Sally’s October Blog

The other week after work I rushed down to Bethnal Green for the initial briefing on a new LGBT history project which is being undertaken by LGCM (see http://www.lgcm.org.uk/category/christian-voices-coming-out/ for more details). As part of the evening we had a talk on post-war LGBT history in England from Dr Sebastian Buckle.

Whilst I had an awareness of alot of the key dates such as the decriminalisation of homosexuality and the introduction of civil partnerships I was still struck by how much of our history is not generally known.

For example whilst female homosexuality was not criminalised there were restrictions placed on lesbians by society to make them conform.

Another piece of information which surprised me was that the first gay magazine in the UK, Arena Three, was produced by women during the 1960’s.

As I listened to how a large group of women had left the Gay Liberation Front in February 1972 due to gender oppression I wondered if that was part of the reason we tend to know more about homosexuality history than lesbian history.

Another explanation given was that women and BME people were more likely to identify with groups fighting oppression on the basis of gender or ethnicity whilst men were more likely to be fighting oppression linked to sexuality.

The talk also highlighted the role of Stonewall and all the good work they have done. Listening to that I was aware in the back of mind of the exclusion of trans people by Stonewall in England (Stonewall Scotland have been more inclusive).

Chatting to someone afterwards I was also aware of the exclusion of bi people in the story.

As I reflected on where we are today and the great gains we have achieved as a community I was perhaps more acutely aware of how uneven the playing field has been and continues to be.

I know part of this is because of the way trans and bi people and those gay and lesbians who are part of the BME community are less likely to choose to be involved. However, this history talk emphasised that it has been and may sometimes continue to be because of the comments they sometimes have to deal with from others who are seen as having more power.

Blogger Sally

‘Where Faith, Arts and Justice Meet’

I was recently at an arts festival where I got to listen to Clare Balding in conversation with Richard Coles (the bloke out of the Communards who wasn’t Jimmy Somerville and occasionally crops up on Radio 4 and tv shows like QI).

As they spent an hour chatting and answering a few questions from the audience there were odd points when, quite naturally, the conversation included reference to their sexuality (both being gay). There was also reflection on the forthcoming Winter Olympics in Russia and Balding’s feelings about it, (particularly as she is an open lesbian going as part of the BBC team to cover it).

Later at the same festival I went to hear Rachel Mann, a trans, lesbian, Anglican priest, talk about her experience and her book Dazzling Darkness (which is well worth a read – find it here). Whilst aspects of the talk were more focused on her LGBT identity/ identities the talk went wider and reflected on aspects of her wider life too.

In both talks it was clear that whilst their gender identities and sexual orientations were important to them they were mixed in there with the rest of life.

This was something which my own involvement with a story telling event at the festival reflected too. I was one of 9 “ordinary” people who told their love stories, (love in this case reflecting a range of meanings and including both queer and straight stories). My story was told in the form of a fairytale and within it I referred to my own identity as a lesbian and the way that it was complicated when my partner came out as a trans guy, but it went beyond that to include more mundane aspects of our journey relating to being separated by distance and the experience of having a teenager not overjoyed with mum having a new partner.

The singer songwriter Grace Petrie (website) was also on the festival bill singing her political lyrics and love songs which both, at times, make reference to her being a lesbian but which don’t focus on this.

The festival which has in the past had Peter Tatchell speaking at it on human rights issues amongst other things is quite pink in nature and many LGBT people are amongst the 20,000 or so who head to it each year as an alternative to Reading or Leeds.

It is a space where LGBT people and their allies as well as people who wouldn’t regard themselves in that way come together for a great weekend of music and talks and LGBT issues are mixed in with everything else, no big deal it’s that simple.

The thing which might surprise people about this festival is it is essentially a Christian festival. Greenbelt has the tag line of being where faith, arts and justice meet.

Blogger Sally

Holiday Choices

Holiday Choices

Choosing where to go on holiday should be simple enough. It should be a decision made on things like is there a good beach, interesting places to visit, lively nightlife and how far will my money go. That’s how it works for most straight people. There might be a consideration of safety if they’re going to a known “trouble spot” but generally personal safety is going to be a minor consideration.

