They say time flies when you're having fun, so I guess most of it must have been fun because it really doesn't feel like a year.
Twelve months ago I came here on the recommendation of a workmate who no longer uses the site. It was mainly out of curiosity about dogging, which is slightly ironic since I have never posted in the dogging section, and never even read it since that first day. My colleague never mentioned the Cafe, but once I saw it I was instantly hooked.
I find myself coming in here even if I have nothing I particularly want to say, just to see what everyone else is up to and join in the banter. The thing I love about the Cafe is although it's on a specialist site, it doesn't have the geeky predictability that you might expect from a specialist site. You never know what's going to happen in here - much better than soap opera
If anyone had told me a year ago that this website would become a significant part of my social life, not only would I not have believed it, I would have been quite resistant to the idea. My expectation then would have been that it was just a pick-up joint where you might get to make a few friends, but an actual community that exists almost regardless of the underlying reason for its being? I would never have expected that. But now I find that when I go to group gatherings such as munches, the fact that we all met via a swinging site is almost irrelevant.
There have been occasions when I've felt like erasing SH from my consciousness, telling myself I'm taking it a bit too seriously and should find a more wholesome hobby, like stamp collecting or something, but each time I try, I fail miserably. And the reason for that is, against my expectations, I have made a lot of real friends here and although they would still be my friends if I left, I would no longer be part of the group, and being part of the group has become something that gives me a surprising amount of pleasure. Sure, there are a few people in this community who I'm probably never going to see eye to eye with, but that also applies to my work, my other social activities, even my family. I would be naive to expect that everyone could get along all the time, especially in a community of this size, and I think the common interest factor keeps the personality clashes to a very low level. So, all in all, I'm glad to be here, and very proud to be able to call a lot of you my friends.
Finally, as a member of the community, I like to feel that I am in some small way adding to the quality of life of the people I associate with; So, what do I think has been my major contribution to the site and its members? I invented the art of Vulturing :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
To Mark and Helen and the mods, the regs, the newbies, the intellectuals, the jokers, the pervs, the friends I've made and those I've yet to make - thanks for the past year. You've been... different. :D
Ice
No need for me to write my thoughts on SH down now, it's all right up there!
:wave:
assionkiss:
