Cheerio from the Cheeser...

Well. I really didn't want to have to do this. In fact, I can't quite believe that I'm contemplating it. But it seems like I ain't got much choice, my lovelies...

Since I started my new teaching job time has been precious for me, in fact, I still can't find enough of it. My evenings and weekends have become full to the brim with preparing, marking, reading and so forth. We've got an OFSTED inspection coming to the college next week and that's added to everything else for me. I know you have heard this all before, my fellow bloggers and readers...

You can probably guess where this is going can't you?

I've going to have to stop this blogging thing.

Yes. Or, to be more precise, I'm not going to be updating my own blog any more, and probably not for some time to come. Yes, I've had my hiatuses before, my "I'm having a break for a few weeks and I'll be back" type declarations (God I'm finding it hard to get the words out, so much for being a ruddy English teacher!) but this time it's likely to be for good. It's just been so hard to claw back time and at present I need all that I can get hold of (sounds like another of my classic Cheeser double entendres, something I'm sure you'll remember me for if nothing else...)

This decision really doesn't come easily, I can promise you. I have loved having my own blog for so many reasons: the chance to be creative and to write about all of my joys and passions - music, movies, tv (being the "banner" topics but of course you all know I'm a major Dr Who fan); not to mention a vast array of cheese and retro-related topics that have enthused me along the way and also what's current ; writing long and detailed reviews (and boy am I good at them!); "Tagging" my fellow bloggers to write on an array of subjects ... and last but definitely not least hooking up with and getting to know a vast array of other bloggers in the process. And boy, have I met lots of people!

And in no particular order, they are:

The witty and erudite Steve, from Luscious Leamington Spa. Our communiques kicked off with various anecdotes about Beverley Craven and a marrow - I kid you not. He's a proud Dad of two and a bit of a polymath (writer, web designer, facilities manager...!) In our time we've exchanged many a thought on Torchwood and Big Brother. Steve's a bit of a cultural critic too and has a very observant eye/style. Actually I'm wondering if it was Bev that started it all off after all, I actually think it was Leo Sayer's underpants. What an opening. Not that I really want to see Leo's opening...

The lovely boy from US Gaytown, Matty, who never ceases to amaze me with his tales of encounters with weird and wonderful San Fran folk and his conversations with them - plus his love of film, tv and music was something we both shared. He's also an arty and sensitive kind of guy with his heart in the right place (and we've never even met!) with a Barbra Streisand fixation. And a cute dog called Bagel! Going back to Queen Babs, I think that's how our friendship got started - me suggesting that Bubbly Babs go for a "ghetto Barbra" image with lots of bling and a velour tracksuit - I'm sure it would compliment her bubble perm perfectly not to mention revitalise her career...

Amanda from New Zealand. A fun and witty lady who never ceases to make us jealous with her tales and photos of the beautiful NZ scenery and weather. One of her daughters is also a major Dr Who fan - she's obviously been brought up the right way. I can't quite remember how Randy Mandy and I hooked up - probably through another blogger, it always seems to be the way - but I've enjoyed all my chats with her and reading her updates. A fabulous lady.

Tim aka Timewarden! A blogger who has regenerated almost as many times as the good Timelord himself - who knows, PERHAPS I might follow his example. Tim is a major DW fan too, hence the connection. Tim is an "Old Skool" Whovian and I'm sure he won't mind me saying he's much more of a fan of the original series rather than new one. This has lead to many interesting debates between us! He also has an incredible memory for detail (guest stars from DW who have starred in other things) - I thought I was bad! (Or should that be good - look it's a talent, all right??)

High Camp Caress Morell. Named after a character from Dynasty no less, Caress is in fact a gay Glaswegian called Jaimie who has a love of, surprisingly, camp and trash such as Prisoner Cell Block H, Dynasty and Joan Crawford movies, to give just a few examples. He's currently compiling his Top 25 Campest movies and some of the choices have actually taken me by surprise! Like Tim, he's a mine of information (or should that be trivia? I can talk...) when it comes to movies and tv shows - this boy knows so much! He also has a love of ... cock ... and has written a fair few naughty stories on his blog - fair go to him!

