Rachel68 (43) from Northamptonshire

Well I have been here over 4 years, and what a fantastic time I have had.

I joined because I was looking for something but was unsure what it was, mainly; (I think) I was looking for someone to do things with at the weekends, I wanted to feel part of something, but was unsure what I wanted to be part of. So made a pact with myself, and decided to throw away my ideals of what kind of man I wanted, and to date anyone who asked me - and just see what happens and who I meet. I wanted to be proactive and thought: if I turn people down before I know them, then I may be missing the opportunity of some fantastic new friends as well as that someone special. I had some great life experiences! I camped with a man from MSE at a festival and had the time of my life, I have cooked and been cooked for, and had some wonderful dinner dates, I got drunk with a wonderful fellow with a flagon of cyder, invited a complete stranger to my home, just because he was interesting, and talked non stop for 2 days to him. I drove hundreds of miles to meet people just for a drink and a chat, I laughed in gallery in Canterbury with one of the funniest men I have ever met, I went to a fireworks and classical music event,accompanied someone to a very formal golf club do, and accompanied someone to their end of Uni prom (boy did that make me feel old) None of this would have happened if I hadn't decided to take the bull by the horns and live my life a bit. Whatever I was looking for on MSE - I found it and more. I now have a wonderful partner, who I met on MSE last year, and we live together in Northamptonshire. My journey over the last year has been great, and I recommend MSE to most people I meet when the subject of online friendship sites comes up.

I am into lots of things, but in no particular order I like folk music, photography, camping, live gigs, real ales (in pints) cooking, folk festivals, interesting conversations, dinner parties, The Industrial Revolution,great feats of engineering, Fred Dibnah and power tools!

I can officially say now that I am a session player! After weeks of stage fright I overcame it recently and played at the folk club that I attend. I play the Irish whistle, and have a growing collection, pictures to follow shortly on my profile. I play mostly Irish and Scottish traditional tunes, but have recently discovered some Nova Scotian folk music that is particularly appealing, I play along a lot my partner who is also a musician, and fellow MSE member, (he plays all kinds of instruments, guitar, mandolin, charango, bodhran)

I have just started to play the guitar again after a break of 25 years and am looking forward to playing along with friends.

I work from home, and have lots of spare time, and spend a few days a weeks on the road. I work in Training & Development, won't bore you with the details but I get to speak to groups of people and help them get qualifications in their chosen roles. I love it.

I have been buying and selling properties for many years, and this was my occupation for a long while, still have a property and am always on the look out for new and interesting challenges.

I am a northerner, from West Lancashire but have lived all over the place, including a stint in Oz and in St.Ettienne in France.

I am not looking for a partner any longer, but am always interested in meeting like minded people either male or female who we could have a special bond with. What are the chances of finding them on here?.....Don't know but it's a good a place as any to start.

Here are my tag word, just in case anyone is interested:

whistles (of the irish, and penny kind)
border morris
old english dance/folk tunes
poetry
Jane Austin
Genealogy
photography
travel
Shakespeare
German Shepherds
music
real ale
hot tubs
outdoors
storms
lightening
clouds
waves
cooking
champagne
martial arts
faithfulness
honesty
bodhran
folk music
France
oz
planets
stars
space
cooking
theatre