Dream is Reality

I spotted a sign on my way to work. It says "Dream is reality". I had originally thought that it was just a student, perhaps, printing out something to make a statement of some sort to the commuters from Falmouth but today I walked up to the sign to take a look. It was made from typical road sign material (i.e. the expensive metal type), secured by standard roadside fixings to the pole. So now there's more of a question: who was the sign made by, who is it for and why.

I like to think that it's a statement saying that if you dare to dream: your dreams can become reality. But, perhaps it is merely to perplex people like me.

It's been a long time since I've bothered to actually think of anything to write on here, and now I don't really want to think at all. The problem is is that I don't seem to be able to stop.
Earlier this evening I was given the news that one of my parents' neighbours, who I've known since I was 11, died of a sudden heart attack today. There was no warning, he went just like that. He was a good man; a kind man. And now he's gone.

I guess this should be a reminder that life can be taken away from you with no warning and that every breath you take is a gift. But right now I feel sad.

Civil Partnerships are for straight people too?

The other day I found out that someone I once knew was engaged to another woman. I sent my congratulations & asked how long they'd been together...the disappointing reply was that she was playing "Wedding Chicken" with her mate to see who would back out first.

I had thought that, perhaps, I wasn't understanding the situation, so I wasn't going to respond. I left it for a week or so but today (probably because of lack of sleep, which has therefore turned me into what is otherwise known as "a grotbag"), I couldn't resist any longer. Perhaps I was way too harsh, but for goodness sake...I really took the Civil Partnership seriously, more seriously than I would a wedding because of the politics, how it would effect relatives etc etc.

This was my response:

"Who'd have thought that 40 years worth of fighting for equal rights by victimised gay activists would have given straight people the opportunity to play wedding chicken with each other. And to think that ET and I took it as a serious commitment - one that still isn't equal to marriage, I may add."

The sarcasm is, I suppose, oozing from my words but I couldn't help myself. I'm still deciding whether it was the wrong thing to write.

Cornwall Pride 2008

If I'm honest, I've been avoiding writing in this blog for so long that I'd almost forgotten about it (almost...except that I can't deny my guilt when I flick through my blogger dashboard and see a list of three, not two, blogs to contend with). To be fair, there hasn't been any news-worthy news to discuss. Sure, there's the impending bank crisis (I've been waiting for that, held breath, for nearly six years, there was always going to be the build up to an eventual, and inevitable, crash; okay so it took longer than I was expecting but it's happening all the same), and the highs and lows of this star and that (and if you think I'm really interested in keeping up with that crap, you've not quite got there yet), and there's been many murders, accidents, and the usual bad news we're getting used to on a daily basis. But there has been nothing that's really stuck in my mind and made me think "whoah...that's going to change my way of thinking forever".
So, I hear you ask (or, at least, I imagine I hear you) why come out of what seems to be a very early retirement?
Cornwall Pride.
Yep, someone has actually kicked the "do it dreckly" attitude aside and decided it's high time that us Cornish people be proud of our gay community. (Saturday the 23rd August 2008, to be precise, marching through Truro like we're the next big thing to happen to this tourist-worshipping peninsular). But is Cornwall really ready for us?
Over all, I have to say that Cornwall is one of the more laidback places to be, so I'm sure that the people will barely turn a head or two in our direction before quietly carrying on as if the "normal" world is still revolving.(More on this another time)
There was a gay pride at the beach last year; apparently. As a lesbian (I still hate that word) who has, on occassion, actually visited the local gay nightclub (yes, there is only one), you'd have thought I would have heard about it. You'd be wrong. I've read about it since though, and it only brings up an image of bad taste and misrepresentation.
This "Cornwall Pride" is better organised, there's more inclusion with the local businesses, and there's more awareness in the gay community as a whole. And, who knows, it might actually work.
I have to admit that I still have problems envisioning the event: will it be just a handful of the nightclub regulars waltzing down the street to the sound of good ol' Dusty blaring out on old speakers that makes the bass sound more like wet farts than real noise...a slow half caterpillar pushing its way through the suncream-smelling, pasty-eating (and usually miserable) tourists?
There's always been something about Pride events that I've found "odd". It's not like you have Straight Prides (hey...we're straight and we're proud), after all. At the beginning, Prides existed as a protest against the laws put against us (yes, I know, when I say "us" I should be more properly referring to male gays who faced the brunt of prejudice). But now, especially the bigger events, seem to be saying "hey, we're gay, we're great and, look: we've got the pink pound. (probably because there's been so much success in equality, despite the best efforts of the last few biggotted conservatives. And, perhaps, there's defense in numbers?).
Somewhere along the line I can't help but feel like there's been something missed. It's not about "we're gay and you're not, so just shut up and let us be". It's surely about us all being human and that we want to have the freedom to live happily alongside each other in acceptance.
And I'm sorry to my non-gay readers. This isn't some kind of LGBT promotion. I just think that Cornwall should be proud of it's diversity, it's acceptance and tolerance. And that's why I, for one, am happy that we are having a Cornwall Pride. I will be there and not just because I'm gay, but because I'm proud to be Cornish.

Gayfriendly M&S

This surprised me so much, I had to take a photograph! Cards available from our local Marks and Spencer. I always assumed that M&S was an old-school, conservative chainstore, but this goes to show that they are modernising faster than most shops.

The Dangerous Seas

I've been following the news of a ship's captain who was seriously injured during gale force 10 winds off the Isles of Scilly. Last night there was an attempt to rescue the man with a Seaking Helicopter, but it was too dangerous:

Rescue of ship captain abandoned

I can't imagine how bad it would be to be stuck on a reefer (refrigerated cargo vessel) with minimum power, floating like jetsom on 30-40 foot waves with your captain suffering from internal bleeding and little hope of rescue until at least the morning.

I can't help but notice that there have been a lot of ship-casualties lately. Mostly because I work in the industry, but I don't think I've seen so many in one year. The Napoli, The Ice Prince, The M/S Explorer; and the ones whose drama is still being played out: the stricken ferry "Riverdance", a trawler "Spinning Dale", The Portrush Lifeboat... These are just a few of the many and it should serve to remind us that the sea is, after all, just as dangerous as it always was.

Life and stuff

After reading about Ledger being found dead in his home, I’ve been thinking a little more than I usually would about life and stuff. He was only 28, the same age as me; he had so much potential, so much life yet to live. All this thinking and I still can’t quite figure out what life is all about.

When you turn on the news, it is so full of suicides, murders, rapes, stabbings, shootings, war, famine; one disaster after the next. Click onto the BBC website, or Reuters, and all you’ll see is bad news. But it’s not just in the papers, my godmother was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to have an operation yesterday, one of ET’s friends’ mum was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and the prognosis really isn’t good (it’s already spread to the bones).

I know many people who have lost loved ones recently and it’s made me stop and consider my own life.

I don’t know. Perhaps I read too many newspaper articles but sometimes I can’t help but wonder if we’re like leaves caught in the wind of time, helpless in its grasp, taken to destinations unknown to us.

I’ve come to only one conclusion so far: that life is very precious and we should make the most of it now. Not tomorrow, because tomorrow might not come. I don’t care if that’s morbid, it could be true. I’m not going to hesitate with following my dreams anymore. I’m going to chase them and use the wind like a sail boat does to get there.