blonde poker forum

So we all know what will be happening in 10 years, but what was happening in your life 10 years ago?

I was 9 years old and living with my Dad, had just moved out of my Mums because she used to be an alcoholic and beat me. Had just moved schools and I remember being in year 5 and being a tree in the school play! I also lived with my aunt for a while, my Dad couldn't look after me because he worked nights as a cab driver, so I spent a lot of time with my cousin Anona.

Don't know what else I was up to, can't remember much about that time of my life... It was an unhappy time though.

Bless ya.  Mine was also an unhappy year.  It started off great.  I had just wrangled my way out of a relationship from hell so decided to go travelling round South Africa for 2 months as a treat.  That was an awesome experience, but on my return I managed to convince myself that i had missed said boyfriend from hell.

We got back together and the initial honeymoon period was pleasant, then it all turned to pot again. So months pursued of splitting up and getting back together.  My life had no direction, work was just working wages for my mum in the chip shop and I was lost.

Although there was one thing in my life that made me happy.  Every Monday night my dad would come and pick me up (parents were divorced back then) and we would go the Gala (Stakis as it was then) in Nottingham and play the £20 rebuy.  He would always pay my initial entry then subsequent rebuys would be my responsibility.  Happy days they were and my only form of escape.  Little did I know how I was setting myself up for direction in future years!

I was wetting the bed.  :D

at 13?!

...jeez!

Ok maybe not, it's a figure of speech though. (it is now)


The Summer of 1996, Oasis and Blur, football coming home, playing cricket and rugby all day long and drinking cheapy cider, when we could get our hands on it, at night. Other than Gary McAllister's penalty prowess, I didn't have a care in the world.

God sake Tank you've just hit home that was 10 years ago- gazza stole the show that tourny and McAllister fluffed it for us,

seems like only yesterday!!! and oh yes-same as above drinking cheap cider(pulse, £1.10 a bottle  ;) ) trying to get into girls pants and em I guess studying for standard grades- man I hope the next 10 years dont go as quick or else im gonna wake up tomorrow and be 34-arrrggggghhhhhh!!!!!

I was just getting divorced after 7 years of marriage, and decided that
needed a fresh new start, and moved down south to a company who
wanted yorkshire people to sell pens and diarys to southerners but in
return got free rent and bills for 6 months to decide if it was what I wanted
to do

Was down south 10 years, only moved back up to yorkshire october, and looking
to move back down in next couple of months

Sleeping in the doorway of the Army & Navy Store in Victoria.

I was 20.  Just about to marry my first husband.  Silly girl!  Had been working at my present office as a secretary for a year - never imagined I'd still be here!

I was 24, working at abortion and family planning clinic as a counsellor and administrator. was also working as a volunteer moderator for AOL, and training other moderators. Back in those days connection to the internet was expensive, but I got free connection and phone calls - very nice back then. My moderation work was worth about 7k a year in phone and connection charges (AOL paid all my charges).

I was in a relationship with a particularly dysfunctional chap, and that would go down the swanney, and I was just about to fly off to LA to go to an internet meet/convention.

I'd been living in London for 4 years by then, and was just starting to like it!

1996 - my first full year after graduation!

Living at home again (nightmare after 3 years away), working in Leeds training to be a Chartered Accountant, trying to get fit (failed miserably), looking for Miss Right (failed miserably) after splitting up with my g/f at the start of the year.  I've definitely had happier times!

To be honest it was a year of adjusting to working life and trying to put some money together (failed miserably).  The one crumb of comfort at the time was following football. I finished my aim of going to every Barnsley game, home and away, in the 1995/96 season (the last game was a challenge, a meaningless mid-table fixture away at Portsmouth - 12 hours in a coach for a 0-0 draw!!).  Then we had Euro 96 fever and I managed to get tickets for 3 of the games (none of the England ones though) while suffering the highs and lows of being an England fan that year.  

However, the best was still to come.  The 1996/97 season proved to be the most remarkable one ever - expectations of another mid-table year were shaken by a start that saw us win our first 5 games of the season.  After a bit of a blip we recovered and the year ended with us beating Sheff Utd at Bramall Lane to be top of the table at Christmas.  Another 4 months of nailbiting tension saw us do the impossible and finish 2nd - PREMIERSHIP BABY!!!