It’s not like that for LGBandT people though. For us there are real issues of safety to be considered around the world. For example when recently planning our honeymoon my partner and I had to first consider where, as a trans guy, his passport would and wouldn’t present problems. Next we had to consider what each countries position on both trans and lesbian issues, (because if my partner is misgendered we are taken to be a lesbian couple). Then we had to consider whether there was a significant risk of homophobic and transphobic hate crime, even if the government position was positive. 

Going through this list we found that we actually had a relatively small number of countries where we could travel and feel safe. In the end we travelled to Amsterdam and had a great time.

This dilemma when of about choosing somewhere safe to go highlights both how lucky we are in the UK compared to many other parts of the world but also how hard it is for LGBT people in many other countries. 

Russia is one example most of us are aware of but as a recent Guardian article (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/30/gay-rights-world-best-worst-countries) showed there are many other parts of the world we need to support LGBT people in.

A quick flick through the Transgender Day of Remembrance list of names (http://www.transgenderdor.org/memorializing-2012) highlights how Brazil which is preparing to host both the next World Cup and Summer Olympic games has the highest level of transphobic hate crime in the world.

Organisations like Amnesty International, ILGA and The Peter Tatchell Foundation are all involved in supporting LGBT people and campaigning for LGBT human rights issues around the world. Perhaps next time you’re thinking about where to go you might find out how to support people in one of those countries you can’t go to.

Blogger Sally

‘Not in my lifetime’

Over the past ten years, I have often heard the phrase ‘not in my lifetime’ from people who identify somewhere on the LGBTQ spectrum. With the recent news that England and Wales will indeed be introducing same-sex marriage, I realised that I didn’t think I would see same-sex marriage in my lifetime. Now I know there are problems with the Bill, it isn’t perfect, but we shouldn’t let that distract us from this monumentally historic moment. It is incredibly upsetting now to think that as a teenager, I had such little faith that I did not believe I would ever have the choice to get married to a woman.

For me the emotional impact of this change in the Law is amplified by the recent news reports from Russia. As we legislate to improve and champion equality, their government is taking even bigger backward leaps to endorse an unequal homophobic and transphobic society. I have nothing but admiration for the activists and LGBTQ people in Russia, who are brave enough to stand up for their rights regardless of the consequences.

Despite all the Laws in the UK which have discriminated against or criminalised LGBTQ people, some not so dissimilar to those we are seeing in Russia now, I still think we should take a moment to be proud of what happened in the House of Commons on the 17th July 2013. Yes, we don’t have a perfect record when it comes to LGBTQ rights, and maybe it shouldn’t be just Alan Turing receiving a posthumous pardon, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that we are a society that appears to be heading in the right direction.

Although I believe we should celebrate, I am not naive enough to assume that same-sex marriage is our final step for equality, or that it will prevent everyday homophobia and transphobia. We still have battles ahead of us, both in the UK and Worldwide; we certainly can’t afford to become complacent. As Nelson Mandela said: “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.” However, when you reach a summit, you should always take a moment to enjoy the view.

Ellie Walsh
Community Engagement Officer

Q:alliance

The ghosts of the Iron lady.

Margaret Thatcher has died.

I am on my lunch break at work and the news has just broken.

It seems odd to have any emotional response to the passing of a person you did not know personally. I never understood the weeping crowds in those days after Princess Diana died. Maybe that marks me as naive? Perhaps when a person has had an influence on your life it is impossible for their exit into the hereafter not to cause ripples in your psyche.

I was alive in Thatcherite Britain and as a queer kid at school under Section 28 I was directly affected by the policy of Thatcher’s government of the day in ways that at the time I could have had little comprehension of.

As Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was responsible for putting policy in place that made queer kids like me invisible. It forced queer families to remain marginalised; it kept them underground things that could be ignored as anomalies. It was policy that through a climate of fear caused many in the teaching profession to choose to turn a blind eye to the bullying and abuse suffered by gay young people. It gave legitimacy to every homophobe with a straight axe to grind. It played its part in ensuring that the school yard lives of many children were miserable and fear filled.

As an adult I can never know if things would have been easier for me growing up if my school experience had given me positive messages about being different in the way that I was. Maybe I would not have spent the first twenty one years of my life in hiding from myself. It was never going to have been solely down to my teachers to make my gay ok but maybe if the educators around me had curated conversations where the feelings I was developing had even been named, let alone discussed, I could have reached adulthood without quite as much unnecessary subterfuge.

Thankfully these days we are talking about the bullying of gay young people openly and schools do finally begin to be taking action to protect all the young people in their care. As a community our decades long effort to have the different kinds of love we make and share be deemed as worthy as that of the majority of people is finally bearing strange and wonderful fruits.

A quick peek onto my Facebook sees so many of my friends singing rousing choruses of songs sung by Munchkins to celebrate the death of wicked witches and really it would be disingenuous for me to chide them.

The passing of an infirm and elderly woman is nothing to celebrate. But the death of the figurehead of a particularly selfish and destructive political ideology that has left deep wounds in queer lives still lived is hard for me to mourn.

Stevie Eglinton

Faith Based Resource List

Last night at I was on the panel of the Anti-Hate Crime radio show being recorded by the Anti-Hate Crime Group and Secklow Sounds on the subject of homophobia. One of the questions was how are LGB(and T -which was a separate show) Christians supported. I gave an answer which sounded a bit like it might have been a mastermind specialist subject of mine. But I was very conscious it couldn’t in the time available go into the depth it needed. It also reminded me of something I heard a couple of years ago at a Q week talk at a uni I was at, “The only thing harder than being gay in the Christian community is being Christian in the Gay community.”

This is a subject that I don’t just come from in a professional direction, (in my role as Community Engagement Officer for Q:alliance) but also very much from a personal one. I have gone through my coming out process in various churches and am part of the LGBandT Christian community. I am also a Methodist Local Preacher who regularly preaches in various churches around the local area. For me being a gay Christian has generally been a positive experience but in part that is because I have been part of a number of excellent networks and had great support as well as friendship available. I know way too may people who that has not been the case for and that’s why I have put together what I hope is a comprehensive resource list.

Before I start with the Christian links I’d like to signpost Imaan which is a support group working with Muslim LGBandT people.

I also want to draw attention to a couple of groups which exist in Milton Keynes, these are in addition to there being a number of welcoming and affirming churches of varying denominations locally.:

Just Church – A Christian lesbian couple hold monthly fellowship meetings in
Milton Keynes for LGBT Christians. The group provides a meeting place for
LGBT Christians who are seeking a safe place of friendship in which to
reconcile their faith and sexuality and grow towards Christian maturity as
well as their partners and friends, parents and other family members. For
further information on the time and venue, please contact Jane by e-mail at
info@just-church.org.uk.

The local Quakers are also setting up a meeting of the QLGF locally, if you contact Q:alliance we can pass your details on to the correct contact.

Most of the sites below have links to further resources and many have confidential lists of inclusive churches who are welcoming to LGBandT people. If you are a minister of a church which is affirming to LGBandT people please consider getting in touch with these groups to add your churches details to their lists. Please also get intouch with us at Q:alliance if you would like us to hold your details to pass on to people should they enquire. Email: communications@qalliance.org.uk

Whilst I understanding the difficulties involved I think  it would be useful if at some point a public directory to be compiled and be directly accessible indicating where were inclusive churches but also where non-regular attenders might be able to go for trans naming services, Civil Partnership Blessings, Transgender Day of Remembrance events and so on.

So on with the updated list:

Inclusive Church (Anglican and focused and a range of diversity issues)

Outcome (Methodist)

QLGF (Quaker)

QUEST (Catholic)

Affirming Baptists (Baptist)

The United Reformed Church which allows civil partnership blessings to be held in its churches IF AGREED BY THE INDIVIDUAL CONGREGATION has produced some good resources.

