Hi everybody!
I'd call myself a new member but I've actually been hanging around a while! I've been catching up with the posts and the conversations with a lot of interest but I think now it's time I joined in the fun. So here I am! My name's Maria. I'm a mum of one and my partner and I live in the West Midlands with our baby boy.
I'm looking forward to getting to know a lot of you here. You all seem like a fun little group. So as we're all getting to know each other I thought it would be interesting to know a fact about yourselves. It could be something weird, random or totally unexpected.
I'll start with mine - I have a surname that's a well known word but nobody ever believes it's my real surname. I so wish I could say what it was but because of privacy I can't but it's something that's very well-known but as a name, it's incredibly unusual. I'm not ashamed of it - quite the opposite in fact. The actual sound and meaning of my name is so beautiful but I have to say - it's caused me a lot of trouble! A lot of people think I'm making it up or just messing. I've had warnings from Facebook about using my real name and not a pseudonym. So I spend half my life trying to convince people that my name is really my name! And of course it's a real talking point at interviews. I'm sure I sometimes get invited to interviews so they can see whose the person with the odd name! Luckily my son has his dad's surname which is just as nice but very 'normal'. So he won't have any problems!
So let's hear something about YOU!!!
Hi Maria. Well this is a fun little game. Haha! My fun fact is that I'm a big fan of New Kids and Backstreet Boys so I thought all my Christmases had come at once when the two bands teamed up and toured together. I think a lot of people don't expect me to be a fan of boy bands so it does surprise people. Haha!
Hey Maria. I haven't been on here for awhile so it's nice to see some new members. Well I guess my random fact would be... that I'm a mother of twin boys!
Hello Maria. My random fact is that I can play the ukulele!
First of all I'd just like to welcome you here Maria. It's always nice to see a newcomer here.
Hmm... My random fact... well I don't know if I'm allowed to say this but my fact is that many moons ago I did a spot of glamour modelling! Nothing overly raunchy just some lingerie photo shoots and stuff. Nothing ever came of it and no I didn't become the next Jordan or anything like that (and I'm not sure I wanted to be!) It's nothing to be embarrassed about (although no, I'm not going to post any pics here!) but it's a lovely reminder of when I was young and carefree. Today a lot of women in the vintage/retro community do pinup shots that aren't much different to what I did, and are very beautifully and tastefully done.
Hello Maria. My random fact is that when I was a kid, I used to do dance and drama. I was an overly energetic child - still am. I'm just not a child! - and I think my mum saw it as a good outlet for my excess energy. I did some theatre and did panto one year. I even took drama for my A levels. No I've never been on TV and don't do any acting now but I work in publishing so I'm still involved with the arts.
My random fact, well I went from London, England to London, Ontario! When people ask me if I still live in London I have to check which London they mean! Welcome to Nostalgia Pie Maria 🤗
Oh wow, another new member! We like those here, don't we guys? 😊 Hello Allsorts. Or should I call you Maria? Both lovely names. Welcome! I hope you're enjoying being part of the Nostalgia Pie community. Now you've got me intrigued about what your name is! But don't worry - I won't ask. Instead I'll give you a fact about myself. There's so many to choose, all kinds of weird random things, but I'll let everyone know that one of the biggest misconceptions about me is that I don't like animals. So not true! I never grew up with pets for many reasons and to be honest I'm always a bit squeamish/on edge around animals - a bit like some people with tiny babies. I always feel that they might not like me and my peck/scratch/bite me. The animals I mean not the babies (I'm fine with those!)
But I absolutely love animals and can't bear to think about any animals suffering or people being cruel to them. The closest we have to pets right now are the turkeys who often come to visit us. My husband and I love them so much that we haven't eaten turkey in years - and don't plan to! So our Thanksgivings and Christmas feasts are a little different to everyone else's. Our plan is to turn part of our yard into a sanctuary for them, and why not - they've definitely made themselves very much at home here!