Hard to believe it was 10 years ago (the memories are so fresh) but since then we've been relegated from the Premiership, lost a play-off final to get back up there again, in administration, asset stripped by the local mayor who badged himself as the club's 'savour' while taking us to the brink of extinction, relegated to Division 2/League 1 (or whatever they decide to call it next year) where we've rotted for the last 4 years.  Hopefully, next Saturday's play-off final will see stage 1 of the recovery completed.

Sheriff

96 was a brilliant year, hot summer, euro champs, girls, booze, pot and a great soundtrack can't remember what i did for money, was probably on the dole and it was great. Ahh to be 20 again.

Got me thinking now, part of it was bad as i started the year splitting up with the first love of my life but i think i got over it pretty quick.

 :dontask:

struggle to remember 10 days ago let alone 10 years!!

Monkeys are renowned for their poor memories- u shoulda became an elephant!!!

Now I think about it the 1996 was a massive year for me. I split up from a 3 year relationship. My decision but I came to regret it over the next 6 months but had burned my bridges.  :(

My work life had degenerated into factory Gang work and a bit of weekend bar work so at 23 I took the brave step of going back to college. I'd been an academic failure as a teenager but I went back anyway to prove to myself it was lack of application rather than lack of intelligence. (did well in some more GCSEs and Alevels, all As and Bs)

At college I also made an effort to start playing guitar more again, something else I'd been neglecting. I was involved in several bands at college and also organised Jam nights where I got to play with and impress a lot of people.

Physically I was in the best condition of my life before and since. I had been training in kickboxing / freestyle martial arts for just over a year but by this stage I was training 4 nights a week, running, eating well, not smoking, could put my face on my knees or head kick from cold and I was able to control and beat opponents much bigger and stronger than myself. I was a small kid, was bullied age 11 - 13 fought back and picked on weaker kids 14 - 15 (not proud of it but it was a matter of survival) and kept a low profile at 16+ I was never a tough kid and once out in the adult world I frequented some extremely rough bars. There were also local gangs who handed out some pretty severe kickings to the alternative music kids. The training came to my rescue on several occassions around this time 10 years ago.

Some major turning points in my life.

I had a husband, a 5 year old and a 1 month old baby.

And bliss of blisses as I was on Maternity Leave, I wasn't working!!!!!!    yayyyyy to that....

96 - was 21 finished Uni.

Massive debt - but a good qualification was it worth it ?  Taught me alot about life but thats about it.
Came home live with Parents after 3 years - that was hard, they had learnt to live without me, as I had them.

I got a manufacturing job to pay debts - what did I do . . . . . Party.

Knebworth 2 days with Oasis - simply brilliant.
No Glastonbury so a summer of wandering for me - new places, new music and new friends.
Dreamscape, United Dance, Cream and bad clothes - the end of Dance music for me.
Phoenix Festival - Prodigy, Bowie, Dylan and many more.

Memories.
Gazza's goal.
Cowboys winning 3rd Superbowl in 4 years.
Michael Johnson in the olympics - amazing.
Following Wigan Ath for the last year.
The bomb in Manchester.
The end of the Ramones.
Tupac shot.
Realising I would never be a scratch golfer again.

If I had been asked I would of said 96 was the best year of my life - not so sure now.

Turning up for registration at school then the slipping off to race trollys down the hill for fun all day.

drinking copius amounts of thunderbirds and 20/20

having 678 ralph lauren polo shirts in the wardrobe.

going around 6 or 7 night clubs before my much older mates could bundle me into one.

covering my bedroom wall and ceiling with flyers.

spending every penny i could get hold of in the fruit machine in the kebab.

got a tattoo of what i thought was a man with a mushroom on his head(it was'nt)
My dad was not happy.

dyed my hair bleach blonde.

Always used to watch tfi friday before going out, that program ruled!