Ecumenical Groups (and those representing specific theological perspectives)

Accepting Evangelicals – provides monthly email and has blog coming from a progressive evangelical perspective. Also provides speakers for debates in clergy training establishments, etc.

Evangelical Fellowship of Lesbian and Gay Christians

The Sibyls – Spirituality group for Transgender Christians

LGCM – more liberal organisation working as a strong pressure group on behalf of LGandB Christians

Gay Christian Network which is an international organisation, with an annual conference in the US

Gay Christian Europe. on line group which also has gatherings and annual retreat in UK

Two:23 network which provides quarterly meetings in London

Greenbelt has talks aimed at supporting LGBandT Christians within its programme. There are a seperate network of people working alongside the main festival to provide safe space opportunities including a communion service open to all but specifically enabling LGBandT Christians and their families and friends to share communion together. I don’t have the time at the moment to go through all their talks and pick out good ones to signpost, I would invite you if you have time to look through these though. In addition to the speakers already signposted through this list I would add John Bell and Tony Campollo as names to use when searching for talks on this subject. Peter Tatchell has also spoken at this festival and his talks are available on here too.

Peterson Toscano has information on his website which helps support those who have been involved in the ex-gay movement and material looking biblically at transgender issues.

James Alison – A gay Catholic theologian who has produced some excellent resources. This site links to his books and talks.

A Letter to Louise – site showing letter of a pastor giving a biblical affirmation of homosexuality

Family Acceptance – For families of LGBandT people

Nadia Boltz-Weber has provided a good example of liturgy for a trans naming rite, which is posted on her blog

Books

Lee, J, (2013), Unconditional , Hodder and Stoughton. This is a new resource by the founder of the Gay Christian Network which is intended to help both LGBandT Christians and straight Christians to think through the issues.

Hill, W (2010), Washed and Waiting, Zondervan – a book by a celibate gay Christian who believes that his faith means he has to remain celibate. I have included this because I know Wesley and think he explains well why some LGandB Christians do choose to remain celebate. To help support them it is important to understand where they are coming from.

Marin, A, (2009), Love is an Orientation, IVP Books – book from a straight person looking to build bridges across the divide

Hagger-Holt, Rand Hagger Holt, S, (2009), Living it Out: A Survival Guide for lesbian, gay and bisexual Christians and their friends, families and churches, Canterbury Press (see http://www.livingitout.com/ )

Hopper, G.S.E.,(2005) Reluctant Journey: A Pilgrimage of Faith from Homophobia to Christian Love, (see http://www.reluctantjourney.co.uk/)

Marks, J, (2009), Exchanging the Truth of God for a Lie (Can be ordered from http://www.courage.org.uk/publications/Exchanging-Order-Form.pdf)

Outcome, (2009), And Can it Be?, (Can be ordered fromhttp://www.garyhopkins.net/outcome/bookform.pdf)

Films

Fish Out of Water – Documentary exploring relationship between homosexuality and the bible

For the Bible Tells Me So – Film looking at the experiences of lesbian and gay people and their families

Through My Eyes – Film sharing the experiences of young US LGBandT people

Prayers for Bobby – Film based upon the story of a young man who commits suicide and his families response

Other info

The Marin Foundation seeks to build bridges across the divide of opinion. Andrew Marin founder of this organisation has spoken at Spring Harvest.

Some local groups and churches exist which support LGBandT Christians. The following are just some I am aware of:

Soho Masses – Catholic local group in London

First Sunday in Oxford have a very good resource list

MCC Newcastle – MCC churches exist at different places within the UK and worldwide, including in North London.

