2 Years, 2 Cheers, 2 Tears.

Good afternoon everyone (it's the afternoon where I am) unbelievably, I have just had the notification come through to say that I have been here for two years, I even have the little badge to prove it, on my profile.

Where does the time go? Actually, before anymore, I have to say that my milestone has been obliterated today and a couple of days ago by both Denis (@DBlanchard) and Jessica (@Swangirl) who have reached the monumental tenure of five years apiece.

So, back to me, two years and I have to say "It's been a blast", it really has. I had no idea what I was getting into when I joined as a free starter, all I knew was that it was an opportunity to learn something new.

Two things I wasn't prepared for, were the community and the community, so good I named them twice. Seriously though, you are unique.

Apart from the general 'Paying it Forward' underlying theme that courses through the interwoven web we are part of, there is an incredible feeling of inclusion and camaraderie.

It's true, there is an undeniable sense of wanting each other to succeed. On top of that, for the 'would be' writers, there is no warmer audience to ply your trade in front of, especially when you are a neophyte.

Neophyte is a cool word, one of the synonyms, unbelievably, in my honest opinion, is abecedarian, which I hadn't come across before. You should also know that it's pronounced
'ey-bee-see-dair-ee-uhn' which is pretty bizarre.

After the numerous posts that have been flying around regarding articles being indexed, or not, as the case may be, two of mine had Google's blessing yesterday. Except on some rare occasions, they all get indexed, so don't sweat it.

If that wasn't enough to be going on with, today I had a referral, which was nice.

BBC Radio 2 are having three days of themed playlists that encompass everything musical theatre, or musicals' to you and me. Now, I will admit that I am not the biggest fan of that particular genre, too many forced lyrics and singing for the sake of singing.

That said, I can appreciate, big style, some of the colossal productions that have graced the stage over the years. So, this morning, having heard Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson banging out 'I Know Him So Well' from 'Chess', I was reminded of something.

Elaine Paige has one of those laughs that transcends funny, no words can describe it so I have added a link, so that you may watch at your leisure, should you wish, of course.

Am I right in thinking we never used to be able to add videos to our posts, or is it just that I have never used the 'Share' link before? Either way, it's there at the bottom of the post.

Without a decent segue and for those who have managed to read to the end, I come to the '2 Tears' section.

My current membership comes to a close on the 25th February and I won't be renewing it this time around, not unless my numbers come up, but seeing as I don't have any, the chances are less than slim.

As much as we like to think of the annual renewal amount as an out and out bargain, which it is considering all that we get, I can no longer warrant, or afford the cost.

Due to a change in direction, I find that I am only using the platform for hosting and occasional posts and as much as I enjoy posting and your company, I am not in a position to justify spending that kind of lump sum at the moment.

Like I said at the beginning, it's been a blast, and without you, I would have never had the confidence to explore writing.

That's the truth of it, you have accepted my somewhat quirky prose and allowed me to really dig down into something I never truly embraced before now, so, I thank you for that.

I have made some great friends along the way, had some laughs and I hope that we'll stay connected, or connect, outside of here.

There we have it, short and sweet, enjoy the rest of your day.

Twack Romero