I probably shouldnt write any of the really good stuff, this decade SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish i was back at school

 

   I was almost 40, and I was living on a caravan site with lot of other families, I hated it, I felt like the American Indians must have felt when they forced to live on a reservation, My burning ambition was to find a place where I could live my life on my own terms

My girls were growing fast. My eldest, Muzelley, 17, had just passed her driving test. Kelly, 15, was almost as tall as me, and still growing. Sadie, 13, was at the stage when she knew everything. Boys fluttered around them like moths around a flame, it was a scary time for a father. Thankfully, my youngest, Bridie, was only 4 and still believed that I was a hero.

Back then, I went out to work every day in my truck, and Mrs Red or one of the girls would go with me. A lot of my spare time was taken up looking after my horses, I had about a dozen at the time and there always seemed to be at least one that needed it's feet trimming.

A group of us had discovered Sega golf, still the greatest virtual golf game ever, and many a long winter night was spent playing fantastic courses like Sawgrass or Scottsdale for £1 a stroke, it was a very serious business.

Mrs Red and I went to New York on a shoe-string budget, we couldn't afford to stay in the city so we got a cheap motel in a place called White Plains and took the train in every day, we loved it, It blew us away.

My brother Joe and I bought a tiny rubber dingy from a car boot sale for £3, and we paddled it down the river Soar just to see how far we could get in a day, we went about 25 miles and we had to ring Mrs Red to come and collect us in the car. We waited at a riverside pub, we were starving, the pub didn't do meals, but the landlord's wife cooked us sausage egg and chips and then refused to accept any payment.

Every time I did something that was fun, I missed my son. I wondered if I always would. Today, I know the answer. I try to do my best, and I enjoy life as much as possible. I still miss him, but I wouldn't be without the bittersweet memories, they remind me of what's really important.

There are some interesting stories on here, thank you all for sharing them with us. :)

Number one in the singles chart on this day in 1996 was Fastlove by George Michael.

Top ten singles in 1996:

   1 Fugees Killing Me Softly
   2 Spice Girls Wannabe
   3 Babylon Zoo Spaceman
   4 Spice Girls Say You'll Be There
   5 Mark Morrison Return of the Mack
   6 Gina G Ooh Ah Just A Little Bit
   7 Baddiel & Skinner & The Lightning Seeds Three Lions
   8 Robert Miles Children
   9 Spice Girls 2 Become 1
   10 Oasis Don't Look Back In Anger

I rmember all of those, I was definitely a spice girls fan!  :dontask: I was 9 though, thats a good enough excuse

I went on my first holiday abroad in 1996, as I said, I had been living with my aunt for a while so she took me on holiday with her, my uncle and cousin to Salou, Costa Dorada in Spain. I was a bit of a pain in the arse and my aunt refused to ever take me on holiday again because I mucked around... guess who is taking me to Zante in July?! I was punished for 10 years but shes finally allowing me to go with her again!

Man the music was shit back then-never realised til then-only 2 out of the 10 were good- Oasis and fugees and robert Miles and Mark morrison were ok the rest is terrible-including three lions

what??? your having a laugh!!!

Spaceman; i always wanted you to go into spaceman, that was a TUNE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10 stinkers if you're a rock fan like me

'95 was the hot summer. I remember miserably that it was nice and hot in London up until we lost to Germany and then, straight after the penalties, it started to rain, and it rained and rained and never got warm again! :'(

Funnily enuf it got helluva sunny up here in scotland after the penaltys- and what u on- that spaceman tune was utter crap

how can a levis tune be crap?

The tune was ok, the person who sang it was crap!

Married for just under a year with a two month old baby.

Working like stink in the City. Still loving it. I was a bright youngish thing.

Having a conventional commuting life.

Things have changed since then

All i remember is sunshine up north, must be looking back through rose tinted specs.

In the Levis advert they played the best 15 seconds of the song-the cool tune and distorted voice- then when it got released that was the start of the tune then it slowed down to this utter crap dreary song followed-utter garbage!!!

yep, there was a drum and bass remix with just the high pitched bit at the start throughout which was pretty decent.

I was living in South Wales, married to a complete anchor  :D

3 children 9yrs 3yrs and 2 month old, working for L'oreal, which was great.

