Why I wore purple....

Did you wear, or change your profile picture, to purple today?

If YES then you probably know what I’m talking about.

If NO then do you know why people did, or see some one who did?

Today, in the name of Spirit Day - that links the NoH8 campaign and also in memory of everyone gay person who has committed suicide - I wore and changed my online profiles to purple.
But Why?

To raise the awareness of the fact that in this world, there are still people being persecuted for being gay or lesbian or just different. Being bullied so much that they believe that the only way out is to end there life which is really sad.

The whole point of this campaign was to raise awareness of these issues. To make people aware of the fact that even in this world, there is still hate and persecution going on. Not over differences in religion, but in differences in sexuality.

Unfortunately there are still a few immature individuals in this world who believe that we can change the world tomorrow by throwing money at a problem. Money doesn’t always change the world, it's awareness and understanding that does. Not understanding is what leads to bullying.

Some believe as a LGBT community, we don’t need to be making these statements and raising awareness. That there is one thing that will change people minds tomorrow and that by doing this we can make this world a better place....that’s not going to happen.

The news of these suicides shows that there is still along way to go before we change the attitudes of people and stop the hatred. The point of today was to get people to ask questions, to find out more and to show our support for the people who are feeling that no body cares about what they are going through.

Even if I only spoke to 10 people about this campaign today, it’s 10 people who didn’t know yesterday, who might then tell 10 people. That won’t be everyone, but it’s a start.
It’s very easy to forget that as a community we have come so far in such a short period of time, but there is still a ways to go. I’m still learning of the struggles that individuals have gone through to get to where we are today, and every day I am learning something new.

“It gets better” is a great campaign that started by a few celebrities and individuals who wanted to offer an olive branch of advice to people who are having a hard time with bullying from individuals who just don’t understand.  Telling them that life gets better and there are people who can help you make it better.

If you haven’t watched the videos check out the YouTube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/itgetsbetterproject

Mashable have done an article with some of the most well known videos:
http://mashable.com/2010/10/03/it-gets-better-youtube-videos/

But I urge you to watch this one from councillor Joel Burns in the US. He makes a very moving speech at a public meeting. It had me in floods of tears as I watched him pour his heart out. I would urge you to watch it. Sometimes it's better to ask questions...

I ♥ Greenwich Park...

An amazing autmnal day in one of London's most beautiful parks!

What could be a better place to eat delicious food from Greenwich Market on a Sunday lunchtime with my boyfriend?

It’s OK.....don’t panic!

Really, it’s ok, there is nothing to worry about!

I know this blog has been a bit quiet lately...... well I have got some news!

I am still here, alive and kicking!

I’m still having some great adventures in this great city!

But my attention has been a little distracted.

Just over a month ago I started a great little blog project called “Dear Tuesday”.

One average day in the week, brought to you through the stories of many...is probably the best way do describe it!

If you want to find out more and get involved click here...deartuesday.posterous.com

and don’t worry, I will be back soon...I promise!

3 reasons why I miss London..

As many of you who follow me on Twitter know, I have spent the last week and a half on jury service. Following my tweets through the boredom of waiting around to be called, and the joys of finding out I wasn’t needed for 4 days! Whatever anyone says, it’s not the greatest time of your life. There are plenty more things I would like to do than sit around in a waiting room for 2 weeks.

In order for me to enjoy this joyless life experience, I’ve had to come home to my parents house in order to serve. Yes, before you say it, it has been nice to see them and hang out with my brother and sister. But, all in all I miss London!
Here are 3 reasons why...

1 - Public transport and walking. 
Yeah, I know this seems a bit of a weird one. I am lucky to have the luxury of a car when I’m at home, but driving can sometimes take it’s toll. I’m not exactly in a remote area, but the transport isn’t great, so you have to drive everywhere! Yeah I get from A-B quicker, but you have to concentrate. Sometimes it’s nice just to day dream on the train or even take that stroll in the rain through Carnaby Street. Petrol and parking can be expensive!

