Swifties Are The Best Friends Ever!

Good afternoon and welcome back to this afternoon's blog. Hopefully you have all been enjoying the pubs and restaurants this week while maintaining social distancing of one metre plus (whatever that's meant to mean). Before I get into the topic of today's blog I just want to make one thing crystal clear. I love everyone who I am lucky enough to call my friend. If I hadn't said that I guarantee I would have people sending me hate or blocking me on social media. Just because you are not mentioned in this blog does not mean that you are an enemy (unless you're mean to me of course).

The first thing some of you are probably wondering is what the bloody hell is a Swiftie (first swear word I've ever used on here - impressive huh)? Well the answer is obvious to any Taylor Swift fans reading. Swifties is what her biggest fans call themselves. And I most certainly fall into that category. I only met these people a few months ago, and that was by chance. Across the UK every weekend, a Taylor Swift club night, Swiftogeddon, travels to different venues playing non-stop Taylor music all night. Sadly because of Covid, all of these nights recently have been cancelled. But fear not. The amazing gentleman who runs these (if you're reading - Hi Dave you legend) decided in April to host a virtual Swiftogeddon from his living room. Well there I was enjoying myself and decided to flick through the comments. That's when I stumbled across a link for the Swiftogeddon WhatsApp group. Being curious, I clicked on it and before I knew it I had joined. Well fast forward a few months and there's a core group of about 15 people who are no longer friends - we're family. Genuinely the nicest people I have ever met (virtually of course). We have weekly get-togethers on Zoom, do online quizzes together and have even started a care package rota where we send each other gifts once a month. Honestly I would do anything for these guys. They bring me such love and genuine happiness in my life. I could disclose anything to them and could trust them to the end of the world. All of them are such special people, but I want to talk about 3 of them in depth (sorry to the rest of you - Connor still loves you forever and always). And before any lawyers try and sue me, I have permission to use their names in this blog.

First up we have Natasha. We call her Mother Hen. She is the parental figure of the group who is always there looking out for us, messaging and calling us when we are having a rough day. Her advice is some of the best advice ever. She really tries to understand how she can best help us in different situations. Natasha is also an amazing organiser. Whenever it is someone's birthday she is the one who sets up the individual WhatsApp group and suggests ideas for cards and presents (easy on the number of WhatsApp groups please). If I had to pull her up on one thing though - she's too nice. She is always putting herself behind the rest of us, and whilst that is very much appreciated, please look after yourself (cheeky self promo time to a previous blog). But seriously, without Natasha, my life would have a hole in it (not that kind of hole you dirty buggers - someone was thinking it)!

Up next we have Danielle, or Dani as we call her. Or as I tend to call her, Twinnie. Yep that's right people - we are twins. Not literal twins like some mum and dad, but the twins of the group. We have everything in common. Like if I was to draw a female version of myself on paper, it would be Dani (might change the name to Connie though). A couple of times we have sent the exact same gif at the exact same time, we have the same favourite drinks on a night out, have the same McDonalds and Nando's order. And she loves Love Island! She is literally me! Apart from us basically being the same person, I would trust Dani with my life. She is such an understanding and caring person who is always there to help you through a difficult time. The only thing I struggle with is because she is Scottish, there's a lot of words that I don't understand. Apparently if you call someone a boot in Scotland you're getting knocked out. I have to try that one day just for the lolz!

The final person who I want to give a special shout-out to is Vicky. Ah Vicky where shall I start? We call her the Spreadsheet Queen. She is responsible for organising our care packages and for keeping tabs on whose birthday is next (although she Google Earths our houses...). You could confide your deepest darkest secrets in Vicky and they would be perfectly safe. Again she gives excellent advice and will always be there to listen and support her friends however she can. She does need to accept though that I live in London and not Kent (well technically London is in Kent but that's another topic). What I like most about Vicky is we have a similar, dark and dirty sense of humour. Like we really know how to twist a perfectly innocent conversation and turn it into a sexual fantasy (hers not mine). We have great banter with each other and we communicate on the same sensible and mature level (who believes that will believe anything). I often refer to Vicky as my rock for that reason - I can be myself when talking to her and will be loved and accepted for who I am. Now I'm not one for confessing things but I feel this is a pretty safe place to do so. Vicky is also a very pretty lass. There I said it - don't judge me!

What I love most about the group though is our ability to talk about the most ridiculous things for hours. Our conversations have included - but are not exclusive to - make-up, bra sizing, cheese, Mr Bean and Harry Potter. I certainly know a lot more about bra sizes than I did a few weeks ago! And we have a new favourite group word - sankes. It's a Scottish word that basically means someone is not very nice (Dani please correct me if I'm wrong). So if I call you a sanke in the future you know I'm annoyed at you.

It's always amazed me how such a diverse range of people can be bonded together by one simple thing like music. We have a range of ages and genders, and all have different jobs and personal experiences in life. But none of those things matter. Friendship is stronger than any one of those factors. One thing is for sure though. My life wouldn't be as good without them. Swifties truly are the best friends you could ever have.

I hope you all continue to obey social distancing in the pubs this weekend, and remember to tune into Swiftogeddon via Twitch TV tomorrow from 5pm until late.

As Taylor would say...long live to you all!

Connor

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