Lasted 2 more years in Wales then moved back to Newcastle with my children

and left the anchor in Wales  ;goodvevil;

Ang x x

Ahhh, how could I have forgoten Euro 96?  A friend of mine worked in McDonalds at the time and "borrowed" about 100 of those promotional scratch cards that they handed out.  We had great fun scratching away for a while and then BINGO - 2 tickets to a Euro 96 game.  

The game was Scotland v Holland at Villa Park.  Shame it was not England but we went anyway and what a game!! It was actually the only game in the group stages that was 0-0.  We had front row seats very close the half way line and the pleasure of watching Scotland play out of their skins and very nearly beating the dutch.  I remember the atmosphere being the best i have ever felt at a football match.  The sea of orange from Holland and their band constantly on the go producing a somewhat carnival feeling.  Add to that the utter joy of the Scotts more than holding there own and showing what they are capable of, and just an added bonus for me of watching Ally McCoist warming up right in front of my face for most of the second half.

Thanks Poppet for sending us back - It's awesome to reminisce.

No problem, I'm enjoying reading all the stories! :)

Keep them coming

Just finishing my A levels, having a tough time with my first love but then realising girls aren't really that important, stopped taking myself so seriously, turned from a testosterone fulled meathead in to a long haired hippy in the space of a few months, went on a great lads trip away, got an excellent summer job whilst waiting for results - pizza hut delivery in my old car, a renault 5 with the most incredible suspension you'll ever experience - curbs just didn't exist - just cruising around listening to great music and getting paid for it!  summer parties were the best ever - massive group of mates that all got along, summers seemed to last forever back then, now i just watch them go by out of an air-conditioned office.  Great year, thanks poppet...

Living in Holland at the time, enjoying my weekends in Amsterdam.  8)

dont remember much else :)

Celebrating my first wedding anniversary and still in lurv. (we still are  :D)

But for me it also has to be Euro 96 and a mix of highs and lows. The high was being able to watch England at Wembley with my dad at the Spain game. Not a great game but best memory is Stuart Pearce taking that penalty and scoring. he then turned to my section in the crowd to celebrate. Everyone went mental and of course singing 3 lions, great memory.
I then went to the semi against Germany and I was behind the goal where Southgate missed his penalty. Worse still we were on the other side of the fence of the German fans. Complete nightmare and never known fans leave a stadium so quietly. I know it's nonsense but it felt like someone had died.
By then my job had changed for the worse and it was when I realised that job satisfaction/home life was more important than the money.

I had big ambitions to become a Touring Car driver. I always wanted this and still do deep down. Unfortunately, you have to be a rich bugger. I did some karting, but that was as far as the budget allowed. If I win the WSOP or a big WPT event before I am 32, I still think there is time. I have my path mapped out, but it will be entry into TC at about 38 rather than early 20's and as an amateur driver rather than Pro. Pro poker star as full-time job and part-time TC driver for fun.  :D. Or I may just become a septic tank cleaner instead.

We all have to dream, for some people it is being a rock star, for others a footballer and for others they still hold the desire to become the next James Bond.  It is good to have dreams.

Funny coincidence, I must have been very close to you in that crowd in the Spain match, psycho's reaction sent shivers down my spine.

What an awesome thread!

Mine is pretty naff compared to most of those.

Was working hard - very hard - my Company fitted out & maintained all the Aldi stores in the UK, & refurbished many of the Sainsbury Supermarkets, plus some stuff for Rolls-Royce.

Holidayed in The Gambia at Christmas, as I had annually for 10 or 15 years.

Was Spread Betting big time & was about to discover golf.

Got it together with Wendy the year before, & we were blissfully happy, I stopped "messing around" with the ladies when Wendy came on the scene.

Was driving a Merc, the first of 4, all of them clocked 200,000+ miles.

Up every day at 5, straight to work, never home before 7, gave myself a half-day on Saturday & Sunday though. Wendy slowed me down though.

We went to Badminton Horse Trials & Burleigh Ditto - Wen adored horses. We walked for miles at weekends, Derbyshire is just perfect for countryside walks.

My sister & her Daughter came over from Aussie, & I put them up in a nearby luxury hotel, they loved every minute. I took them up to the Yorkshire Dales, Liverpool, Scotland (Fort William), Wales, Cornwall, everywhere. They gave me a gift of a book on birds, after seeing that I kept 3 bird tables, & fed the birds every day.

