I'm really looking forward to September!!

I appreciate that this may seem like an odd heading, as most people will be looking back at their summer; the fun, the holidays, the parties, the clubbing and the BBQ's, but there area few things happening this September that I'm REALLY looking forward to!

First thing is happening next week, on Saturday Sept 9th. There is a big gay out at Thorpe Park. An over 18's, all gay day at one of the best theme parks in the UK, featuring dance tents from Wild Fruit and Salvation . I think it's going to be crazy good fun!

Then on Mon 11th Sept, we're off to see "Wicked - The Musical" as a birthday treat for Gary & Vic. This is another trip I really can't wait for, having first read the book about four years ago. Last year, I was also given the CD last year, and heard rave reviews from friends that have seen the show on Broadway.

Friday Sept 15th marks the UK cinema release of The Night Listener by Armistead Maupin. I have always been a HUGE fan of Maupins since being introduced to his first Tales of the City by a very friendly assistant in the first gay book/magazine/sex shop that I ever dared enter. but more of that in another entry I think...

"The Night Listener" isn't part of the 'Tales' series at all, but a stand alone thriller based on true events, combined with a partly biographical story of Maupin and his lover too. You can see the similarity between Robin Williams in the poster above and the photo of Maupin below with Laura Linney from 'Tales...'. The movie also features Toni Collette, of "Muriels Wedding", so it has a great cast. I am slightly disappointed, however, that the story has been moved to New York rather than Maupin's native San Francisco. Any ideas why? Answers on a post card please!

It's always been an ambition of Maupins' to create a movie with the same tension as his favourite film, 'Vertigo', and I really hope he's achieved that here. I await with great anticipation!

Links for more about Maupin & The Night Listener...

The Night Listener cinema trailer

Armistead Maupin Interview

August 30th: Born on this day...

Some pretty cool people actually!

1972, Cameron Diaz, Actress, Long Beach, California. "Something About Mary" etc, and engaged to Justin Trousersnake. Bitch!

1969, Me, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey. No movies. No hit singles. No well hung boyfriend.

1966, Peter Cunnah, D:Ream, (1994 UK No.1 single ‘Things Can Only Get Better’). Met him at Brighton Pride Festival, 1994. A really nice guy!

1964, Robert Clivilles , producer and DJ with C & C Music Factory, (1991 UK No.4 single with ‘Things That Make You Go Hmmm...’ 1991 US No.1 single with ‘Gonna Make You Sweat’). Nearly as great a producer as Oaky....

1963, Paul Oakenfold, Producer, remixer, DJ. Toured with U2, remixed for Simply Red, M People, New Order, Stone Roses and U2. Probably one of the worlds best producers & DJ's!!

1961, Keith McKenzie, The Shamen, (1992 UK No.1 single 'Ebeneezer Goode').

1954, Ronald Beitle, Wild Cherry, (1976 US No.1 & UK No.7 single 'Play That Funky Music'). One of my favourite tracks EVER!

1952, Kenny Andrews, Darts (1978 UK No.2 single 'Boy From New York City'), they start getting uncool here...

1951, Dana, (Rosemary Brown), 1970 Irish Eurovision Song Contest winner, UK No.1 single 'All Kinds Of Everything'), ok, so not cool at all unless you're a eurovision fan!!

1950, Micky Moody guitarist, Juicy Lucy (1970 UK No.14 single 'Who Do You Love'), Whitesnake, (1987 US No.1 & UK No.9 single 'Here I Go Again').

1944, Charles Colbert, American Breed, (1967 US No.5 & UK No. 24 single 'Bend Me Shape Me').

1941, John McNally, The Searchers, (1964 UK No.1 single 'Needles And Pins', 1964 US No.3 single 'Love Potion Number Nine').

1939, John Peel, BBC radio DJ and TV presenter, John Robert Parker Ravenscroft. Longest running BBC Radio 1 and most influential British DJ ever. Peel died in Cuzco, Peru of a heart attack on 25th October 2004 aged 65. (VERY COOL!)

1935, John Phillips, The Mamas and the Papas, (1966 US No.1 and UK No.3 single 'Monday Monday'). Phillips died of heart failure aged 65 on 18th March 2001. (is there a pattern with heart failures happening here...??)

Pointless Family Photo of the Year Award

"And the winner is......"