The Trapeze Artist Review

The LGBTQ Book Group Milton Keynes has been running for several months now, and the time has come, now that we’ve got the ball rolling, to give it some more publicity. At the most recent meeting, we discussed a book called the Trapeze Artist by Will Davis – which deals with a young man growing up gay in an a conventional suburban lifestyle; repressed by his mother’s orderly lifestyle yet drawn to a newcomer at his school called Edward, who we find out is also gay and encourages him to embrace his sexuality. In order to escape this existence, he eventually joins a travelling circus after an encounter with a trapeze artist called Vlad, and throughout the book there is a running motif of a trapeze to symbolize the act of swinging higher and higher; reaching out for freedom and striving towards potential. The narrative style is divided into past, present and future, which there was a mixture of opinions on.

 

One of the criticisms that was made was that the fragmented nature of each of the three narratives made the book difficult to follow. It was described as ‘gimmicky’ and for me personally, it didn’t quite work, since they didn’t link in with each other until the end of the book, when the story-line from the past ends where the story-line from the present begins – by which point the book will already have lost many readers who find it difficult to engage with this style of writing.

 

Characters were criticized for being too shallow, however there seemed to be a running theme of everyone wearing a mask to conceal their true emotions. Because as a reader we are given more access to the main protagonist, we instantly see underneath his mask, which would make him seem more vulnerable than many of the other characters, however their underlying feelings and motivations emerge as the book progresses.

 

For me, among others in the group, the most relatable narrative was the one that dealt with the protagonist’s upbringing and coming out process, since a wide variety of themes were explored, such as duality – with the difference between the protagonist’s upbringing, which is more conventional; as opposed to his boyfriend Edward’s upbringing, which is more unstable. Both characters long for the other’s lifestyle, which reflects the whole ‘grass is greener on the other side’ paradox. Also there is trauma, and the effect of placing responsibility, in terms of characters who blame themselves for traumatic events fall into a pattern of leading a reclusive lifestyle where they cannot be responsible for further turmoil. Parallels were then drawn between the death that occurs in the childhood narrative and the death that occurs later on at the end of the novel – using the metaphor of falling as a representation of failure to live up to one’s full potential, and escape the circumstances that repress us individuals – such as upbringing, lifestyle, order ect.

 

All in all, we rated the book an average of 6.3 for the story, 5.4 for writing style and 6.5 for likeability. For the next meeting we will be reading Oscar Wilde’s classic ‘The Picture of Dorian Grey’, so feel free to come along and participate in the discussion, running on the third Sunday of every month in Waterstones, Midsummer Place, either round the table under the staircase, or, if we are redirected as we were today, in the Costa above. The meetings start at 2:30 and go on until about 4ish. E-mail bjlyons@talktalk.net if you are interested in coming along, or join the facebook group by clicking on this link http://www.facebook.com/groups/lgbtbookgroupmk/233728456749877/?comment_id=233730473416342&notif_t=group_activity.

 

Hope to see you there. Blogger Brendan xx

Living the Dream

I always wondered what individuals who so vehemently fight against LGBTQ rights think ‘we’ as this
deviant and clearly godless community must get up too in our private households. So, I did what
every person with a free Saturday night and wondrous ponder would do. I googled intensively and
ate a lot of malteasers. I can now confidently confirm that the general consensus is as follows:

‘LGBTQ individuals live in drug infested, disease riddled, and hedonistic squats and spend their days
making deals with the devil and simultaneously eating children’s souls. In their spare time they like
to plot underhanded ways to achieve world domination in order to ensure mankind grinds to a
resounding halt both spiritually and physically. This is due to the fact that the large majority insist on
doing things like getting ‘married’ and ‘having babies.’

I think I have pretty much covered all the major points.