Happy days.

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then. I found golf, & poker, & retirement, & stuff. And a bunch of lovely friends. Everything is cool, though losing Wen was about the only cloud in my life during the last few years. I miss her still, & I dreadfully miss having a lady Partner. Can't have eveything I guess, but I've had a damn good try!

Out of curiosity, why would you advertise that?

20 years ago would be a good thread! Love the 80's

Maybe because poppet wanted to be open and honest and just maybe by writing it, it somehow helps her to deal with it.

Just out of curiosity, why would you ask a question like that ??

"advertising" is the wrong word. blonde brings a lot of comfort to a lot of folks because they are amongst friends, & it's good to bare your soul sometimes. There is a great deal of honesty in here, & I, for one, love it, & I do not think I am alone in that.

I'd ask why wouldnt she?

It was pertinant to the thread, and i'm sure she knew it would be wll recieved.

She knows a lot of people on the forum,outside of it aswell, and felt comfotable divulging it ,in the knowlege that the people with whom she was sharing it were friends would treat it with the reverence that such a personal posting deserved.

I think you'll find that a lot of the posts on this thread were as brutally honest as poppets, such is the natue of blonde.

Sometimes a particular moment or period can be defined by the great highs you have experienced. It's just as easy for a moment to be defined by great lows.

Ten years ago was my first year of University, the first year of my chronic illness, and one of the most miserable and disheartening stages of my life. I have never before or since felt quite as lost, alone or helpless as I was, that year.

I am sure there were good times and laughs; after all, a year is a long time. But I don't really remember them.

(Incidentally, I am not saying that things I went through were worse than other people's experiences - after all, one cannot compare experiences in such a dry manner. What one human being can take on the chin would floor someone else.)

Better get back to looking forward... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I think blonde means a HUGE amount to Poppet. She's not had the easiest of lives, the road has been bumpy, but when she found blonde, she also found a lot of soul-mates. They look after her, too, & so they should.

It's good to talk.

If you don't mind me asking, "chronic illness", is this something you recovered from, or do you still suffer?

We are finding out so much about the blonde "characters" in this thread.

Apologies if the question offends, or you do not wish to elaborate or reply.

Not at all.

I do still suffer from chronic fatigue and 'flare-ups' based around my liver function. The root causes remain unknown - but it has nothing to do with alcohol (I am not a heavy drinker).

I'm sure there are good and bad times in everyones lives, and 1996 wasn't a particularly happy time but the few nice times I had such as the school play and my first holiday abroad were mentioned as well.

As other people have said, I don't mind sharing personal stuff like that on blonde because I feel I can be honest about things. I do have a habit of perhaps being too trusting sometimes, and saying more than I should, but thats me. Theres a lot more I could write, but I chose not too in fear of a response like this, I'm just being honest. Afterall, if I said "1996 - happiest time of my life, enjoyed school, great home life...etc" I'd be lying wouldn't I?

Thanks. Let's hope they find the cause, & thus the answer. Chronic fatigue is something that non-sufferers find hard to understand, rather like the cause of anorexia I suppose.

But you seem to have strength of character, which is a terrific medicine.

Actually, I have to accord discovering poker with a large part of the credit for that - if nothing else, it gives me a drive and purpose I didn't have before.

".....Theres a lot more I could write, but I chose not too in fear of a response like this...."

And THATS the problem when folks reply without thinking through the consequences of their words.

And Poppet, there is no need to be defensive in your reply. Why should you be?

Just trying to answer his question. I shouldn't have to feel like I have to justify myself though, I could understand if I'd just posted it out of the blue, but it was in relation to the topic of this thread. When it all comes down to it, I'm not going to stop posting what I want just because one person objects.

...Takes more than that to shut me up ;)

I didn't think he objected.

Way to go Sophie.

But you are still being defensive. Pack it up. OK?

I didn't.
Was just curious as to why...wasn't trying to be offensive, or rude.
Which is why i couldn't be arsed to respond to any of the 10 defensive posts, or the comments about my objection or a need to justify anything.

