These were my first words on the CW forum, exactly 10 years ago today. By a somewhat serendipitous amalgam of good fortune and late planning, I am quoting them in post number 25,000.Hello there!
Bought my first CW this week (C8 Mk I Black/Brown) Ordered Sunday and on the wrist by Tuesday! It makes me smile every time I look down.
Like many people in their 50s I grew up with cheap manuals (who remembers that first Timex for their 8th birthday?) and went through all the horrible digital stuff of the 70s/80s.
My first quality watch was (still is!) a 1990 Seamaster Multifunction - I still adore it. I also have a lovely simple Omega manual that's about as old as me! The C8 is my first automatic, however.
I did actually buy a black Divine Carre for my god-daughter's 18th a couple of years ago, which is how I discovered CW...browsing! So I knew about the quality of these watches.
I'm tempted by almost everything on the site. The Malvern is a classic, but the "dress" department is covered nicely by the Omegas. I do like the look of the motorsport series, though...this expensive hobby could get even more expensive!
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect that day. I rather thought I might be chewed to pieces by the basking sharks, the sort of thing that I had heard about on other types of Internet forum. If you had told me that in 10 years I would be one of the Forum Admin Team with a total of 25,000 posts, I would probably have snorted and said something like, “In yer dreams, sunbeam!”
I had bought a watch, that was all. I knew that I liked watches and was interested in them, but I never expected it to become quite such a “thing”.
I got quite a few replies fairly quickly. Overall, the members seemed to be better at welcoming Newbies in those days. Although a few of those who responded are no longer posting, there are still quite a few who are around now and have become good friends over the years.
I learned a lot in those early days. That I continue to enjoy perusing and contributing on the forum says a great deal for the quality of the members. I’ve been lucky enough to meet quite a few of them over the years, at GTGs and Admin Team visits to CW Towers.
I was flattered and honoured when, about four years ago, Kip contacted me and asked if I would be prepared to take on the position of moderator. It’s been a pleasure and privilege to work with him and with my fellow team members: currently Richard, Guy and Steve, but let’s not forget Gary and Ian who are not around much these days.
I think my favourite moment has to be the day when we finally launched the CW Archive, read Kip’s rather moving post about the fulfilment of a dream, and heard of Mike France’s reaction to it. For some reason, although Kip and downer did most of the real donkey work, the language teacher on the team got to provide quite a lot of the text; it was a labour of love and I absolutely enjoyed every minute of it.
Really, all I want to say is “Thank You”. As well as being a place where strange and like-minded people can discuss small objects of interest and desire, the forum has also been a place to let off steam, a place to seek and give solace in times of need, a place to learn and develop and expand one’s knowledge and understanding, at the same time as reducing the girth of one’s wallet. It’s also a place to have a bit of fun. Huge thanks to everyone, but especially to Kip and my friends in the “executive washroom with the gold plated taps”, for putting up with me.
And thank you to Hans, who started it all off in the first place.
Thanks for reading. Here’s to the next stage of the journey.