Of course this is all clearly true and I for one can tick off at least three of those things this morning.
In no way, shape or form have we had to deal with the following ‘normal’ family things in the last 2
weeks:

• Several emergency trips to the vet to deal with a stubborn English bulldog that refuses to breathe when the temperature is anything above freezing cold
• A boiler breakdown. Water, everywhere.
• A car breakdown. Oil, everywhere.
• Unpaid bills (Thanks Natwest)
• A swamp for a garden, possibly with a pet crocodile
• Making high level business deals with Ed about the amount of sport that can be on the TV during any one week period
• A dog that refuses to poop in the garden due to the swamp/crocodile combination. She prefers the comfort of the living room floor, much to our utter delight (even I agree that this is squalor)
• Money worries

None of the above has happened; after all we have been far too busy making pacts with Satan and
trying to figure out how to take over the world (who’s going to be pinky and who’s going to be the
brain? Pinky and the brainbrainbrainbrain…OKOK no-one gets it)

On a plus point I am pleased to report that I have stopped eating children’s souls. Have you seen
how many calories they are each?

Blogger Melody

TV’s Lesbian Ladies…

Over the past decade there have been some great lesbian couples shown on mainstream UK and US television. This is a list of some of my favourites, sorry for any that I have missed!

Spoilers Alert!
If you haven’t seen the shows and don’t want to know happens then probably best not to read.

Emily and Niomi
I had stubbornly refused to watch Skins because I thought I was too old to watch teenagers getting drunk, taking drugs and having sex. I was grossly wrong. The series is well written; fluctuating seamlessly from very funny to angst-ridden, this program is definitely worth a watch. Emily Fitch (Kathryn Prescott) and Niomi Campbell’s (Lily Loveless) journey from acquaintances that just have some underlining sexual chemistry, to a relationship is not entirely smooth; the writers successfully show the problems that lesbian relationships come up against, including Niomi’s initial denial and Emily having to move out of her family home.

Kim and Saint
Sugar Rush was another fantastic Channel 4 series which deals with teenagers coming to terms with their sexuality and lesbian relationships. Unfortunately the show was ended after two series, but in that time there were some great storylines and lesbian action. The gorgeous Kim Daniels (Olivia Hallinan), moved to Brighton with her interesting (and charmingly dysfunctional) family and falls in love with her best friend Sugar (Lenora Crichlow). In the end, after much confusion and heartbreak with Sugar, Kim has a relationship with Saint (Sarah-Jane Potts). Their relationship is pretty turbulent (mainly due to the drama caused by Sugar being released from prison) but by the end of the show the couple move in together (with Sugar in tow) and it appears to be setting up for a third series… which unfortunately never came along.

Tara and Willow
The makers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s decision to make Willow (Alyson Hanngian) a lesbian was possibly one of the best choices the show ever made. There were inferences from very early in the program that Willow was going to be gay, which made her eventual relationship with Tara (Amber Benson) not seem strange or a “phase” that would only last for one season. The couple had a huge lesbian following and was probably the first lesbian couple I had ever seen in a television series.

Willow and Kennedy
Although Tara’s death made a lot of fans extremely angry (including myself) the show did try to redeem itself by giving Willow a new love interest in the form of feisty potential slayer Kennedy (Iyari Limon). Personally, I didn’t have a problem with her, I loved her passion and watered-down Faith-like attitude… not to mention that she was extremely attractive. Although their relationship only lasted for one season (the episode ‘The Killer in Me’ is still one of my favorite episodes ever) at the end of Buffy both women are still alive, together and riding off into the sunset in a yellow school bus. Very romantic.

Callie and Erica
The relationship between Calliope Torres (Sara Ramirez) and Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) blossomed organically out of a friendship, prior to which both women had only been interested in men. The storyline had the potential to be offensive and could have been similar to the ‘lesbian coming out and going back in’ story arcs as seen in Kissing Jessica Stein and Sex and the City but the writers managed to pull it out of the bag. Lesbian audiences warmed to the new couple and Dr Hahn’s speedy departure from the show, left fans anger in a way that was reminiscent of Tara’s death in Buffy.

Callie and Arizona
After Hahn’s speedy exit from the show, it seemed as though Grey’s Anatomy had opted away from the lesbian drama and I was convinced that Callie would return to men. However, I was ecstatic when the stunning pediatric Surgeon Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw), makes her feelings for Callie known in the toilet of a bar. I wasn’t a huge fan of the relationship between Hahn and Callie, so I had no problems accepting Arizona as Callie’s new girlfriend. Although the new couple had a rough ride throughout series 6, their reunion in the finale (and what a finale it was!) was brilliant. Again in series 7 they had a tough time with Arizona leaving and Callie getting pregnant by Mark in her absence; they now seem to have achieved marital bliss and an inspiring approach to parenting.