Well by your very own admission, why should anyone else have to "Justify anything" to you ??

this mirrors almost exactly what i was doing.20/20 on a friday night before going ice-skating,thursday nights were student nights at ritzy in nottingham and we would always get in.a tener would get us fags,money in the club and taxi home.we would share a bottle of taboo before we went out.
i loved this year at school,the following year was a hard one for me.found myself 5 months pregnant at 16,but i still did my G.C.S.Es and passed them all while 7 months gone.had my son on friday 13th august recieved 9 grade C and above on the 20th.
still happy memories for 1996,i was living with my awsome daddy.

1996... lets see (was 16)

One of my grandparents snuffed it, left me some dosh, think about 100 bones.. felt like the richest person on the planet, got paid all in cash... that was when I made my first visit to the bookies. Left there with 40 bones to my name, and then subsequently made my first visit to a bar, left there with a thick ear and about 4 quid and a shocking hangover the next day

cant really remember much else, think the effects of my first proper boozing session lasted about 3 months. Oh yes, my grandpa hand a horse which hoofed me in the head, and a dumper (construction vehicle) that I drove through the wooden fence of his garden, and up the bank of the local canal, stopping about 5 ft short of drowning it, and myself.. OHHH, and I shot my first (and last) bird with an air rifle, nailed that sum-bitch antiquated pidgeon from a distance of 3 inches and felt disgusted afterwards



Happy days

Least things have changed since then anyways, gone are the days that I spend my time drinking and gambling in abundance.... oh wait

Well by your very own admission, why should anyone else have to "Justify anything" to you ??



By my own admission, I'm also saying they shouldn't have to.
Are questions forbidden?

Josh asked a question

I answered it

No harm done as far as I'm concerned. ;D

Oh, and lets get back to the stories, I enjoy reading them.

I suppose I'm just nosey!  0:-)

There has been harm done.
I've been traumatised and abused by your vastly overwhelming army of defenders. I feel compensation is in order.

I'm not saying anything more about it.

Josh, leave it please

For you Robert, anything.

Wow, an awesome Post, bolt. Such honesty.

 :goodpost: Bolt

i was working on the doors around hillsborough ,

the killing was unreall ,the danes loved parting with the money .

had about 1000 shirts printed ,they was there for 4games .

i have still got 60 shirts left to this day ,i am waiting for the next time

when england play them ,just to sell the damn things .

sadley i got the SACK,only because we was charging them (as every pub in the area was) to get in.

still what a nice bunch of people the danes are .

35 years old with a 34ins waist ,no fat .

i was solid mustle ,bit different now ,droped chest.

I was in clothes aged 10-12years, I remember when I joined my new school when I moved in with Dad I was measured and remember being 175cm, so I was quite tall for a 9 year old! I didn't look much different to how I do now, just a bit shorter, flat chested, slimmer and back then my hair didn't need straightening it just straightened itself! I was still a little madam though, I haven't grown out of that yet! ;D

I went to the Denmark vs Portugal game at Hillsborough.  I think it was the first one they played.

The Danish fans (defending champions from 1992) were just awesome.  Every single one of them seemed to be in a red shirt, with face paint and a viking hat on.  I have more vivid memories of the fans than I do of the actual game!

Sheriff

still got 60 red shirts left ,any good cheap.

Only if you've got some in XXXXXXXXXXXXL  :)up

Sheriff

You should start a thread for the old folk of the forum. ;goodvevil;

I was having a whale of a time at nottingham university, spending most of my time alternating between doing the campus 14 (a tour drinking at every one of the campus resident bars, a practice which was prohibited due to the high incidence of alcohol poisoning in previous years) and chasing girls in the local nightclubs(ritzys, mgm and house all spring to mind!)

Lived in uni accomodation with 2 top blokes and a guy i despised due to his annoying habit of supporting peterborough and ramming it down my throat every conversation we had. Used to love winding him up by an endless stream of practical jokes, including swapping the hinges on his cupboard doors regularly and constructing giant snow  phalluses(phalli?) on his car in the winter. ENded up being best mates with him.

FUNNY WORLD!

