My - Ongoing - relationship with the Outsiders & why I mostly love it

JW77

I came across the Outsiders Club, a charity group only slightly older than me, back in 2007.
2 years earlier I'd been seriously ill in hospital with meningitis spent 10 weeks in hospital, lost my memory, my muscles & ability to walk. I'd even forgotten I had a girlfriend that I'd met some years earlier in my Uni days!

I've been an avid blogger & journaler most of my life and back in the days before FB, or even Myspace I think. LiveJournal filled a gap. (its now owned by Russia and a lot of original bloggers have left)

I'd met a lovely lady on LJ who actually lived nearby. We dated a couple of times, both had some pretty intimate interests including a love of many things kinky!

Forward a few months, or was it a year.. We ended up heading to an event known as the LFF
Lets just say this bazaar sold many things in leather, and other items that can excite things a bit in the bedroom.

But the Outsiders club also had a stand, with a couple of members & leaflets. I'd been involved with peer support groups for my own disability, but there was NEVER any workshops on relationships/sex etc

Finally a group that wasn't JUST my condition and that would openly talk about sex!
To be clear, Outsiders IS a social group, its evolved from having a written 'penpal' contacts list, to Facebook chat groups, and an Email newsletter with various online resources.

Its not a club for everyone, but joining outsiders gave me a massive boost in confidence, with dating, and some interesting experiences that were 'mostly' good.

It DID have a very successful London lunch,(the main social aspect for me), and a number of other lunches around the UK. Sadly numbers have dwindled, but the London lunch still goes on, and is welcoming.

Having left London I still miss the monthly lunches. But I do hope something can come along to fill that gap.

Wibbles

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/119692/my-ongoing-relationship-with-the-outsiders-why-i-mostly-love-it

I too used to be a "outsiders" member, back in the early days (1997)

It didn't work for me although I did meet a couple of interesting people.

Albus_Scope

Thanks for sharing your tale @JW77 I'm glad you found some fun with the Outsiders. Have you looked locally for any groups that do Munches or similar? There's a few sites like Fetlife that may be able to help you track some down.

I remember Livejournal very very well, I made some lifelong friends on there. ❤️

JW77

I'm a life member of Fet, but most of the groups are not near me. Def more concentration of events when I lived in London. Trying to kick some stuff into action but only 1 munch in Telford which is a taxi away.

Albus_Scope

Yeah London does seem to be the hub for everything. But I think with time and a bit of perseverance, you could get a regular munch going local to you. 😊

blather

Funnily enough, I was accepted into the Outsiders just today and have been on the Facebook page. The general consensus is that there isn't the activity there once was and the site is a bit dead. The London lunches barely get any attendees nowadays either.

Was a bit disappointed to be honest, but time will tell.