My mother wanted to name me Andrew. My father warned that at school I would be teased and called “Andy Mann”. That’s why I am named after Grandpa Willie. FYI: In the UK Willie is a contraction of William and Billy is a mutation of Willie or sometimes Willy, though that is more often used as a euphemism for penis.
I'm originally from Liverpool and worked as a national magazine journalist for more than 30 years before suffering a stroke at age 53. I started blogging as part of a neuro-rehabilitation programme and wrote the very first entries with one finger of my disabled left hand. Later, art became another therapy for me at Headway East London's Submit To Love Studios. I write about my daily activities and encounters. In 1988, I married Jane. We are still together today, sharing our lives and making each other laugh.
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Billy's Scrapbook 