Euro 96 was great, living with football mad guys, we covered every square inch of our flat with euro champinship wall charts every one of which was kept up to date. Every time a team was knocked out, we bought a plastic figure of that countries representative (there were a collection of premier league figurines on sale at the time) and performed a ritual sacrifice of that figure, drinking beer and singing their national anthem. When we couldn't find an appropriate representative, francis benali (southhampton right back at the time) was alwyas the substitute and any anthems we werent aware of were replaced by the dambusters theme.

Still have lots of great memories which come flooding back every time i visit the wonderful city of nottingham.

I was just about to Finnish school around this time and start work at a Horticulture centre. I ended up working there for the next seven years or so. It wasn't the best job in the world and was very repetitive day in and day out. My duties included caring for various types of plants and helping out on the adjacent farm. I was really happy to be putting school behind me as I had always hated it. However soon after starting work, I regretted not trying harder while at school.

Towards the end of the summer of 1996, I had an accident on my bike while out riding. I loved cycling and it took up alot of my time. This was my first of a couple of accidents over the next year or so. My first one left me with a back injury that still effects me and means I can't really cycle for long periods without pain. I spent awhile recovering from this accident and needed a few operation's on my back as a result. One positive thing about this was that I discovered a love for running while recovering. I found it much easier on my back than cycling was.

I was still living at home and hanging out with friends who I had known for years.  It is sad how people drift apart and former bonds are severed through the trials and tribulations of life. Most of my previous friends from around this time are strangers to me as I pass then in the street now. There is the glance and nod that goes between old acquaintances, but the spark that unites people to become friends has vanished.  I am the last of the group of six friends to be single and childless. Everyone I used to know and spent time with are married and have a couple of Kids. They no longer speak to each other either.

Its crazy how such a short period of 10 years can change so much. I now have a completely different lifestyle, different friends and very different aspirations for the future.

getting wired far too often,celtic depressingly bad,listening to "richard d james" by Aphex twin,single,long hair and a lost week in amsterdam.

Wow what an album. 4, fingerrbib, milkman etc etc

But 97 ?

Amyway who did I lend that too because they never bloody gave it back.

I'm sure my missing week in dam was 96 - oh well going back in 3 weeks to try and find it.

i worked the mgm 15 years orso ago

sister club to roxys in sheffield

ahh 97, told you i was wired too much, it must have been "selected ambient works " then :D, went to see the twin 2 weeks ago, hes still amazing

1996 was a huge year

was 25...my 1st daughter was born...happy days,moved from our council house,to an upmarket part of town,got a massive mortgage,got a new car,got a new job with great pay
worked loong hours but that was ok,still went out with the boys occasionally,a stag weekend in mancheter being a highlight...I was lil naughty there ( not girls..E...1st n last )
played golf when i could ..oh yeah n played brag for pennys into the early hours while drinking buckfast....sense of responsiblilty hadnt took its final grasp yet...lol..crying for scotland when gazza done us good...


all in all a very happy period


it all went tits up within a few years but at the time yeah great

Awesome idea for a thread. I'll post my answer shortly, although it probably isn't anywhere near as fascinating as some of the responses I've read thus far.

Nice post sark. The part about friends is so true for me to, at that time we had an unbelieveably solid group of 12 friends and we hung out everday, went on holidays, went to gigs and thought it would always be that way. Now i very rarely see any of them and it is the same for all the others, we tend to all end up at weddings and christenings and have great time reminiscing but amazing how a really tight group of friends can drift apart in no time at all.

Yea ACE, weddings seems to be a place where you see people who were once a big part in your life.  Someone who a couple of years before was a person who you could confide in just becomes another face.

I got an email recently from Friends Reunited telling me about a school reunion.  To be honest I can't remember joining Friends Reunited, so I am confused how they got my  email.  If I decided to go, It would probably end up being another group of people from another school.  They would be saying all night   "  who the hell is the Scottish guy ".

96 was a lifechanging year for me.  Not in a bolt of lighting type way, more a gradual change in perspective and a realisation of what life is about. 

Having repeated year 10 at school I was coming to the end of year 11 and thus my GCSEs.  It had been a tricky few years at a decent grammar school and my final result of 1 B 5 c's and 2 d's were pretty appalling in their eyes, but it was ennough to get me into college. 

