Eve

Happy Christmas eve. We're truly in the bleak midwinter I'm with a frozen Woo Woo, basically tasting like an adult Slush Puppy. 

Elsewhere I'm sure many of you have read Elliot Page's elequent and passionate coming out letter, essentially the sort of thing I wish I wrote all those years ago. As you'd expect some people had a problem with this for some reason which probably says more about them.

Eddie

Seeing Eddie Izzard trending, I'm reminded of when I was a young and Eddie Izzard burst onto my screen. Watching I saw someone confidently smashing gender stereotypes and wearing whatever along with a highly creative and above all, funny act. She was an inspiration to a confused baby trans and in many ways still is to an older (but still often confused) trans. 

Friday

Was in the fortunate position of being able to take a duvet day Friday for my mental health I could feel the signs building and decided to push everything non urgent into the future, make sure I had a supply of Jammie Dodgers and turn off my alarm. 

Insert Competitor

Thinking back to disagreeable customers many will end with something like " well I'm shopping at (insert competitor) from now on" which I think they believe has any devastating impact on the harassed, under paid and non managerial person on the other end. In my time it was the welcome signal that they were about to leave.

Don't Be A

Card payment systems were down locally, frustrating undoubtedly and necessitating a visit to the cash point but it's not the fault the fault of the young woman on the till who earns only a few pennies above minimum wage and has definitely had to deal with a lot of crap this year. Yet some people continue to act like a dock.

.... But It Helps

When someone describes their workplace in terms like "needing a sense of humour" my mind starts flashing giant red flags before my eyes. What sort of bullying hell hole is it I wonder, the sort that constantly sends you out to get tartan paint or engages in tedious bants all the time. We tend to laugh less once we hit the mid 20s and the workplace is the main reason for that. So it's great of you can have a laugh, for mental well-being most of all, but if you have to point it out, them it's nothing of the sort.

Strawberry and Mint

With an eye for the different I picked up After Eights with strawberry and mint.

It's rather disappointed, I couldn't take much strawberry and their wasn't that nice minty tasting filling. Instead you get that horrible mix which doesn't really work.

Edge

The Christmas tree is up and decorated. It's not the only delay writing this post Microsoft is getting increasingly aggressive in getting me to use Edge and throwing strops when I'm not using a Microsoft application as a default. With legislators from both sides more focused on social media, Microsoft will continue to drift into their old bad habits and harder to work outside their own software on Windows.

Blogmas 2k20

It seems everyone has put up their decorations early this year, the National Grid working overtime to power all those elaborate displays undoing that long period where no fossil fuels were used to create power. I've also come across the annual Fairytale of New York debate already and somewhere on social media people have probably spent several weeks shouting at each other about Die Hard and Baby it's Cold Outside. Here we're sticking to December 1st to launch this year's Blogmas.

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2020

Transgender Day of Remembrance, when we remember and honour people whose lives were lost due to transphobia, and raise awareness about anti-transgender violence. We remember a staggering and depressing 350 this year, the majority people of colour, for example 79% of the victims in the USA were of colour. This does not include those who lost their lives though discrimination in healthcare, of they were able to gain access at all.

Trans people should not have to learn to be resilient though all this. They should have a safe and inclusive environment for all.

Find and Replace Transphobia

You look at many articles about transgender people in the British media and wonder if the writer has just found an old Word file from the days before Clippy was deactivated, typed homosexuals in the Find box and put transgender in the Replace field before sending it off for publication. 

Wondering if The Onion might want to get in on the act.  

Funerals

Since the last post I attended a funeral, oldest and youngest not being present in person. So there was no child noises followed by a parent hurriedly trying to hush them which I missed. At mine I'm tempted to instruct them give all children a very noisy object and tell them to go absolutely wild. Funerals are one of those rare occasions where you get to see your extended family in all its weird glory and this was not an exception, some with their dubious interpretation of social distance and those who you only recognise when they speak. 

Tented Market

The former tented market stands on the site of the original market which was demolished in the 70s. A big clue that this was a 90s construction are the glass bricks which were added, it felt like everywhere. Much like other popular things from the 90s like Oasis and Friends they haven't aged well. It now stands empty begging for demolition.

Back From A Break

Hello from this spec in the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy. I hope you're fine wherever you are in the universe. Back from a little break with the same kind this sort of thing popping up on your feed a little more regularly than it has so far this year. 

13 Years

Oh hello you good looking people, hope you've had a great pride month even without your regular safe spaces. This blog has been going for 13 years, seen baby trans grow up, new babies come up assending to even greater heights, label wars come and go, mayfly trans come and flourish then disappear all in a few short hours and hearing the same scare tactics deliberately toxifying amplified across the political spectrum. 

And that Nationwide adverts will always be annoying. 

I wonder why they thought the Little Britain fan was a valuable demographic to chase, today they complain about it being banned despite it still being available on DVD which many better comidies aren't.