2 - Good Coffee. 
For me, the best place to get a coffee is to drive into town, even then it’s just another one of those chain places. Working in Soho, there are good number of good independent coffee places to go, try and use their wifi. All in walking distance of my office....maybe I’m just a little spoilt in London...

3 - Saying “I know that great little place”.
When I was 18, the town where I’m from had a great little night life. I would spend most weekends on a Thursday/Friday/Saturday night out on the town with my friends. Now, when meeting up with local friends, I have to pause before answering the question, thinking...’Is that pub still open?’, ‘Do they actually do good food?’ Most of the time you get stuck in chain places as they're the only safe places.

I hope it’s not coming across that I’m having a rant, I feel very privileged to have a job and live in the great city. It’s a place I’m still exploring every weekend and I don’t expect to know it for many years to come. I also hope that I’m not coming across like one of those Daily Mail journalists who moved out of London to life in the country and moan constantly about not living in London.

Some times it’s the little things I miss...but hopefully I will be home in the mother city soon, if I don’t get a case that lasts 3 weeks!

Getting stuck in London...

What do you do? It's 3:30 am, you've had an awesome night, a few drinks and have spent the last 3 hours dancing to some cheesy music. Really enjoying the Spice Girls medley the DJ played...oh wait, maybe that’s just me...

Anyway, your a useful London person and you iPhone is full of apps. The tubes have stopped running and you know the only way home is a night bus or a cab. Checking your London Bus app you realise that its going to take you about 2 hours and 3 changes to get home. Do you really want to risk getting a bus to Elephant and Castle at 3:30am and knowing you are going to have to use your iPhone...muggers are going to love you.

So you think about how much you have spent that night and chat to your companion about what to do next... I don't want to spend 2 hours on a night bus and I've got enough to half a Taxi home, but can only really afford £15. Your companion, who can see your a little bit stressed pulls over the nearest cab...How much is a cab to Greenwich from here mate? £50 the cabbie replies and drives off. You're stuck...

This happened to me a couple of weeks ago, it had been a great night out. My bf and I had travelled to Clapham for a friends leaving do, he was off to Australia and we had spent the night in the Two Brewers. We were wishing my friend good luck on his travels, having a bit of a boogie and hanging out some of our new Twitter mates who also were there. We had an awesome night! Yes the Spice Girls bit was true too, I forgot how many words I remembered from there medley of hits! It made me want to dig out my albums...but I resisted when I got home.

Anyway, I was really stuck. I really didn't want to have to be waiting for a bus at Elephant and Castle or even New Cross at that time in the morning, I didn't want to become a statistic. That cabbie was definitley taking the piss as well, I mean £50...what was he thinking we were, a pair of mugs!

Luckily I remembered something I had read during the week. Being a bit of a Twitter addict (as you know) and being really interested in the local services using Twitter to benefit the community I had read about a London cab service, @Tweetalondoncab. I had followed the service during the week after reading an article in the Guardian and thought I would give it a go, even though it was 3am and I was in the middle of Clapham. All you have to do is follow the service and send them a DM with your request. So I did...

After thinking all hope was lost and constantly refreshing the Twitter app on my iPhone I got a message saying that a cab was on it’s way and that it would be £25...genius I thought, this has even saved me a little bit of money.  For safety they tweeted me the cab number plate, colour and the cab drivers name. It's too easy in London to get done by a mini cab service that I didn't want to risk it.

5 minutes later, our cabbie turned up, we jumped in and had a really nice journey back to Greenwich. He was a lovely driver, very happy, chatty and even more happy to talk about the service. It was strange in London to find a cabbie who actually wants to talk to you and be friendly, we were really lucky.

Arriving into Greenwich, he capped the price off at £25 and even dropped us to the door!

So, the next time you are stuck in a strange part of London and you don’t want to jump on that scary night bus, tweet a London cab! :)

Welcome to the Family...

