There’s a curious irony regarding Guest Month. (Four solid weeks of top quality guest postings from no less than 18 guest bloggers; what, you missed it?) You see, I’ve never personally suscribed to what I call the “NME indie band” ethos of blogging: “We just do what we do, and if anyone else happens to like it then that’s a bonus.” (Fact: sooner or later – but mainly sooner – all indie bands say this to the NME.) Don’t get me wrong here: I have nothing but admiration and respect for bloggers who operate to this principle, but it just isn’t me. The whole point of Troubled Diva is that it has an audience. Without you, as they say, I am nothing.
So, where’s the irony? The irony is this: my main motivation for hosting Guest Month was that I wanted to read it. I wanted my blog to entertain me, while I was too busy to post my own content. In this respect, Guest Month is actually one of the most self-indulgent exercises I’ve ever engaged in.
But, oh! What a glorious self-indulgence it was! You guys stunned me, you really did. I took a major leap of faith in inviting every single applicant to participate, and – almost without exception (but hey, he’s only young) – you all rose to the challenge quite magnificently. If I had somehow been able to review your contributions in advance, then I would still have been delighted to have had all of you as guests. I find this quite remarkable.
I only hope that the sheer volume of postings didn’t overwhelm you all – because sometimes, it did rather feel as if Troubled Diva had become a real-time text streaming service. However, as I said to all my guests in their briefing instructions at the start of each week: here at Troubled Diva, we have always maintained a healthily maximalist, more-is-more attitude.
If you didn’t manage to keep up with the full four weeks, then let me conclude Guest Month by offering you…
The Best Of Guest Month.
- Asta remembered an idyllic early childhood spent in the back row of the theatre where her parents worked.
- Aunt Cyn revealed her colourful life history. She makes jam, you know.
- Buni talked about that “morning after” feeling. Was That All It Was?
- Danny will never ask for a Spritzer again.
- Fiona wondered what the world would be like if human beings had tails.
- Gordon grumbled about the shocking liberties taken by “wee old wummin”.
- John only wrote two posts. Rather than link to either of them, I’m going to link to something from his own site, where he mused on whether or not to come out to his parents. Its tone is very different from the tone of his guest postings, and may well surprise you.
- Lyle dicusssed sexual orientations and their attendant pigeonholes, with touching candour.
- Mac shuddered at the memory of her days as a cheerleader.
- Martin considered cheating on his partner.
- Melodrama met a dodgy looking guru on a train.
- Mr. D. coined some new “rantwords”.
- How do I pick just one of Mark‘s truly excellent “The Science Of…” series? Very well then: try The Science Of Wanting for starters.
- qB shared some of her experiences of parenthood.
- Quarsan talked about the The Only Ones, and of the heroin culture which informed their classic single, Another Girl, Another Planet.
- Robin mused on the state of current pop music.
- Venus remembered leaving a special place in her teens, never to return.
- Zena took us on a nightmare journey through a bad drugs experience, and explained how this had changed her in a positive way.
I’ve loved Guest Month. Hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have – and once again, thanks and respect to all who participated.
As for me: the European travel continues unabated (it’s Barcelona tonight), so postings will be spasmodic at best for the next couple of months or so. Which is frustrating, but something’s gotta give. Or perhaps I should hand over the reins to Danny full time? Yes, I dare say some of you might like that…just a little bit too much. Heh.
While we’re on the subject, just one final word about Danny. OK, two final words. Armistead Maupin. Something for the cryptic crossword fans amongst you there.
And on that teaser…see you on Thursday.
troubled diva 