Bette and Tina
The L Word was probably the most important lesbian television show to hit TV screens. It followed the lives of beautiful, funny, intellectual and over-sexed women in Los Angeles and was a worldwide success. Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals) and Tina Kennard (Laurel Holloman) were the title couple of the show, having been together from the beginning. The audience followed the ups and downs of their relationship, from affairs, a miscarriage, a law suit and a child, but by the end of series 6 they get the happy ending we all predicted would happen.

Alice and Dana
Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Hailey) and Dana Fairbanks (Erin Daniels) are best friends at the beginning of The L Word, and at the end of the first series, we get to see (in my opinion) one of the sweetest TV moments when Alice knocks on Dana’s front door in the early hours of the morning. I think this couple is such a favorite because they are awkward, funny, romantic and sexy.

Nikki and Helen
Bad Girls couple Nikki Wade (Mandana Jones) and Helen Stewart (Simone Lahbib) were such a great couple because there were so many obstacles in the way of their relationship. Helen was straight, in a relationship with a man and the prison Wing Governor, whereas Nikki was a lesbian and a prisoner. The relationship has many ups and downs, but eventually the couple were reunited with Nikki’s release from prison. Who could forget that romantic kiss in the street!

Santana and Brittany
Any lesbian Glee fans were probably jumping up and down in their seats when the hit TV show decided to explore the blatant sexual tension between the super hot cheerleaders Brittany S Pierce (Heather Morris) and Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera). The road to a harmonious relationship was by no means smooth, with roadblocks such as Santana being outed in a public video and acquiring a ‘beard’ boyfriend to hide her sexual preferences, but eventually in series 3 the couple hooked up officially.

Have your own favourite couple? Comment below!

Blogger Ellie

Trustee Blogger: Negative Testing

So after applying for life insurance eight months ago, the company, of whom shall remain nameless at this stage, have only just this month told me that my application is successful and my policy is in place.

You see, I believe that when buying a property with someone else the insurance cover you should get is a joint policy. In which case you name the two people who are on the policy and say what relationship you are to each other. Peter – partner Daniel. Now the process of the application had already taken quite a while, they ask a lot of questions you see. They had picked up on the fact I was 6ft 3″ and had not been weighed by a doctor for sometime to see if I was underweight for my height. I went to my local GP and had them send of my weight and BMI, all standard practice I believe.

We had now answered all other health questions honestly and were under the impression all was fine. It was now five months into the process and someone processing the application must have looked at our application again and read the names Peter and Daniel, not Pete and Danielle, but Daniel, and sees the form states we are gay! We must immediately send a man round to their house to do a HIV test were their thoughts. Tell me if you think I am being just a little over the top by thinking by this… erm rude! Not so standard practice from my understanding.

Well this is what they did anyway, one Sunday afternoon a man came round and set up his equipment on the kitchen table. Not the kind of equipment you want a guy to come round to your house on a Sunday afternoon and whack out either. Don’t get me wrong he was a nice guy and just doing his job, my annoyance was with how discriminating it looks. The guy gave us an explanation that people who are being insured for a large sum of money often have to have to have a HIV test. We were being insured following the purchase of a two bed terraced in Milton Keynes, hardly a mansion in Notting Hill.

We are awaiting to hear from the insurance company in question as to the reasoning behind the testing. On one hand yes they did me a favour, a test that I didn’t need to leave the house for!  On the other, we want to understand the reasons behind asking us to take a HIV test and if the words gay or homosexual come up, then perhaps the company in question need to learn customer relations and how not to discriminate people with such assuming requests.

Trustee Blogger: Peter John Simpson

You can read more from Peter John Simpson on his Blog www.cardboardcakes.com