Twitter: Who do you love?

It started with a tweet.
As things so often do.

Today it was a cry for help; from Kerry. Answered, with alacrity, by Mr Perry. Take a look:

Simple. It worked, in the same way that Twitter can find people and pets. And even wedding rings lost on the last train out of London Bridge (no, I don`t know either...)

Apparently, I`ve been on Twitter since 2009 and am hurtling towards 40,000 tweets. Sorry about that; but the 2,357 people following me seem to think that`s ok. Or maybe you`ve all muted me. (HELLO??)

Millions still don`t get the Twitter thing..and I reckon there are some that never will. Maybe I just have an insatiable curiosity about people and their stories; but yes, I want to know that building work round @theactualsteve `s house is just about finished. I worry that @humantourniquet has been off poorly, and I frown a lot for @LifeAfloat when the wind whips up around his 27 foot floating home on choppy Scottish waters. And no...I`ve never met them in my life. I`d never met @MlleSorbet , either, but I still ended up at Glastonbury with her and Meg last year...TOP time!

I don`t follow footie that much, and don`t get cricket....but love the passion people show for their sport on here;  like @markleeelliott , @AnkurDesai and @dwarfio . Just wind `em up and watch the commentary :)

So here`s what else, and who else I love on Twitter, nearly six years on:

The news people. (Yeh well, like it says, Once a Journalist......)...I mean the ones who bother to engage with you. From local stuff in @shrewstoday to national broadcasters like @martinebbc @krishgm and @cathynewman. We can all see and report, now. You just need a smartphone, a sharp eye, and, hopefully...a bit of nous and a conscience.

The funny people. Take a bow, Craig Deeley (@craiguito ) ; Gary *I`m on the bus* Bainbridge (@gary_bainbridge), And @prodnose Danny Baker for his teasers about what`s coming up on his (forever funny) show:

The fitties. Yeh..no...the ones who run, hurt, run again, and inspire those of us who don`t run anywhere near enough. People like @ChrisGN , @Fi_Wright, @JoShrops and the superhuman @helenfmurray (runs; AND bakes..c`mon....)

The businesses that bother : to engage on Twitter. From @stopcoffeeshop to @VirginTrains . It`s free publicity. Show me your cakes . Tell me when there`s a signal failure. It`s *this* easy! And a jingly high five to @shrewsmorris too, who knows he has more than 43,000 followers...and uses that fact to help promote businesses near and far.

The invisibles: OK, and apart from all the public banter and laughs, there are the Twitter mates who are just there for you. Ones you know, and ones you`ll probably never meet. Sending you kind words and DMs at just the right time.

The inspirationals: People like the late, great @grangerkate , thevery much alive in lycra @ReCycledRich , @kathrynanngraham and the wonderful @karenellaB--either because they`ve come through the toughest times, or are still on a bumpy road and are using their situations to help others, or to raise awareness of major issues. I love that about Twitter. How about you?

Tweeting. And meeting...?

Alpaca walks into a pub...

OK..sorry...you`ve heard that one already?

So...try this one.

Morris Dancer walks into a coffee shop. ( No bells, no ribbons, no music). Sits alongside a sommelier (no wine, no glass, no corkscrew). Who`s opposite a former civil servant (no clipboard, no suit, no red tape ), directly opposite a businessman who`s also an engineer and a musician (no guitar, no oily overalls, no briefcase). He`s next to a young man with a secret. And just across the table from a former journalist (hello) who`s hopeless at keeping them.

Alright, so maybe as a joke, this has lost a little pace. It`s just a rough sketch, of a great hour, somewhere in Shrewsbury this morning. Six people from very different backgrounds, all of whom met on Twitter and decided to go for a brew.

Agenda? None. But top talking points were local arts (Kevin Tanner`s Wellington based and a great supporter of local events ). Also, the fast approaching day of music,The Big Busk, which hits Shrewsbury on April 5. Karen Paterson ( Samaritan, sommelier, and one fab lady) is one of the key organisers of that, and it was brilliant to hear how well the plans are going. Graydon, ex military, now Morris dancer is performing there with his team, too, just as they did last year. Also discussed: mental health issues--on everyone`s mind, for lots of different reasons, and from David, what it`s like running a theatre company, while having to dash off round the world on business trips

And that secret--in the hands of the youngest of the assembled six; a new recruit to Twitter? Well; it`s that Shrewsbury`s going to have a brand new performance venue. In a former Temperance Hall! And the guy they call @Johnnystars is helping to get it up and running. It`s a fascinating venture.

One hour; six people, all with a tale to tell ;none of whom would have met without Twitter. One of a series of Shropshire `tweet-ups` which are giving people the chance to see the face behind the avatar. Messages are great, and funny, and supportive, sometimes, but occasionally, it`s brilliant to get out from behind that little glass screen and meet the guys you tweet *in real life*. Today was a prime example.

Oh--and the Alpaca? He was a no show. He DM`d me, though. Hangover ;)

Fridge magnets. Really?

Well OK.

It`s about fridge magnets.

Sort of.

I used to turn my nose up at them. But then....they started arriving on the fridge door...joined by various other mementoes. Some of which have been there a good long time.

Am I the only one? (Help me out here......) It`s just that some little scraps of paper make me smile.So I stick them up on the door...along with the magnets. And considering the number of times I`m in and out of the fridge every day (shut up...)....you can see why I`m generally...a very smiley person. (And have to do a lot of running....)

So: here`s the challenge. Do you have a more eclectic mix of receipts, recipes, notes, tickets, scraps of paper, pics and er....magnets than this? Or is it just me?

And never mind what`s on the shelves inside....can you (oh hell...) actually tell all you need to know about a person....from their fridge magnets? 