I ws finally getting to terms with my dad's death 7 years after he died.  This was mainly due to meeting a guy in church who helped me through it.  I was heavily involved in the church youth group and we had a fantastic summer.  There was about 10 of us.  I had met and become great friends with an Australian girl who was over for a year working at a local boarding school.  She spent the first eight months of the year fending off advances from another of my mates. 

The church was holding a holiday club for kids and we all had some role to play, it was great, we'd do the holiday club and then stroll into town get a maccyd's and then chill on the hot afternoons.  Unfortunatelly at the start of that week my granma had a stroke on her way to Scotland for a holiday which meant my mum and younger brother left me all week home alone, some thing I had never experienced.  I had to stay for college enrolment.  During that week we had a youth group bowling trip at which I managed to get drunk for the first time ever.  That caused a right ruckus at church!!  Whoops.

Through all the stress the Aussie girl started to warm to my mate, they got together and I struggled with that, pushing away two of my closest friends.  I turned 17 and watched the Usual Suspects for the first time, still love watching that film, an absolute classic. 

Started college, three blokes on a course with 18 girls, certainly an eye opener for an innocent like me. 

It's funny to look at the group from church now, since 96 we have had many graduations, 4 weddings one couple are due a baby later this year, and sadly one death.  The Australian girl married my mate (we sorted it out), after getting together he moved away to Bath for Uni and she went home to Melbourne.  They emailed each other every day, she eventually moved back here and they got married two years ago, choosing yours truly to usher which was a great honour for me. 

I think Sark hit the nail on the head talking about old friends, I'm still close to a couple but I thought we would be a huge family for the rest of our lives, I guess I was a bit naive back then. 

Jesus 10 years ago, Iw as 14 coming up on 15.  My sister was six she was nice back then I liked her.  She was 6 yesterday, I really can't recall the exact details but I spent most of my time hanginga round bus shelters and closes with my mates "protecting" the area from the junkies.  Mostly involved gang fighting over territory, getting bladdered at the weekends on cheap cider like Tank and Hairydude - ohhhhh God how I used to love pulse, Olde English and to top it all off a bottle of Catholic Wine (Buckfast).

I would also have been sitting my standard Grades and taking bad advice from my careers officer at school.

I used to be quite bright, I was offered a massive apprenticeship with Ford and knocked it back believeing my careers officer that I was destined for better things (the guy that took this on was a numpty but he's now earning more than x3 what I earn and drivinga bout in a BMW), on reflection I should go back and sue them.

I was also getting ready for going into 5th year. 

Euro 96 - Ohh how Colin Hendry looked like a fool, I still can't believe that Craig Brown dropped Jim Leighton in favour of Andy Goram after his antics in the build up to the event.

I was also in Ibiza in the summer of that year, in a wee place called Playa Den Bossa - I loved it.  I have always wanted to go back there but never managed it.

Iw as still quite sad because my Gran had died the previous year, I was really close to her and stayed with her although my mum only stayed a few doors away but she worked early in the morning so I always stayed at my grans, she used to get me upf or school and when she passed away I went off the rails a bit.  Still trying to get back on them.

I remember itw as a big time for Brit Pop and we used to walk about the streets with Oasis blaring out a ghetto blaster.  This was also the first year that Iw on Britains Stroingest Schoolboy and went on to retain the title in the following 2 years at weightlifting.  I was also the Scottish under 16, 18 and 21 champion.  I was a few kilo behind the guy who was the Under 23 champ it was my goal that year to beat him.  I let my training slip and he beat me in 3 consecutive comps, this put my lottery funding at risk as Iw asn't achieveing the targets I agreed with them.  Then in October of that year I cracked a barrier in the Gym by  exceeding my previous PB by 7.5 kilos I put in 6 good solid weeks of training with no booze no gang fighting and wiped the floor with him at the scottish senior Championships!!   :D   I also finnished 2nd to a guy who was to represent Scotland at 3 consecutive Commonwealth games. 

I keep saying I am going to go back to the Gym and at least try and get back to a reasonable level of fitness that would allow me to compete at National Level again, I am still only 24 so its possible that with a good 3 month training period I could get back into decent shape!! 

Wow rememebering all this makes me feel older, my sister is sitting her exams just now - I hope she does well.