The Big Blip News!

Without further ado, let’s hand over to Gary, otherwise known as blipper InOtherNews - just don’t miss their short film at the end:

As a professional writer, I don’t usually have a problem starting an article. I’ve run my own football site for many years now, and as a Content Strategist for a marketing company, I can write seven or eight articles per day, no problem. I don’t even have an issue talking about myself – I wrote a book on that subject! However, when it comes to Blipfoto, it seems I struggle to know where to start.

You’ll notice there’s a lot of ‘I’ in that introduction, but what I’m writing is very much about ‘we’, as in myself and my wife-to-be, Fe. We were once known as something else, Loves Nothing and Bryher, and whilst time has perhaps dulled those identities, we are still the same people we were when we began posting on Blip back in 2010.

I came to Blip during a tough time in my life; I was a lost soul, looking for something but little idea of exactly what that was. Fe had her ups and downs as well, and we both used Blip as a crutch to get through. For a while, suffering badly with depression, my only motivation to get out of bed each day was to blip, nothing more. That time was my nadir, and I’d be remiss if I tried to speak for Fe, but she was fighting her own fight also.

One day, through a mutual acquaintance who will soon become my sister-in-law, I saw an image on Blip and I left a comment. It was July 16th, 2011, and the account was that of Bryher, otherwise known as Fe. It was a decision that changed both of our lives. She commented on my blip that day, and we began to talk regularly.

Within a month, we decide to meet up in Stamford for a first date of sorts. We went there to blip, as it is halfway between my home of Lincoln, and Fe’s home of Cambridge. We had some dinner and vowed to do the same again. We did – just two days later Fe drove to Lincoln for the afternoon and we both blipped again. It was the start of a new chapter in our lives, one that will lead to us walking down the aisle on June 1st as (potentially) the first bona fide Blip wedding.

We conducted our long-distance relationship over the course of the next two years. Fe introduced me to the National Trust, good food and days walking in the countryside. I introduced her to punk music, Lincoln City and car boot sales. All the while, we blipped and shared our experiences, as much to stay in touch when we parted as to show others what we were doing.

Crunch time came in November 2013, when we decided we either went for it and moved in together or went our separate ways. I gave up my cherished role as the Lincoln City mascot, my job, and my house, and went to Cambourne to live with Fe. It was bliss, and 18 months later she gave up much of her life, so we could buy our perfect bolthole in the Lincolnshire Wolds. 

Fe is my inspiration, my motivation and occasionally the boot in my arse. In 2016 I suffered a little mental health relapse because of my job, a high-pressure sales and management position. I was signed off with anxiety and took to spending my spare time just playing on the PlayStation. One day she asked why I didn’t write more, because she used to enjoy the writing on my blips. It always seemed secondary to the photo, but her words challenged me. I started a blog, The Stacey West, and my book, Suited and Booted, and everything changed again. From there, I got a freelance position with a football website, then another with a content creator and eventually, I became a full time Content Strategist with a global marketing company, a role I do today. I’ve published seven or eight books, and I go into local schools delivering writing projects and courses, all because of Fe and Blip.

In 2019 we added to our perfect little family, with our little Shih-Tzu, Charlie. By this point, blipping had subsided to some degree – I still dabbled, and still do, but it’s been a while since Fe has been back. It’s strange, because I might not think about Blip for weeks, maybe months, but when I do pop back on, it’s like an old friend. There are still names I recognise from ten years ago, and whilst I rarely engage now, it feels comfortable, like having dinner with the old friend who introduced you to your partner. 

People often ask us how we met, and we go to great lengths to explain that it was not just ‘on the internet’. There’s no shame in meeting on a dating site, although back then it would have been more Match.com than Tinder, but our story is deeper than that. We didn’t look to hook up, we were blippers, we were part of a community that I firmly believed saved my life. It’s not all about me, and you’d have to ask Fe how she feels, but I came to Blip alone, without direction, sinking like a stone hurled into the sea. I found a place in Blip that cared, anonymous strangers who would message me to check on my well-being when my friends up the road did not. With that sense of belonging came a certain responsibility to do the same to others. There was a mantra back in the day which is just as important to Blipfoto today, ‘be excellent to each other’. That resonated with me, and in return, Blip, Fe and life started being excellent to me in return.

On June 1st, we get married in Lincoln in a small ceremony with family and friends. On June 17th we’re having a vow renewal, because why not after a fortnight? That will be a big party, 100-odd guests in a marquee in the field opposite the house. We’re having a ceremony in the garden, and afterwards we’re going to party deep into Sunday morning. It’s the final chapter of the Blipfoto love story that has boiled slowly for more than a decade, and one I sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed reading about here.

You never know what’s around the corner. You never know what a throwaway comment on a blip might lead to. For me, it led to a place that truly feels like my home, a family and a new career. Just be excellent to each other, and it might lead to the same for you.

Gary and Fe have chosen a few blips from their journal to tell their story in photos. You can  enjoy watching the film here. 

Join us in saying, ‘CONGRATULATIONS!’ to Gary and Fe and thank you very much indeed for sharing your BIG News with us.