This year I did very little in the Spring, a lot in the Summer, bits in the Autumn and Winter. Here’s what I’ve been up to this year, click on any photo for full size image:
Simon and I went to Mid-Wales to The Lovely Penrhos Cottage for the weekend. While there we took the time to relax. The Saturday it was gloriously sunny and hot, so we went to Aberdovey Beach. On the Sunday we went to King Arthur’s Labyrinth.
I published my short story The Good Teen. The Good Teen is a modern-day telling of The Good Samaritan parable, with a hint of magic. I wrote it after I saw a call for submissions from the BBC Radio 4 ‘Opening Lines’ programme. Unfortunately it wasn’t accepted, but it’s still a good story – even if I do say so myself.
June
Rivington: A Gorgeous View
I spent several days walking around Rivington. I feel fortunate to have such a beautiful and gorgeous natural place close by.
My at-the-time boyfriend and I went to Blackpool to the Sealife Centre and Madame Tussauds. We saw various fish and waxworks respectively.
Steve and I went watching The Lady Boys of Bangkok in Manchester. We were both slightly disappointed with the Lady Boys to be honest, but it was still good to get out and we even managed a few alcofrolic drinks afterwards.
I felt saddened at the unexpected death of Robin Williams and began thinking about the importance of good mental & emotional health.
I read and reviewed Light by Michael Grant, which was the last book in The Gone Series. I thoroughly enjoyed The Gone Series which was about kids being trapped in a Dome without adults and developing powers.
A friend and I went to stay for a weekend at Penrhos Cottage and visited the Animalarium, which is Borth’s Zoo on the way home. There where some lovely animals there that looked well cared for.
Christmas has been relaxed, enjoyable and fun. I have celebrated it with family and friends. People have kindly bought presents for me:
Presents Kindly Bought For Me.
But the best thing was the opportunity to spend time with people that I love.
Next year I’ll be spreading out activities, experiences and goals throughout the year. So keep an eye out for my Goals & New Experiences for 2015 blog post.
Robin Williams, the Actor & Comedian recently committed suicide after suffering from severe depression undiagnosed Dementia with Lewy bodies (see Blog Correction: Robin Williams’ Cause of Death). Like people around the world, I was shocked and saddened by the news.
Here’s a brilliant Tribute video to Robin Williams; that’s just 1 minute long:
1 in 4 people will suffer from poor mental health at a least one point in their lives. And it is said that poor mental health runs in families. When I’ve talking about poor mental health, I’m thinking about the following conditions: depression, anxiety, panic attacks, bipolar, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders and suicidal thoughts.
I have suffered from poor mental health in the past. Looking at my close circle of family and friends, I know that most of them have as well. Yes to varying degrees of severity, but their poor mental health has effected their life. So I think the 1 in 4 statistic must be at best conservative. Yet there’s still a stigma attached to mental health, which seems to make it a taboo topic of conversation.
It’s time that things changed. We should talk about mental health. We should know how to look after our own mental health and how to best support our loved ones that are experiencing poor mental health. Too many people die because of their poor mental health. Robin Williams was one of these too many people.
If you are experiencing an episode of poor mental health, two useful websites are: Mind and SANE. If you are feeling suicidal please visit your nearest A&E Department for crisis support, before putting your thoughts into action.
When’s the last time you saw a gay character in a mainstream movie? A while? Recently? Although gay people are under represented in the film world, there are more of us around than you might think.
We’ve put together our list of the top 11 gay characters in mainstream movies. Each one of them is terrific in their own special way. Here’s the list:
11. Dr. Frank-N-Furter – The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Image Credit: Fanpop)
Dr. Frank-N-Further (Tim Curry) from The Rocky Horror Picture Show is technically bisexual. He seemed to prefer men to women, after all he created Rocky, but we also see him get it on with Brad and Janet.
10. Michael Caffrey – Billy Elliott (Image Credit: Great Blus @ Tumblr)
Michael Caffrey (Stuart Wells) comes out in Billy Elliott after warming Billy’s cold hands on his body. It’s brilliantly shot and shows that to Billy, Michael’s friendship is more important than whether he likes boys or girls.
9. Jack Twist – Brokeback Mountain (Image Credit: Fanpop)
Jack Twist’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) journey to self-acceptance is a beautiful one. It’s great to see his character grow in confidence as he accepts his sexuality, even if what happens to him at the end did leave us a bit traumatised.
8. Ennis Del Mar – Brokeback Mountain (Image Credit: Jonathan Hurwitz)
Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) is reluctant to form an emotional connection with Jack in Brokeback Mountain. But after learning about his childhood memories of what he saw done to gay men we could understand why.
Blaine Tuttle (Joshua Jackson) was so brilliantly 90’s gay in Cruel Intentions. Blaine was openly out and self-confident, as well as being mean and sinister.
6. Stuart Dakin – The History Boys (Image Credit: What Else Mode @ Tumblr)
Stuart Dakin (Dominic Cooper) is a sexually confident pupil in The History Boys who tries to seduce his male teacher at the end of the year.
5. Irwin – The History Boys (Image Credit: Ma Vie En L’air @ WordPress)
Irwin (Stephen Campbell) was the Teacher in The History Boys. A geeky character who encourages his students to follow their passion. There’s a spark between him and pupil Stuart Dakin (played by Dominic Cooper above), but Irwin is too afraid of the consequences of acting on his attraction.
We couldn’t resist adding in a picture of Irwin and Stuart together here: (Image Credit: Sinclair_furie)
4. George Downes – My Best Friends Wedding (Image Credit: Omundodoemarco @ Blogspot)
George Downes (Rupert Everett) is best friend to Julianne Potter (Julia Roberts) in Hollywood flick My Best Friend’s Wedding. He’s any openly gay man who charms everyone.
3. Graham Dashwood – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Image Credit: Total Film)
Graham Dashwood (Tom Wilkinson) is a High Court Judge in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. As a teenager in India he fell in love with a boy. But when the families found out Graham was shipped back to Britain and he never went back. He lived a life as a bachelor until the start of the film where he goes back to India to find his former lover.
2. Armand Goldman – The Birdcage (Image Credit: Screen Used)
Armand Goldman (Robin Williams) is the owner of a popular nightclub The Birdcage in the film of the same name. Hilariously funny, he tries to play it straight for his son’s fiancées parents.
1. Albus Dumbledoor – Harry Potter (Image Credit: Fanpop)
Albus Dumbledoor (Richard Harris / Michael Gambon) was Head Teacher of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter books and films. It was never said that he was gay until author J.K Rowling outed him, but his fabulous robes and flare of body language (particularly when Michael Gambon took over playing him) hinted at his sexuality.
So whom have we missed? Who’d make your top list of gay characters in mainstream movies? Comment below or on our Facebook page.
Published by: The Gay UK on Saturday 2nd August 2014.