For me, this move to London means a lot. The past couple of years had bee quite an emotional roller coaster. I came out, had my first love, started my first proper job (that I ended up hating), lived in a city where I felt like the loneliest person in the world. It was a hard time for me, I had spent years at university surrounded by friends an feeling quite ‘safe’ and suddenly my life was the complete opposite of what I had expected it to be. For the first time in a while I completely missed my home, I missed my parents, I missed my brother and sister, I missed my old school friends. This from a person who had gone to the other side of the country to go to university and swore that they would never move back home to the area that I grew up in....but I did.

I’ve always been a very social person, I have friends from different groups dotting around the place. We dip into to each others lives for drinks and dinner but part ways for months or years, always returning to see each other feeling like nothing had changed.These people I love and care about a lot.

But a little while ago, something really touched me. My housemates returned from holiday and gave me a little present (pictured). As they handed it to me that day they said “Welcome to the family”, just a simple few words that mean a lot and yes, they did make me cry. This little gesture touched me in so many ways. After a period of feeling alone and spending time settling into a new place and making new friends, these words made me feel settled and secure.

I’m very privileged to have two great housemates, even though we have only lived together for a couple of months, I know that I have friends for life. They welcomed me with open arms when I moved in and have introduced me to some of there great and amazing friends who have adopted me into their little family too. Like any house we have our disagreements and you learn each others bad habits, but then you remember the fun times, the great meals and the drunkard/random evenings that made you giggle.

Good friends are hard to come by, but when you fined them, boy are they worth keeping and always remember the little moments that touch you.

Being Proud at Pride...

“Right...so...there is something that I need to tell you....I'm gay”

This phrase is said by thousands of men and women every day across this planet, as they come to terms with their feelings and share this personal detail with there friend, family and work colleagues. I some times think that it’s sad that we still live in a society where we need to tell people our sexual orientation, but to be honest, I feel proud to be who I am so I don’t mind telling people...

Being gay though can be a hard thing to come to terms with, when you realise that all your feelings and emotions go against what some people in this society believe as ‘the norm’. When you realise that you are part of a minority that is fighting for rights in this world. How do you even start to take all of this information in?

Coming out is something that is still fresh in my mind. I came out to my friends and family about two years ago after about 10 years of knowing I was different and finally coming to terms to my feelings and thoughts. Going through the process of coming out is one emotional rollercoaster  and to be honest it’s taken me 2 years really to feel settled in this skin and get to where I am. Time and support is what was needed and I’m very lucky to say that I have great friends old and new who have supported me through this; I know there are quite a few people who have not had this.

I feel lucky to come out when I have, when being gay is accepted a lot more than it has been in the past 40 years. People have fought to make me feel safe in this world and celebrate my feelings and I would like to say thank you to those people. We are not totally there yet and there is still a long way to go before there is equality....all I can do is dream that one day there will be.

But last weekend was very special, it was a weekend for me where I can celebrate who I am. I can walk down the street holding my boyfriends hand, feeling safe and secure that I won’t be stared at. Where I can celebrate with others how far we have come as a community to where we are now, but also realise how far we still need to go to get equality in this world. This was London Pride!

There are pride events in every major city in the UK now, representing and celebrating their gay communities. But one of the biggest is London, our capital city. The city becomes somewhere to celebrate; we parade through some of the biggest streets displaying the great diversity of community, from religious groups, political groups to the emergency services and the armed forces and we party in Trafalgar Square and Soho. If you get a chance to go, your should really go and experience it for yourself. Straight, gay, bi or trans you are all accepted for who you are and just have some fun!

This blog post was inspired by the blog post below from a very special person. Enjoy! http://peacockpete.wordpress.com/2010/07/04/london-pride-its-here-its-queer-its-not-named-after-the-beer/

We are a community that knows how to make a difference, but a also a community that knows how to have fun and celebrate! So next year, why don’t you come and join us?