From A Voice Plantation aka my old friend Thomas. We both went to Sussex University about 15 years ago (Jesus! Where does the time go?!) and have stayed in touch since - well sporadically, but we're back in touch now, which is good. Thomas is into Indie music and also has his own band, Plus! Go see them! Of course I remember his Janet Jackson period, and Absolutely Fabulous fixations, but I'm not sure he'd want me to remind him of those ... Thomas also blogs about the country walks he's fond of going on, which I can definitely relate to - getting out of London can only be a good thing!

Hot Lunch aka Alan from Chicago! Another American diva queen! Alan actually originates from Bradford ooop North so is a Yorkshire boy by birth (he once wrote to me asking me about meat pies that came from there - I was damned if I knew!) Now he's into music and movies, including the kind of stuff I like. And he also has a bit of a thing for Sheena Easton in fact.

Flaming Nora. A displaced Makem now living in London. She's a major Coronation Street fan and even has her own blog on the topic and once kindly published an article of mine on gay and lesbian characters in soaps. Another cultural critic who is always going to the theatre and gigs. It makes me wonder why I don't bother being a London dweller too. She also used to work near me although we never actually met - may have passed each other on the street at some point though, who knows!

Newplanet aka Graham another bonnie gay Scots boy! Graham is a bit of a Kylie and Kim Wilde fan and again likes many things poppy. He also has a thing for horror movies and every October gives his blog a Halloween style makeover, as he has done now.

And there's a few other numerous people too who I haven't mentioned (soz folks) but if you want to check them out go to my blog roll. All I can say is, ladies and gentlemen, it's been lovely knowing you!!

So before I go...

I will be keeping this blog "live" i.e. I won't be deleting it despite the lack of updates, so anyone and everyone can go back and read all my previous posts! I have actually worked very hard on it in the past and don't see the point in just scrubbing out all of that.

I WILL still be checking into everyone else's blogs, to see what they're up to, what they're writing about and leaving comments where I can. I want to keep in touch! And it isn't the reading that's time consuming, it's the writing that is!! Oh I wish I didn't have to do this but ho hum ....

Incidentally - Pakipoptart aka Deemer, are you still alive? You stopped blogging and deleted your website, but I was just wondering if you're okay? If you read this please drop me a line to say hi and reassure me.

Well. This looks like it. Really can't believe it! Who knows, I might do a Timewarden and come back from the dead, but for now it really does have to be goodbye. We'll see. Take care and all the best.

Big hugs to you all and ... I almost forgot to say ... many, MANY thanks for checking into and reading my blog and your various comments! It's been much appreciated.

Love Simon aka Old Cheeser
XXXXXXXXXX

BYYYYYEEEEEEE!!!!

Can we get together?

As Madge once sung.

Okay, ages and ages ago I came up with an idea. Having participated in this whole blogging marlarkey for close on two years, I've got to know lots of delightful and different people from many walks of life. It's been wonderful, enlightening and enriching. I've so enjoyed finding out about others; their lives, their experiences, their likes, their dislikes, their coming and goings, and...the rest. Not to mention sharing similar tastes, stories and anecdotes.

And now... I wanna meet all of you. In person.

I kid you not.

Mmmm. Now I know, there's probably a fair few of you who aren't so keen.

It's funny, the whole virtual communication thing. As said, I feel like I've built up some great relationships and, even though I'm hundreds or thousands of miles apart from some of my fellow bloggers, I feel like I know many of you. Of course that's not the same as meeting someone in the flesh. And a bit like internet dating, there's always the risk that you might get on famously online, but when you meet that person for real, it's just not the same. I'm also aware that some bloggers want to retain their privacy and whilst perfectly happy to wax lyrical and bare all about themselves on their websites, they don't want to extend the boundaries any further than the virtual sphere. In other words, they want to maintain their privacy. Fair enough.

But I'd still love to meet up with you and get to know you better. It would be wonderful to have a good conversation, share a laugh, have a drink, and most importantly, I'm intrigued at the prospect of meeting the real YOU!

Well, I hope I haven't freaked you all out. I did speak to Steve some time back and he expressed an interest, which is good!

So. Any takers??