I'VE GOT THEM!!!

6 TICKETS FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AT MANCHESTER!!

I was sat at my desk this morning at 08:55, ready on the website and with the Ticket Hotline number preset on my phone. The last set of dates, 6 nights at Wembley Arena, sold out in 6 minutes so I didn't want leave anything to chance this time!

I was there at her last date at Wembley before the news broke about her cancer diagnosis and she did a brilliant show, so I was gutted that I missed the tickets for Wembley this time.

But now I have six sweet tickets winging their way to me... I just have to wait until January to actually see the show!

UPDATE: Extra dates added after first two sold out in 15 minutes!

Meet the IT Team....

I've just realized I'm into my 5th week at the new job and I haven't told you any details about the new team I work with! How rude! Well, allow me to introduce you to the rest of the IT Support Team here at "The Pizza Base", (as they've now decided to call our Head Office!)!

My main co-workers here on the helpdesk are a couple of young guys, Phil and Lee. They're both 27 and very 'techie'. Phil is originally from South Africa , but, having travelled lots due to his fathers profession, now has a very mixed up accent! He's a tall, quite thin guy and has the pale skin that I often associate with techies; far too much time spent indoors at their PC's rather than out getting any sun. He's plain and serious looking, but every now and then, when I manage to find a way in to his sense of humour, he displays quite a winner smile!

Lee, on the other hand, is unbelievably attractive! He's as tall as Phil, a good 6 footer I reckon, but much fitter being a 5-a-side player at the weekends, (along with cricket and rowing during the summer months). He has vivid cobalt-blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair that also grows thick and fluffy on his firm, tanned arms; the same arms that I can see out of the corner of my eye, tapping away at the keyboard beside mine... it's wonderfully distracting!

Then there's our Team Leader, Kate, who's the same age as Phil & Lee; making me feel like the old Auntie of the team! Kate is brilliant at her job and there's nothing she doesn't know about our system. She has a slight 'Miss Jean Brodie' attitude about her that can be a little intimidating, and sometimes comes across as blunt, especially when answering very mundane questions; this doesn't make her ideal as a trainer.

However, when a 'proper' IT issue comes in though, or an update goes horribly wrong sending all 320 restaurants into disarray, her eyes come alive with concentrated glee and her mouse clicks into overdrive; whizzing the cursor through the deepest level 3 pages of our database faster than my eyes can keep up with it.

There are a few others here in the Systems team and there's also my boss, Anna, but I'll tell you more about them in time no doubt. I'd better get back to work!

This explains a lot about myself!!

Last month, The National University of Lesotho scientists released the results of a recent analysis that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer. Men should take a concerned look at their beer consumption.

The theory is that beer contains female hormones (hops contain phytoestrogens) and that by drinking enough beer, men turn into women.

To test the theory, 100 men drank 8 pints of beer each within a 1hour period. It was then observed that 100% of the test subjects:

1) Argued over nothing

2) Refused to apologize when obviously wrong

3) Gained weight

4) Talked excessively without making sense

5) Became overly emotional

6) Couldn't drive

7) Failed to think rationally

8) Had to sit down while urinating.


No further testing was considered necessary.

Blue Man Group

Just found some pics from the theatre trip a couple of weeks ago...

Mini J, a Blue Man, Me

Sis & Mini J

Me

Mini J.... Happy Birthday!

This Weekend...

Work's nearly done now and another weekend is starting. I was meant to be flying up to Edinburgh to visit a friend and see some of the Fringe, but given the events of the last 36 hours I've decided to keep clear of airports! Maybe I'll go next weekend.

So I have a clear weekend now. Clear that is apart from meeting a friend this evening in Soho. I say 'a friend'; what I really mean is 'an ex-boyfriend'. That'll be the ex-boyfriend I haven't seen since I got home from work 3 weeks ago to find a 'Dear John' letter in the kitchen and the spare keys he'd been using pushed back through the mailbox.

I hadn't written about him at the time because it was all quite whirlwind, but here's a brief synopsis;

We met, he took me out, he admitted he already had a boyfriend but things weren't going well.

He took me out to woo me at a very expensive restaurant. His boyfriend happened to be sat at a table near the door, with a girlfriend of his, as we were leaving!

