A Salute to Old School Bloggers

We're old school bloggers. We started blogging about a decade ago when most of us were on Blogger and monetizing was unheard of. We agonised over our posts and, since many of us had pen names, shared secrets and shizz that no one else knew. We revelled in each other's prose and yes, we gave out Bloggy awards and tagged each other to continue themes. We mainly wrote at the end of the day, reflecting and reading what others had been up to. No one worried about links and follow thingies, we just celebrated good blog-writing.

We made friends online (which freaked many family members out), and we collaborated on other blog projects. Then came the conferences, where some of us were able to meet in person. Many of these bloggy friendships developed into real friendships and continue to this day. Some of us kept blogging, some of us got a bit lax, and others left their blogs on Blogger, suspended in a bygone bloggy era. 
We've lost some along the way. Our very own Sara/Saz lost her mother and fellow blogger Moannie:

Moannie, real name Molly Anne, my Mum, mother of 3 and wife to JP/the french bodger, started blogging a year or two after I began. She had just graduated Open University no mean feat for some one who left school at 13 and started studying in her late 60's. She needed another created place, she was very apprehensive, 'What's the point? I have no audience Saz!' , needless to say, well she ran with it, and became a blogging star in her own right (not my words), well beyond our 'community' of bloggers. She did not censor herself in any way, she wrote of hard childhood, her life with a devout french man and of his bodging exploits in their home and latterly she wrote about her battle with cancer or as she called it 'the fekker'. She did once lose her blog, some glitch or other, so much of it was never recovered, but she continued nonetheless with some of what was refound. 

We, her children kept her blog alive online and just yesterday I noticed she had 545 views last month and had almost doubled her followers. She died 6 years ago, yet I can still feel her force here. 

Bloggers still leave comments on her posts, this one from 2017 and others from when she passed.
'Moannie...I found myself thinking about you. Wish you were still here. Missing your encouraging words...' Leave it to Davis
'You have no idea how your blog has grabbed our attention over the years, nor can you imagine how deeply we feel about you, for you on behalf of you...' Authorblog
I felt I almost knew her, and I loved her viewpoint and her musings on life, and her irrepressible sense of humour.'  Dogs and Depp
'There isn't enough space in this lil white box for what my heart feels.' far beyond the ridge

And who can forget Lakeland Jo, a close personal friend of Toni and a well-loved blogger in our little community? Toni - Jo was one of the happiest, kindest, funniest people I've ever met. We had known each other since our mid-20s and she lost a long battle with cancer at 47. Her son Pete, was the light of her life and she fought hard to make it to his 16th birthday. She did it, and blogged about it with love and pride I wrote about her death and what she meant to me here. I still miss her so much. 

On Monday, July 17th, old school bloggers woke up to the news that one of our lovliest had died suddenly. Kate. Kate Sutton. She of the Wit Wit Woo blog, devoted single mum, honest as the day is long, and funny, and interesting, and a good writer. And the embodiment of great, great blogging.
Slowly the word swept through the OSB community, funds were raised in record time for the funeral her two boys were tasked with. Bloggy friends consoled and supported each other, and many of us reminisced about the old times. It's a coincidence that many of us have been talking lately about getting back to blogging the way it used to be. Kate never stopped blogging but she managed to retain the personal touch we all miss. Amazingly, she wrote about how she might be remembered, back in 2017. 

"I enjoyed her presence in the community as someone who had integrity and wit". Michelle Garrett.
"Kate has a way of writing that hit the truth bomb but with added funny." Nickie O'Hara
"We will miss that fiery ball of passion!" Jen Howze, co-founder of BritMums
"You were so damn awesome in every way." Emily Leary A Mummy Too
"..one of the women we all wanted to emulate." Mummy Barrow

So we'll raise a glass to Moannie, Jo and Kate and all the old school bloggers we've lost. Here's hoping we can do them justice with this new blog. Let's get writing, reading, chatting, laughing and raising hell. (And when you comment or write for us, you'll get linky things and everything!)