yesterday The Bloke and I went to the neighbouring town to declare our Notice of Marriage.

The process is essentially there to legally declare our intention to marry within the next twelve months. However, as simple as this initially sounded, I soon discovered that it would be a little more complicated than telling someone and getting a certificate.

We live in a small town on the outskirts of Birmingham. We’re getting married at a venue in Birmingham and because neither of us have a religious faith we have opted for a registrar from Birmingham Register Office to officiate the ceremony instead of a vicar. Continue reading →

A Hen Party in Bristol

Posted on May 10, 2017 by suzie81speaks

I found myself on a train up North to visit the family on Monday evening after just returning home from a two-day hen party (Bachelorette) extravaganza. I had blisters on my feet, a burn on my thumb, I’d had about six hours sleep thanks to a very hangry cat this morning who woke me up at 6am for his breakfast (and I had six hours the night before) and the hangover that I could once shake off in 24 hours in my 20’s was still going strong.

I’m not a huge fan of hen parties, but this one went really well. Four of us, including the hen, trekked to Bristol, where we were joined by nine others throughout the morning. We had been given strict instructions that there was to be no cliche items in tow – penis-shaped objects, L plates, cheap netted veils etc – but as she said nothing about other silly items I took the opportunity to put together a ‘Hen Party Survival Kit,’ complete with Disney plasters, water, chocolate, safety pins etc. We managed to start drinking (and spilling) the wine by 11am, so by the time we arrived I was already feeling a little on the squiffy side. Continue reading →

Christmas Shenanigans and the Return of Ian, the Scary Gnome

Posted on December 29, 2015 by suzie81speaks

It’s been a busy few weeks. With Christmas prep and the end of term, several nights out, an early Christmas with The Bloke, a bloggy event that I organised at Organique – my favourite beauty store – Christmas with the family, a 200 mile round-trip and, of course, the new Star Wars film (which was awesome, by the way), I now find myself sitting in my front room surrounded by stuff. The house is an utter mess, I can’t button my jeans up, there’s a random assortment of leftovers in the fridge and freezer, and I have no idea where I’m going to put everything. Continue reading →

If We Were Having Coffee #11

Posted on November 30, 2015 by suzie81speaks

Coffee conversational posts are normally saved for the weekend, but the last few days have been a roller coaster. For those who read this little blog regularly, would you expect anything else?

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I celebrated my birthday and The Bloke and I’s anniversary. I knew that he had bought tickets to the Good Food Show for Sunday, which has become an annual event for us, so I organised a birthday drinky-poos with some friends on Friday night at Bohemian. There were two reasons for this – I know that Saturday nights after payday are always too busy for me to cope with, and I wanted to ensure that I had at least 24 hours to recover from the inevitable hangover.

It turned out to be a wise decision. It was two-for-one cocktails, and after several hours, six or seven raspberry mojitos and a number of passion fruit yummy concoctions that were called Porn Stars, I couldn’t feel my face and had seemingly lost the ability to do anything other than talk nonsense and giggle at nothing. Continue reading →

It’s Not Like That On YouTube!

Posted on November 24, 2015 by suzie81speaks

Recently I have watched a number of inspirational videos on YouTube that have focused on random acts of kindness, particularly for the homeless. As well as reducing me to tears, they have served as reminder of how lucky I am in life, and while I try and do my best for others when I can by collecting for homeless shelters, raising money and giving to charity shops, I can always do more.

Over the last week the weather has changed, suddenly becoming bitterly cold with almost continuous rain and heavy winds. In my little town on the outskirts of Birmingham, I have seen several homeless men taking shelter in the doors or shops at night, and despite the fact that I haven’t got much money at the minute so I decided to try and do a little something for them when I could.

This is what happened: Continue reading →

The Tale of Big Willy…

Posted on August 11, 2015 by suzie81speaks

During our trip out to Blackpool at the weekend we went inside the famous Coral Amusements. My mum was desperate to play the racehorse game that we played on day trips when I was in my teens and she was excited to find one right in the corner…

Fifteen minutes and about £15.00 later, both my mum and I had won several times and were given a choice of cuddly toys as prizes. As she wanted some to give to her beloved dogs when we got home, she chose a large and a small Om Nom from Cut the Rope.

It was then that we realised that we would have to carry the bloody things around for the rest of the day. Sh*t.

Luckily, the smaller one fit in my handbag, but the big one was so huge that my mum had no choice but to carry it round by its antennae. I found it hilarious, and she was quite self conscious about it after a while, particularly when children started to point it out.

“I feel like I’m carrying it by it’s willy!’ she kept saying.

And thus their names were born: Big Willy and Little Willy.

Throughout the day, Big Willy had several adventures…

Enjoying the view from Central Pier

Taking a selfie with me and mum

Even Little Willy joined in the fun at one point:

Little Willy enjoying a cheeky drink at the station…

When we finally got home (after a two hour journey took three and a half hours), Big Willy met Max, my mum’s springer spaniel. Big Willy liked Max very much.

Max meets Big Willy

However, it wasn’t reciprocated, and their brief relationship was over in a flash as he was shredded over the floor before moving onto Little Willy.

Goodbye Big Willy…

Goodbye Big Willy. Goodbye Little Willy. It’s been emotional…

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Microphone Rage

Posted on August 10, 2015 by suzie81speaks

On Friday night I went to karaoke for the first time in months with some friends, and after working my way through some of my favourite songs I got home at 1.30am. I’ve had about five hours sleep, which I’m expecting to hit me at around lunchtime.

Some may laugh, but I take karaoke a little more seriously than I should. I’m not going to be auditioning for the X Factor anytime soon, but I can hold a tune and, in complete contrast to my nerves when having to speak in front of large groups of people, I’m reasonably confident when doing so.

We went to a Chinese restaurant with private karaoke booths, where we indulged in lovely food and rocked our way through a whole plethora of songs. At 11.00pm we had to leave the booth and move to a central room where there was a stage, and the singing continued.

As always, there was a large group of drunken people who decided that the restaurant was theirs for the night. Not only were they loudly screaming songs from Robbie Williams and Oasis (and I realise that many of you from outside the UK won’t have a clue who they are), but they remained on stage to scream their way through everyone else’s songs too as there were several microphones.

That is, until we walked in and the microphone rage set in. Yes, there is such a thing as microphone rage, and a slightly inebriated Suzie who is being screamed at while she’s trying to sing Bon Jovi is not a happy one. Luckily, my friends stepped in and we took turns holding the spare mic while the others sang, and in the end the morons retreated to jumping around in the dance floor instead, and eventually left.

Let’s just say my throat was a little sore the following morning…

What about you guys? Is there something you take more seriously than everyone else?

The Annual Bloggers Bash: The Highlights!

Posted on August 2, 2015 by suzie81speaks

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And so it was that I found myself walking into the entrance of The British Library, ready to meet a group of bloggers for the Annual Bloggers Bash, which had been organised by the lovely Sacha Black and her committee – Hugh, Geoff and Ali. I had said goodbye to The Bloke, nervously smoked a cigarette and navigated my way through the hoardes of people on their way to Kings Cross Station. I had been looking forward to it, but inevitably had been anxious all morning, and the fact that I left it a bit late to get ready, had to redo my make up after poking myself in the eye with my mascara (although, I remembered to do both eyes this time) and spent twenty minutes curling my hair only for it to all promptly fall flat half an hour later due to the heat didn’t particularly help. Continue reading →