Thanks. Want a cheese sarnie while I`m here? Choc ice? Glass of wine........?



 (PS: Yes OK..there`s a lot about food. Well..it`s a fridge, goddamit. Cards and pics from eateries in New York,Greenwich and Shrewsbury. Stuff about losing weight next to a flyer from the fabulous Julia at Toot Sweets chocolates...... mmmmm. Magnets from Aberdovey and the Shard and from eldest daughter extolling the virtues of bad parenting. Poster about Brighton Rock, starring same, eldest daughter. OK and Dame Helen Mirren. Flyer from the fantastic Get Your Wigle On drama group for Annie....youngest daughter in it. Tickets to Manchester Airport (was off to Rome),the Rome Metro and the night boat to Normandy .Pics of Juliet and Alice now and then.A flyer about the Big Busk ((yep; still...because it was all just so brilliant )), the flower card from one of the best newsreaders in the BBC on the day I left ((he`s so sweet))....a pass to BBC TV centre to be an extra in a movie there...oh...and a recipe for a coffee mousse, not yet made).

It`s just me, isn`t it...?

Happy Monday :)

Ginger&Mora ‏@GingerandMora4h

@janemcintyre12 I agree a fridge can tell a lot about you... ;-) pic.twitter.com/oewzB5OiQD

Deborah ‏@Debs__224h

@janemcintyre12 my fridge is similarly decorated ! Lots of magnets , tickets , photos, memories of holidays, days out & happy things :)

David Wright ‏@Stan_Din4h

@janemcintyre12 There you go. What does that tell you? Apart from the fact that we drink too much beer? pic.twitter.com/dx5XkOjsNA

Shrewsbury...is where the heart is...

Combined ukelele bands at The Big Busk--everyone smiled!

So The Big Busk in Shrewsbury is over. An event which filled a whole town one sunny Saturday with music and happiness--from contemporary guitar duos to opera and dancing flashmobs. With any luck, it could become an annual event. What better way to remember Ben Bebbington, who would have been 44 on Saturday. Ben, a musician, poet and artist was killed last year, and his loving family wanted to find a fitting way to remember him.

Martin from Shrewsbury Ark

This was a stunning, uplifting, positive way to pay tribute to Ben, and to raise money and thank everyone connected to the Shrewsbury Ark. The centre, near the town`s railway station, proved to be a special place for Ben, and continues to be a safe, caring refuge for homeless and vulnerable people in the town. It`s great that so many more people are aware of its work now, and that its coffers will benefit from the collections around town on Saturday.

Big Busk`s support crew

But what`s also important is that support for the Ark and other groups like it, carries on. And with it, a deeper awareness and understanding of this message: any one of us can fall on `hard times`.

People like John. He has nothing whatsoever to do with the Ark. But I got in touch with him after seeing him appealing on a local website for `pretty much everything` you`d need to set up home.

It turns out John had a good job, but was made redundant. He told me: ` I had to settle for whatever I could get to keep the wolves from the door.`

For John, this meant taking a job paying the minimum wage. And here`s how life can really kick you in the teeth when you`re down. As well as redundancy, John`s marriage was breaking down, and he was left more than £10,000 in debt. That`s since been paid off, but it`s left him with a poor credit rating.

John was able to stay with friends and family for a while--but these were all stopgap measures. The time came for him to try and branch out on his own. And on a low wage, that`s not easy, as he explained to me:

"The problem is that to find a flat you are talking £400 plus per month rent for most properties, plus a deposit of £500 plus, a credit and reference check of £200 and then have to have a guarantor. Add onto this the costs of furnishings and suddenly it is easy to see the difficulties that can be encountered."

And that`s why John, once a family man with a good job and comfortable home,  found himself on a website asking around for donations of furniture. He`s getting there, and has found a property to rent for the time being. It needs a lot of work, and is further than John would like to be from his job, but it`s a place for him to call home.

For many of the people who use it, The Shrewsbury Ark is the closest they will have to a home, or a base. They can find friendship, food, warmth, advice, and a place to shelter.

If you have a home, it`s such a haven, whatever shape or size it is, however much it cost. I had this book as a small child. It`s called `A Little House of Your Own`, by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers. I kept it, because it always filled me with wonder. It had pictures of all the little places a child could call home if they needed to play house, or just escape on their own. I tried all of them. Scrambling into huge cardboard boxes and cutting out windows. Pegging out huge sheets on the washing line and weighting down the edges with stones to make a hideaway tent for me and my toys. Your own space.Your own base.

In adulthood I`ve always cherished my own home...that moment you unlock your front door--slamming it , bloody hard, sometimes, if you`ve had a bad day; shutting out the world if you need to.When I had bad times at work I`d rush home for respite during my break...even for 20 minutes. At that time, it was like an oasis in the desert.  I`m so lucky that I could do that, and it`s still my haven. I`m a Londoner and people often joke that it can take years to feel like a `local` once you move to Shropshire.

But this Saturday, thanks to the Big Busk, and its love and hope, and the hard work of Ben`s family and friends, Shrewsbury really felt like home. Where the heart is.

COMMENTS:

Karen Higgins ‏@karenellaB16m

@janemcintyre12 @shrewsburyark @jimallthetime @TheBusk @Thimmus lovely Jane, beautifully written.

Tim Compton ‏@Thimmus27m

@janemcintyre12 @jimallthetime @karenellab @thebusk many thanks Jane, very well written.

Susan ‏@suziemarine1m

@janemcintyre12 @shrewsburyark @jimallthetime @karenellab @thimmus Well said Jane! Here's hoping the effects of @TheBusk are long lasting!

Scott Stephenson and David Burrows retweeted you

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