Ask me anything...

Sorry if anybody hasn't seen Lara's post on 'Ask a Gran' Here it is:

Have you seen the Ask me anything threads on Mumsnet? Users have been posting about their unusual jobs/experiences and opening up the floor for others to ask them anything at all about them.
Obviously gransnetters have equally fascinating things to share so we thought it might be an idea to do our own version. Would you be interested in doing something similar on here too? If you're worried about anonymity you could always use the 'second username' reserved for more sensitive posts.

Here are some examples of our favourites so far:
I'm a footballer's wife.. ask me anything???'
I'm a retired lap dancer
I'm a priest
I'm an ex-ambulance 999 handler

Even superheroes have taken part... grin
I AM HULK

If anyone wants to kick it off, feel free to. Perhaps in Chat?

Oh, what year was this Bluegal? And why did you decide not to go ahead with other pageants? Were the other girls vacuous or is that a total misconception? And how would you feel about your children/grandchildren doing the same?

It was the early 70's granschemeofthings . It was at a time when open air baths hosted such things (don't want to give away exactly where it was lol). I was elated...needless to say at the time but it was at a time when women were regarded as sex objects....

I would not have wanted it for my offsprings lol... just something to be ogled by DOM ha ha (dirty old men)

What did you spend the cash prize on?

Were you aware of anything more seedy going on within the beauty queen industry, or were things much more innocent then?

Bathsheba: I went on holiday for the first time abroad and first time with just a friend. We went to Romania which was unusual choice in the 70’s! That was an adventure for sure!! Looking back am surprised we got home safely!

Miss A: wasn’t really aware of anything- at the time but I now realise there was a certain grooming going on. Went over my head though.

Am sure others must have more interesting stories? Looking forward to hearing them ?

Different story here

In the early 1970's, when I was twenty something. my boyfriend and I hitched from London to rural Wales to live in a commune, where I learnt to make coffee from ground dandelion roots, look after goats, hens and other livestock and generally, with a house full of other hippies, led the 'good life', which actually wasn't so good when it was cold and raining.

I did the London to Brighton bike ride on my old fashioned bike with a basket on the front and a baby seat on the back.

Does that count???

I still have the badge to prove i completed the ride.

boheminan do you feel now, looking back, that you benefited from the experience? Where did the commune/your income come from? How long did you stay there?

Bohemian
Would you say that the hippies you got to know were more content than the 'average person' with a 9-5 job, mortgage, etc?

Good morning Grannyknot, MissAdventure. Yes, I did benefit from the experience as I learnt a lot about living an alternative lifestyle. Drugs were not allowed on the premises, it was a family commune with several small children. We traded skills and worked together.

Noone was on Benefits. The farmhouse was initially bought by several members who pooled together to provide means to start to place off. Over time others joined, bringing financial support, others left, taking their new skills with them to share. Deals were made with local traders, and we sold a lot of home made produce to local markets and traders.

Content? Well, the pace of life was slow. From what I recall no one yearned for fast cars/flash clothes/lottsa money...however, we ate well, were content with having very little or no money, and learnt skills that have lasted a lifetime. Only the sun didn't shine every day!

travelsofar Do you still have the bike? Does 'the baby', now an adult I assume, now ride a bike?

boheminan, I was hoping you had been part of Teepee valley community, unusual your community worked with locals, farmers objected to them. Wales was swamped with communes and even now they have gone weed is still growing wild ?

Anniebach. No, the farmhouse had nothing to do with Tepee Valley, we predated it by a few years and it wasn't close enough to visit.

Yes, it was unusual for the locals to accept us foreigners, but a lot of us would work with the farmers in their busiest times (ie: harvest) long, hard, and for free. In return the farmers/locals would take our produce to sell and the occasional loan of a tractor would come in handy. A part of joining the famhouse was to learn the Welsh language, there was a local who visited a couple of times a week (but beautifully melodious as it is, I struggled to get the hang of it.).

Drugs, weed or whatever, were not part of the life...I suppose the nearest we got was the occasional bottle of elderberry wine, or for the ones with stronger stomachs amongst us - a mug of dandelion root coffee!

Did people assume that communal living meant 'free love' and all that jazz, Bohemian?

boheminan Sadly no I don't have the bike but I do have one similar, no baby seat though. My 'babies' no longer ride bikes it's all cars for them.

MissAventure I suppose it's what the locals thought about us but assumptions and reality can be two totally different things!

Thank you bohemian, I can’t agree locals were against foreigners, your commune was not the norm, at that time travellers roamed freely and communes were considered the same. We had many in Mid Wales, children didn’t go to school, benefit days meant a queue, locals saw communes as a way out of living with the local community , no tax, no NIC paid but health services used. They never troubled me, I use to spend time with a Commune in Cardiganshire, more weed than food was grown. My daughters, then age under 10 loved visiting there, but only in the summer ?

I think the OP from LaraGransnrt is rather peculiar.
Many people have objected to personal oddments they’ve shared here being broadcast to the whole world, so we’re invited to use second names and thus can be free to make up what we like. Posts could be 100% fiction. Some contributions funny and interesting of course, but what is the point of it? What is LaraGransnet hoping to achieve?

What's the point of any social media.
We could all be making up all sorts of things.
Its interesting to hear everyday peoples stories, I think.

Wow Bohemian- fascinating. I did view commune living through rosy coloured specs in the 70’s but never had the courage to try it! Must have been a shock to the system moving from London?

Oh and I did think people would all sit around making daisy chains, smoking pot and constantly stressing “peace man” ???. I never got as far as wondering what they would actually live on!

Well done ? travelsafar. Did you say you had a baby on board? How many times did you have to stop?

Bluegal no i didnt say i had a baby on the back i said i had a baby seat on the back.Ha ha