So he stayed at mine for a few days, and we got on great. Then he decided he was fucked up and confused, and ought to go and stay at a friends. Of course he didn't tell me that.... but it was in the letter.

So off I go. I'll see what he has to say. But no second chance! 'Be strong and be beautiful!', I've been saying all day. Butterflies are starting to assemble in my belly now as it passes 5:30.....

Ghostly Sightings?

You've probably all seen the news about the house that's having it's gardens dug up by police searching for the remains of two children that, its been claimed, have been buried there for over 30 years.

Well an article in today's Metro has revealed that the family who currently reside in the house moved out three months ago because they felt the house was haunted. Their 9 year old daughter claimed she saw two children in the garden, a girl and a boy wearing an orange jumper and brown trousers. The articles states that she was given counselling at the time.

It also goes on to say that their 3 year old son, whose bedroom had overlooked the garden, couldn't sleep there.

I know there are many cynics in this wirld, but I'm not one of them! This proof, to me, is as good as any that would be allowed in court! There IS something in that garden. The clothes she describes are typical 70's colours, I had a similiar 'look' myself.

And yes, children DO have a sixth sense that gradually gets knocked out of them by the scientific rationalism of adults.

In the house I grew up in we had a 'ghost', although my Mother referred to her as a 'Guardian Angel'. My Mum was the first to see her and, not wishing to scare us children, only told my dad about her. He dismissed it, being a psychic cynic, until weeks later Mum woke and saw her again. She nudged my Dad awake, he looked up, grumbled something and went back to sleep.

For days he wouldn't admit to seeing anything. Eventually, under duress perhaps, he did. But amazingly, he described exactly what my Mum had seen; a description she had never voiced. Still nothing was said to us kids.

Thatis, not until my Sister and I started complaining and fighting with each other about the 'silly tricks' the other was obviously playing during the night; knocking on our doors, or pushing them open, and then running away and hiding. Then one night when my Sister was woken up by one of my so-called pranks, she saw 'Rebecca' (as we later nicknamed her). Then it all came out amongst the whole family, my Mother explained the theory that she was an Angel, not a ghost; there to watch over us. It was actually very comforting to know she was there keeping an eye; in fact, I used to wait for my door to open at night, and feel her cold fingers brush my face before I could sleep.

These children seen in their burial place are obviously not there keeping an eye on anything, but just restless, unhappy souls who suffered a cruel, unbelievably horrific and untimely death. I truly hope they rest better if they are found, identified and given some final peace.

Brighton Pride

Well I must admit the weekend didn't start off too well; on Friday evening I rang my friend G, who I went to Brighton Pride with last year along with his boyf V, to make arrangements for meeting on Saturday morning.

To cut a very long story short, it had all got confused and miscommunicated, he'd made arrangements, cars were full, I cried a little (only to myself!), I decided I wasn't going as didn't want to travel down by myself on the train (Billy-No-Mates I may be, but I dont want a few hundred queens at Victoria Station seeing it!), then a kind man, B, who I've spoken to briefly on Gaydar once or twice offered me to travel with him and his friends.

And what a bloody great day it was!!

There was a special 'Pride Express' train laid on from Victoria station in the morning with party packs on every seat containing whistles, a stick of rock, poppers (the party type not Amyl!), a bar in every carriage and very cute train attendants! This was a lovely touch by the train company that really started the day off well! Especially as it was a no extra cost from a normal return fare!

I bumped into G&V briefly, but by that time I was getting on so well with my new friends that I didn't want to leave them; they'd been so welcoming to me! I did say I'd find them later in the Wild Fruit tent , but among the 6000 or so people that were in there it was virtually impossible (especially once I started getting a litlle trashed!)

The rest of the day was all good fun, the music was great and the company excellent. My new friend and I went briefly to the 48 hour street party out side The Bulldog Tavern but to be honest I was exhausted by 10:30, so I we didn't last long!

A late train back to London proved to be great fun, with only just about enough room for people to sit on the floors and wall-to-wall queer! I don't go a great deal on 'ghettoism', but it's lovely to 'belong' sometimes!

This is sweet

I've just come across a piece of writing by a guy called Paul Kidd about why he loves his partner Brent

It's probably one of the most beautifully simple and insightful pieces of writing I've seen,probably because I'm such a softie and would hope to meet someone who would feel the same about me one day