Travel

I must go abroad one Christmas unfortunately this year I'm working on the Friday before and having travelled cross country my experience of trying to travel in the run up to Christmas has an element of Plaines Trains and Automobiles minus the amusing mishaps and heart-warming ending.

Feels Too Early

Still feels too early to wish people merry christmas, probably the folks who hang the lights up the second halloween ends. Elsewhere ive overheard more than one conversation about how much it costs to run a string of lights, a few pennies apparently. Thinking back to my dislike of the word. 'holibobs' I guess one reason is that its disconcertingly infantalising much like when grown adults refer to their parents as mummy and daddy.

Blogmas Again

Time for the flurry of posting that you didn't know you wanted. 

Again

My, I've been neglecting you. More stuff coming soon, definitely before I get my turn at being PM, I think fineing adults who use the word "holibobs" is a definite winner.

Hope

Time flies. Listening to BBC Radio 4 Extra, where a show from the 1970s makes inflation jokes that are very relevant.

My birthday came and went, my niece decided to copy what they do at her school when they celebrate birthdays by counting up from one. Which is quite charming for at ten year old but gets a bit long when she goes, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen.... and feels insulting by the late twenties.

Pride month is ending with dark threats to LGBTQ rights and dehumanising blanket trans sporting bans. Just putting a rainbow on a social profile feels rather pointless.

Trans Day of Visibility

Happy transgender day of visibility. Political rants for another day today is for celebrating the fantastic world of trans. Better photos for another day, I haven't had a great deal of photo ops.

Gay Pride

 For LGBTQ+ history month here's a World In Action from 1979 showing the past was a different place. From what looks like a lovely summer day out, homosexuality has only been decriminalised for just over a decade (though not in Scotland and Northern Ireland). 

Marvel at the over policing, lack of big corporate sponsors and edge of defiance. Also regional accents, which is quite rare as more media from this era doesn't travel further north than Camden.

Finally as a reminder, the age of consent mentioned wasn't lowered untill the mid 90s and wasn't equalised until the millennium.

M2X2I2

 A happy new year. Don't make rash resolutions and don't beat yourself up when you fail to keep them.

Goodbye 2021

That's that. Feeling fine at the moment there's been the usual ride of imposter syndrome, anxiety and the rest at times but I seem to spot the signs and learning to say no at the right time. Generally seeing my niece's and nephews so infrequently that you notice their growth spurts and they've moved on from that thing you thought they were interested in. Haven't been out and about much, or as you'll see taken many selfies, noticed I fitted a dress that I didn't, though this may not be the case after Christmas again. 

Go well, be kind and see you next year.

Happy Christmas

As it's after midnight on the 25th, a happy Christmas to you all whatever you're doing today, hope it's a great day.

Cards

After many years we are still receiving cards addressed to the previous residents, without any return address I've no way of letting them know. If you have sent a card do check whether they still live there to avoid wasting a stamp.

Tin Town

Built in the early 1950's a large group of prefabricated houses were built on the edge of the inter-war Pinehurst estate as a temporary solution to the post war housing crisis. More than 70 years on they are nearly all still standing and known locally as "tin town. The council a few years ago renovated some a few years ago making it easy to spot the privately bought. 

Conversion Therapy

So the consultation on banning conversion therapy in England has been extended allowing for it to be potentially be kicked into the long grass more time for responses so if you haven't already and can, make the time to fill it in.

Head For Heights

 Crikey it's midweek I don't know where the days gone, its not like I've been very busy. Watching a tree surgeon high up cutting a old branch in the wooded area rather too dauntingly high even without the breeze. Mind I haven't got a head for heights in the best of times, anything above a curb gives me vertigo. 

There's Something About Miriam

Stumbled across an article which reminded me wow that really was a thing. The thing being There's Something About Miriam. To copy from the Wikipedia page.

"...it featured six men wooing 21-year-old Mexican model Miriam Rivera without revealing that she was transgender until the final episode."

It was around the time of the reality boom where formats were limited only by the depravity of the pitchers mind and no thought was given to the participants. I can't comment further as I couldn't get past the first minute at the time and this from someone who watched a lot of rubbish at the time. The series also fed into the trans deceit libel which still lingers as recent articles have shown. As the recent coverage and hand wringing over Britney Spears highlighted, a lot of things from the 2000s haven't aged well, this was a particularly egregious example.