Getting to know Grannymar

I may not (officially) be her favourite toyboy but I'm very proud to call her a friend.

Here's an interview with Grannymar at the Belfast Barcamp on Saturday, done by Mairin, the raving reporter.



In the interview you'll hear toyboy confessions, about the start of her blog, the origin of her name, her views on commenters and above all the enthusiasm, affection and wonderful sense of humour that has endeared her to so many toyboys.

Sound is a bit low so get close to your speakers :)

If you could ask her a question, what would it be?

There's a new badge in town...

And I want one!


Image from Grannymar

So, GM and Will, geniuses that you are, is there an application form? A practical exam? A bribe? A hug?

I guess I'll find out here.

Waiting for you to join us

I know you won't need a reminder but we're both honoured by our recent wins and looking forward to the next monthly blog award winner joining us. (We'll get a bigger couch ;-))

Remember, whether you're a commenter, a blogger or have just stumbled across a great blog post, if you think it's worthy, please nominate it at this link.

Grannymar and I have both talked about how many brilliant genres of blogs are out there worth praise and attention - this is your chance to celebrate the great effort that goes into each and every post.

Check out people's blog rolls, the comments on the blogs you read (the names will link to other blogs) and join the conversation. Say hello :)

Grannymar is modelling this t-shirt, the latest season's fashion, dedicated to Rick O' Shea. Thanks Rick!

I just want to say well done

Two things caught my attention this evening and I'd like to share.

Firstly, as I'm sure you may be aware, Grannymar has become the first winner of the Blog Post of the Month award for her amazing post The Light Went Out.

I can think of no one else (sorry other contenders) who deserved it more and as wisewebwoman commented on Grannymar's blog

You are so deserving and your humility is part of your charm.
AND that was such a powerful blog post.

Secondly, Rick O' Shea has done it again. Not content with creating the wonderful and powerful textsecrets, (now sadly ended) he has now unveiled an amazing project called The Lives of Others.

It... allow[s] the participants to post freely and anonymously on the most intimate subjects in their lives.

In one of the most touching posts over there, the writer shares the real genius around its anonymity, how some people...

don’t get the importance of anonymity, they don’t get the power of a secret told but held.

It is liberating to let out the dark sadness, but not everyone needs to

Equally, others do need to, whether they lack the emotional support network or the comfort of confidence in their friends, this blog offers a space to vent, to share, but not reveal.

Think kindly of the emotionally crippled who limp into daylight here and leave a little of their burden.

When Darren and I started The Faux Sty, a very simple forum over a year ago, we became entranced by how the members began to interact, to share and trust in the forum environment.

I can see a similar thing happening for The Lives of Others. People have a need to share. Textsecrets had shown it. Postsecret shows it. Dear Lover shows it.

Grannymar has shown it.

And it's things like this, like people sharing their stories, their talents and their passion that make this online environment a great place to be.

Well done to you both. :)

As requested, photos from the Blog Awards

What's WWMD?

As requested in the comments of my Blog Awards Post, here's even more photos from the Blog Awards... and my last mention of the Blog Awards for now. I hope I get everyone's name right!

Update: Edgecast.ie now have the podcast live. It's very funny. Have a listen.

Some of these may not be mine - I did "borrow" from a lot of sources, so thanks to anyone who uploaded a photo of me!


In retrospect, it probably wasn't that wise to rob Granddad's badge...


But he let me live. Begrudgingly. I doubt Twenty would have if I'd taken his

As I mention, I loved UnaRock's bag


and also loved meeting my blogging heroes like Ellybabes (first blog I ever read)


The lovely Grannymar


Award winning Maman Poulet

Manuel from WellDoneFillet and Kieran from Ice Cream Ireland

and Ross who is an amazing photographer

(I know for a fact I stole this one from Marcus' Pix.ie set)

One of the coolest people I met though (apart from Sabrina) was Julie-Anne from CuriousTales.com. You may have seen her name come up a lot on blogs during the week, to do with her brilliantly conceived t-shirts.


Mulley seems to like his


And Rick O' Shea showed his invisible one


And the other type:


She's also the lady behind the very popular moustaches that were sported about the place - there's Ken and Ross:


and a great one of Ross and Maryrose from Brightspark


Darren didn't really get the point though


As I said, I met some lovely people that I hope I get to stay in touch with


And as Darren and I have both said, we had fun!


Marcus and Redmum have some great shots as does official photographer McAWilliams. They're very great.