It's like being back at school!

Do you remember the feeling at school when you suddenly found out Mr., Mrs. or Miss. X had a first name that you shouldn't ever use in front of them?

When I was teaching we had some teachers who became very cross if anyone used their first name in front of the children but to be honest it was something I never really bothered about.

I remember one boy forgetting himself when I had done something that impressed him, (it maybe wasn't anything special but he was impressed). He suddenly jumped up from his seat punching the air saying "Super Sue strikes again!" Then he went bright red and covered his mouth with his hand in horror.

I think he was relieved when I just found it funny and said, "Shall I pretend that I didn't hear that?"

Well I must admit I get the same buzz when I find out the 'real' name of a blogger who before then had been only known as WeedyWelly (often not even knowing whether the person in question was male or female). Then I have the same dilemma as my pupils did in that I'm not sure what the reaction will be if I start referring to WeedyWelly as Wendy. Maybe WeedyWelly has a reason for preferring to remain incognito.

Must admit I got a bit fed up of being GLAllotments. My original pen name was down to the fact that my blog was originally our allotments' site blog - then it became my personal blog and I was stuck with this totally unimaginative name. I didn't want to change it completely as by now it was a name I had become known by so I just added the Sue@ bit. I often wonder what I would have come up with if I had my choice again.

If you join Google+ your choice for anonymity is taken away and your identity is exposed for all to see. I joined recently - really by accident but decided to try it out. What I hadn't realised even after reading the blurb was that when I comment on blogs etc. from that day forward I will no longer be known as Sue@GLAllotments. My cover has been blown! I suppose I could have given a false name - they wouldn't know or would they?

There is of course one advantage to using a 'real' name. Recently a school friend who, after leaving university had emigrated to South Africa, tracked me down using the Internet. We lost touch more years ago than I care to mention. Letter writing can dwindle especially when you have to find enough to say to make the correspondence worthwhile. Then you have to remember to go out, find a post box to post it. Sending quick short emails when you have something to say is much easier and failing that you can use Skype so maybe this time we will stay in touch!

I know some of you have very intriguing pen-names so how about sharing how you chose either your pen name or the name of your blog? Again my blog's name was just a slight alteration of the previous Green Lane Allotments. Boring isn't it?

Then again how did you choose your profile image? My Hockneyesque portrait just manages to bypass the fact that I don't like photographs of myself - the blue effect also hides the wrinkles (a little).

I wonder what a psychologist would make of us all? Maybe it's best that we'll never know - that is unless one of you out there is a psychologist and feels like enlightening us!

PS - As Mal pointed out I should have said the portrait was Warholesque not Hockney - Oops! As a thank you Mal I've included a link to you! In fact two.