I had been looking forward to going to a friends BBQ all week yet I woke up today feeling dreadful. It has to be a bug of some kind and it may well be gone by tomorrow but it has totally screwed up my plans for today. On the plus side, the kids were able to go as it is only a short walk away.

Last night I showed Nick a youtube video of how much homophobia still exists and is acceptable within the UK right now. It was a follow on from the incident at Daisy’s school when they gang of lads started hurling homophobic abuse at me.One of the phrases they used was ‘batty boy’ which I had heard before, several years before when we had the troubles at the other place but didn’t fully understand why it was so common in the UK or if indeed it was commonly used. Looking at youtube showed me that it is positively sanctioned in the UK and a totally acceptable term to use and not even just by black people either from where the use originated.

Still feeling incenced by the youtube thing I posted a thread about it on Kagoul.com hoping that someone there may pick it up and also make a complait against youtube for their promotion of homophobia in this country. On the contrary, one absolute idiot on there took the opportunity not to attack the homophobic attitude but me for being openly gay and a parent. He said I was a complete idiot for being gay and having kids and that I should keep a very low profile, in short, pretend to be straight.

What a total tosser that guy is! This has been only the second time in my life a gay man has said bluntly to me that homophobic attacks against me are somehow my own doing. How short sighted and ignorant that attitude is. Only gay men could reach this conclusion and it is because they can that we still have so many problems. What if the country took the attitude that black people brought racism upon themselves and should keep a low profile? It’s a crazy notion that we should have to accept prejudice as normal and minority groups are to blame for their own problems. I so hope that the person in question on that website very soon becomes the victim of homophobia in the most graphic way and then, I trust, he will look at himself and his lifestyle ‘choice’ and make no attempt to blame the guys who attack him but instead go back in the closet and lead a very quiet existance for the rest of his life … what a totally stupid attitude to take.

On a less serious note … the weather is absolute shit like we are already easing into winter. I find it very difficult to plan ahead when something as simple as rain can ruin those plans.

Back work on Monday, I so hope this bug has gone by then, I enjoy it too much to stay at home.

I had been looking forward to going to a friends BBQ all week yet I woke up today feeling dreadful. It has to be a bug of some kind and it may well be gone by tomorrow but it has totally screwed up my plans for today. On the plus side, the kids were able to go as it is only a short walk away.

Last night I showed Nick a youtube video of how much homophobia still exists and is acceptable within the UK right now. It was a follow on from the incident at Daisy’s school when they gang of lads started hurling homophobic abuse at me.One of the phrases they used was ‘batty boy’ which I had heard before, several years before when we had the troubles at the other place but didn’t fully understand why it was so common in the UK or if indeed it was commonly used. Looking at youtube showed me that it is positively sanctioned in the UK and a totally acceptable term to use and not even just by black people either from where the use originated.

Still feeling incenced by the youtube thing I posted a thread about it on Kagoul.com hoping that someone there may pick it up and also make a complait against youtube for their promotion of homophobia in this country. On the contrary, one absolute idiot on there took the opportunity not to attack the homophobic attitude but me for being openly gay and a parent. He said I was a complete idiot for being gay and having kids and that I should keep a very low profile, in short, pretend to be straight.

What a total tosser that guy is! This has been only the second time in my life a gay man has said bluntly to me that homophobic attacks against me are somehow my own doing. How short sighted and ignorant that attitude is. Only gay men could reach this conclusion and it is because they can that we still have so many problems. What if the country took the attitude that black people brought racism upon themselves and should keep a low profile? It’s a crazy notion that we should have to accept prejudice as normal and minority groups are to blame for their own problems. I so hope that the person in question on that website very soon becomes the victim of homophobia in the most graphic way and then, I trust, he will look at himself and his lifestyle ‘choice’ and make no attempt to blame the guys who attack him but instead go back in the closet and lead a very quiet existance for the rest of his life … what a totally stupid attitude to take.

On a less serious note … the weather is absolute shit like we are already easing into winter. I find it very difficult to plan ahead when something as simple as rain can ruin those plans.

Back work on Monday, I so hope this bug has gone by then, I enjoy it too much to stay at home.

Somewhere other than here!

Rain and more rain and summer rapidly running out.

Now, what news do I have for the world?

I started work yesterday (voluntary) and achieved a lot on my first day which made me feel really great. Today I only needed to do a little training with them over the phone … that’s me training them, not the other way around. It’s amazing me just how excited I am feeling about it. I like ‘working’ as it makes me feel as though I am giving something back to the community for the benefits I receive. I know I still need them and deserve them but even so, it still isn’t widely accepted that benefits are essential for some people. Even better, all the experience is going to look really good on my CV when I eventually start looking for paid work and, if I am real lucky, I may actually fall into a job whilst volunteering.

The car, yes, the car. Apart from the air condition problem in relation to which I have struck a deal with the garage to get cruise control fitted at the same time combining the labour cost, I now have another issue with the damn thing. It cuts out soon after it starts. When driving it shudders and occasionally, on starting, it sounds like a bucket of spanners is being chucked about under the bonnet. If it is what I suspect it is then I’ll unlikely see much change out of £600. The AC and cruise is going to cost the best part of £800. In just two months of ownership I have already lost £1200 on the value of the car and will be saving to repay my overdraft for months just when I was getting painfully close to the nice colour in my bank balance. On top of that my fuel bill is almost certain to go sky high so way more money going out than I can comfortably afford.

On the plus side … it was Deej’s birthday on Sunday and I put together a surprise party for him. Robin and Julie did the food and I madly went around cleaning the house trying to make it look normal to do so on a Sunday. Loads of people turned up for Deej and that made me really happy as not one person from his time before know me turned up despite being invited, not even a card from any of them. But, that aside, it was a great day and I got a little too pissed for which I have been paying ever since 🙁

Several good things to look forward to later this month despite the crap weather!

Somewhere other than here!

Rain and more rain and summer rapidly running out.

Now, what news do I have for the world?

I started work yesterday (voluntary) and achieved a lot on my first day which made me feel really great. Today I only needed to do a little training with them over the phone … that’s me training them, not the other way around. It’s amazing me just how excited I am feeling about it. I like ‘working’ as it makes me feel as though I am giving something back to the community for the benefits I receive. I know I still need them and deserve them but even so, it still isn’t widely accepted that benefits are essential for some people. Even better, all the experience is going to look really good on my CV when I eventually start looking for paid work and, if I am real lucky, I may actually fall into a job whilst volunteering.

The car, yes, the car. Apart from the air condition problem in relation to which I have struck a deal with the garage to get cruise control fitted at the same time combining the labour cost, I now have another issue with the damn thing. It cuts out soon after it starts. When driving it shudders and occasionally, on starting, it sounds like a bucket of spanners is being chucked about under the bonnet. If it is what I suspect it is then I’ll unlikely see much change out of £600. The AC and cruise is going to cost the best part of £800. In just two months of ownership I have already lost £1200 on the value of the car and will be saving to repay my overdraft for months just when I was getting painfully close to the nice colour in my bank balance. On top of that my fuel bill is almost certain to go sky high so way more money going out than I can comfortably afford.

On the plus side … it was Deej’s birthday on Sunday and I put together a surprise party for him. Robin and Julie did the food and I madly went around cleaning the house trying to make it look normal to do so on a Sunday. Loads of people turned up for Deej and that made me really happy as not one person from his time before know me turned up despite being invited, not even a card from any of them. But, that aside, it was a great day and I got a little too pissed for which I have been paying ever since 🙁

Several good things to look forward to later this month despite the crap weather!