PS I think a meet-up in London might be best ... so yes, that cuts out rather a lot of my overseas counterparts ... unless of course you want to jump on a jet and visit the UK! I'm not stopping you, ladies and gents!

Love
OC xx

Decisions, decisions...

Well. I haven't put up a post for over a week again. Obvious to say, but time is both fleeting and precious at the moment. In fact it ALWAYS seems to be. So much so that I've had to come to a decision.

I'm not going to be writing on my blog so much any more.

Hark! Can I hear a chorus of protest bubbling up in the background?! I hope so! Or maybe I'm just being a delusional Old Cheeser....

Anyway. At present there are other things which I need to be focusing on, job-hunting being one of the major ones. And the weekend just goes toooo quickly. I am sometimes neglecting my hubbie in favour of the computer which isn't a particularly desirable thing. Etc etc.

The thing is, I really do love to write and if I had one wish that could be granted, it's that I would be making a living from doing just that. In this respect, writing a blog is an excellent "apprenticeship" (though thankfully not of the Alan Sugar variety) or testing ground for practising one's writing skills. It's certainly kept me active in that department. God knows though, I am such a major perfectionist I have sometimes spent literally hours editing and tweaking just one post until I've got it the way I want (and then even when it's "up", I usually spot a spelling mistake or missing word and have to go back and correct it again...) I can also get seriously carried away when I'm waxing lyrical on a favourite topic and don't know when to cease my ramblings. I've stayed up past midnight finishing off some posts, such has been my intense and insane dedication to my craft.

But, if I'm to ever make it as a legitimate writer, I've got to finish off some of the stuff I started! And submit it to publishers! (Yes obvious again I know). And those hours dedicated to my blog have eaten into that time, in fact they've served as a diversion/distraction/excuse not to properly complete all my other writings!

It's funny, but with blogging you can almost feel "duty bound" and become very conscious of your readership. I know several of you out there who have had periods of "going quiet", so inviting the usual "where are you?" or "are you alive/okay?" type remarks. You almost feel like you're letting your audience down when you don't put up a post for a while and become very aware of time ticking by. But at the end of the day, one can't submit to such pressure, tempting though it is. To thine own self must thy be true.

So as of today I am going part-time.

Sorry folks! What that means is that I'll probably do about 2-3 posts per month from now on, as opposed to the more frequent ones I was doing before.

But wait! The new series of Doctor Who has just kicked off! I hear you all cry. And he loves to write about that! Is he mad? All true (except perhaps the last bit) but I'm afraid that the reviews will have to wait....for now.

This does not mean that I am ceasing to exist.

This does not mean that I won't be returning on a more permanent basis at some point (though I can't say exactly when at the mo).

This does still mean that I will continue to read and comment on all of your blogs, because I love catching up with your news, gossip and info. Yes sirree.

This does mean that I will try to do some decent quality posts when I DO write.

This does mean that I still love you all, and thanks to all of you who have been with me to date. I really appreciate you being here!!

So ciao for now. And thank you!!!

Ta ta
OC xxx

Ta Ta ,Timewarden...

Timewarden is leaving us. Again. He's just announced he's closing down his blog. AGAIN. Nooooo!!!

He left us once. Then thankfully he regenerated (an appropriate anaology) and gave us more wonderfully researched, passionate posts that showcased his encylopediac knowledge of TV, film and music.

One of Tim's major passions is Dr Who - hence our mutual interest - although unlike me, he's been seriously unimpressed with the new, resurrected DW brought to us by Russell T Davies since 2005 (although my regular readers might know that I too have been harbouring growing doubts about the judgement of the Welshman and his effect on the future of the sci-fi prog. I'm getting more cynical by the hour...) Anyway despite our diametrically opposed views, Tim and I shared some passionate debates about DW which I really enjoyed and it was great exchanging opinions.

So I'm very sad to see him go. I hope he visits me here from time to time. And I've promised that I would write a post on Space:1999 (one of his favourite progs, pic above) for some time ... I will, one day, promise ...

Bye bye, Tim and good luck. Can't we persuade you to regenerate again? After all the Dr has done it numerous times, hasn't he?