Oi oi I've not been on here in ages and can't actually remember the last time I contributed anything but I thought I'd get a little self indulgent.

I've just been facebooking kathleen because after about a decade of bumping my gums I'm finally actually going to go to New York for my fiance's 30th.

In case you missed that, I'm engaged and as of the 8th of April next year I'll have a wife.

Thought I'd just check in, not to do a big dramatic "see you all later" type post but to let folk who may be interested know what I'm up to as I'm hoping to meet up with Kathleen who's been nothing short of a guru to me on here and elsewhere and reminded me that there's a lot of folk on here, past and present that I've had links to in some way or other.

I've probably been on dry country in some form for over half my life - I remember the Christmas we got our first PC and the first internet thing we did was go to a Bon Jovi site (which I'm sure was Dry County 1). My grandpa who I got pretty much all of my musical talent from was very impressed with the technology but much less so with the guys with the long hair and stratocasters in the pictures (this was before putting tunes online was probably feasible) In a small way this place will always remind me of him.

As well as that, I spent my formative years on here. Admittedly being a bit of a prat a lot of the time but that comes with youth and this place has served as a kind of gauge for me to look back and think - I was like that?

When I first came on here I was a teenager playing in a band, absolutely idolising Richie Sambora and gunning for the stars. I actually got reasonably close to doing something with my own music but as tends to be the case with these things, the moment passed (don't sleep with your lead singer would be my main advice if you want to keep a band together ) and now whilst I still play guitar and drums for fun I've forged quite a nice little sideline as a wedding DJ which I'd have shot you for suggesting I'd ever sell out to that extent when I was first around here. I doubt many of you are interested but my website is www.scotlandspartydj.com if you want to see what I'm up to and it helps my SEO a little every time someone new clicksI've got next to no time for Mr Sambora given how he's presented himself over the past few years.

Aside from that I'm a qualified History teacher that by hook or crook now teaches kids with additional support needs - for the last 18 months and until the end of June I've ran a base teaching kids with profound autism - I clearly remember, quite literally, the minute I decided I was going to become a teacher (I was still on here and working on becoming some sort of yuppie wankbag of an account when I said **** it, this isn't me) and I wouldn't change it for the world.

I see some familiar names posting but it would be great to hear from Dawn, Mike, Ryan and anyone else who was part and parcel of this place back in the day.

Regards

Jim