Hi Maria. Lovely to meet you. My fact about myself... well I'll give you two. One is that before I started my current job in the heritage sector, I was staff to people who were quite famous but I won't name drop! The second is that I adore ballet. It was my dream to become a dancer as it is with most little girls. We didn't have much growing up so I'm very grateful to my parents for scrimping and scraping so that I could have ballet classes.
I was born in England but grew up in other countries because of my dad's job. So it surprises a lot of people that I have a very - so I've been told - English accent!
Haha! I burst out laughing when I read your post Maria. I too went through most of my life with with a name that people either teased me about or didn't believe was my real name. My full name - prior to getting married that is - is the same as that of a very famous lady. As I got older I shortened my first name but it was still obvious what my name is. I don't mind getting a bit of a ribbing about my name but it gets annoying when people make jokes that they think I've never heard before! These days I use my married name so life is a lot easier! Haha!
Oh and welcome!
Well Mary I'm also new to this site and this is my first post. So welcome to the both of us! 😁
There are indeed lots of weird and wonderful facts about me, as anyone who knows me will tell you, but just to give you one, I've recently turned 54 which in itself isn't strange accept that I look at least ten years older and have the sense of humour of an actual ten year old!
Hello Maria! Welcome new member! 😊
My random fact about myself is that for someone who's quite a bit scatty, I'm gifted when it comes to languages. It's always been my thing and I can pick them up quite easily but I speak four fluently.
Welcome Maria. We always get excited when a new person comes along! 😁
Well my random fact is that I'm really keen to learn one of the Scandinavian languages and become fluent in it. I've already been to parts of Scandinavia and really enjoy everything about the region, and I can really see me living in one of the Scandinavian countries one day. It's always a bit of a talking point when I mention that because most British people, when they want to pick up a new language, opt for something like French or Spanish. And here I am going for something much more complicated! 😂
Hello Maria.
When I was young, I trained as a fishmonger! It's true. I don't even know why but I was between jobs and unsure of what to do with my life. I was still living in London then. A lot of people are always surprised when they hear that because it's so different to things I've done in more later times. But they always seem interested when I tell then how informative it was. Not only did we learn to cut the fish which is all anyone thinks I did, but we also learned how to advise customers on how to cook the different types of fish, what flavours work well, what sides to serve, which wines go with it. There was a lot to learn. I love fish and shellfish so this was a good course for me even though I never did go to work in a fish shop and went on to do something else!
Two silly random facts about myself.
I’ve lived in Sydney for all but three of my 61 years and I’ve never been inside the Opera House. It opened when I was 12 and whilst I’ve been around the outside countless times, travelled past it many times on a ferry, even when it was being built, I’ve never had cause to go inside. Mind you, I’ve always lived about 35 miles (55km) from it, so it’s not exactly just up the road.
Another silly fact about myself is that I can write both left and right-handed. When I was about 30, I badly bruised a nerve in my right arm and had no control over my right hand, so I started using my left hand more. Of course, nowadays there’s not so much cause for writing by hand, with so much done on keyboards, so it’s of little benefit now.
I'm a natural blonde! 😁 I've been various brunette and red shades for a long time now but people are shocked when they see pics from my teenage years and see that I was actually blonde. My hair got a little darker as I got older and by the time I got to college, I was experimenting with lots of different colors. These days I stick with a very dark brown which I think suits me a lot. Not just looks but I feel it matches my personality too.
Welcome Maria! And guess what? I'm a West Mids girl too! 😁 Originally from Coventry but I live up north now and have done so for more than two decades. So yes, welcome! 😘
A strange fact about me, well this is something that my family and friends already know about of course, but people who don't know me very well are always shocked to discover that I'm a massive WWE fan! I think it's because I'm so small and girly that most people wouldn't think I enjoy watching wrestling but I do. Before I got married and left home, this was something that my brothers and I used to do together, stay up all night and watch the late night wrestling. I do miss hanging out with my brothers but I've got two sons now and that's something we now do together.