The Boy and The Coconut Tree

Surrounded by Christmas decorations, forced to listen to Christmas songs and it is November 19th. Christmas now lasts from Bonfire Night or Halloween until Valentines Day.  It is exhausting. I am exhausted by it but it won't put me off my actual Christmas break. I'm definitely half grinch!? November 2016 has been a funny month, a mix of the good, the bad and the bizarre. My birthday was a lacklustre affair, and I should have known not to drink when I was in a weird mood, the alcohol turns me into an emotional wreck, all that was missing were the panda eyes from ruined mascara.  No, it wasn't THAT bad but I've had better but my friends were great as always. I was surrounded by friends and some family and they indulged me, you need to be indulged on your birthday.  The bizarre event was/is Trump, he has been elected in the USA despite losing the popular vote by over 1 million but it isn't the system that is flawed, it was the campaigns and the hate filled rhetori...

The story of a man doing a deal with the devil to improve his life, or gain knowledge, or seek revenge on his enemies is an old one, told in different versions over many cultures.  I had read about Dr Faustus , the Christopher Marlow play, at school or maybe not (my school wasn't big on culture) and had a memory of it and thought the idea was an interesting one.  Last week I was given the opportunity to see it on the stage in London with a colleague and performed by the RSC so it had to be good, right? The Barbican itself is a strange mix of people, the audience can range from little old ladies sipping tea in the cafes to hipsters admiring the ugly buildings and people pretending to understand the more obtuse art installations (I never try to understand them). The audience for the play was a mix and of course the person sitting in front of me was the tallest human in the place, he had to be 8ft tall but most of it seemed to be leg so I could easily see over him. Sat two rows...

Only two weeks ago I was   writing about my romantic disasters , my romantic future and how my time on the shelf had become the norm for me, rather than an occasional experience. I revisited my past recently, very recently. The past weekend in Manchester. Over the past 10 months I had been in contact with an old flame, someone I met a long long time ago, 20 years or so and though the contact was benign and felt nice, it culminated in a reunion of sorts this past weekend. Awkward at first, it is amazing the power of alcohol has on awkwardness and a sense of shyness.  Two people, who were together for little under 2 years, broke up 21 years ago and ended up in bed again. I don't recall who initiated it, it doesn't matter, it felt nice and human nature leads us to doing things that feel nice, we forget the down side to doing things that open us up to hurt. The lesson is, scabs heal, and they may leave scars, small ones, but scars all the same. I have admitted on this blog m...

The title of this post comes from a song, one of my favourites, sung by The Three Degrees and I will post it here as it is light, up beat and fun: The title of the blog arises from my turning back on the dating game. I have been single for most of the last 11 years, yes 11 years. I have had sprinkles of romance in those 11 years, a few months here and there, especially in Spain and a bit here in London but I have simply lost the will to throw myself to the wolves.  As a gay man your age is important, then take your physique.  You are always at your most desirable from 18-30, especially 18-25 (your popularity peaks as does your willingness to be promiscuous), then you expect your 30s to be calmer, settled, maybe finding Mister Right (he doesn't exist, not for me you or any one, we put people on pedestals and they fall).  My decline in dating took place from my late 30s. In my 20s and 30s I could reasonably expect to meet someone new and interesting every month if ...

One of my aunts will be 70 next week, she is lovely and very funny so I wanted to find a card that was cute, funny and not too rude.  I certainly didn't want to send her a card with 70 written on it, she is a very young at heart lady, so I went to some card shops in central London this weekend to look. These are cards that I have either thought of sending or sent over the past year or two.  Card I sent to my mam this year for her birthday, she loved it! I decided on something less naughty for my aunty but think, secretly she would have appreciated any of these? And then there are these two which will be sent to friends at some point this year!  Could apply to many people I know ... Could also apply to a lot of people I know... And this is the card I decided on for my aunt: August 7, 2016

I can't believe it has been a month since the referendum on the EU, it has gone so fast and so many things have happened and are ongoing.  We have a new Prime Minister, that happened faster than most of us expected but thankfully it isn't Boris Johnson or Andrea Leadsom. I dislike Theresa May as I am not a Tory and she is a stereotypical Tory and I doubt our civil liberties, human rights or privacy are safe in her hands but time will tell.   The exit from the EU is being delayed, I am happy about that and what we may end up with is a sort of compromise membership but British tantrums over the rules will only be tolerated for so long. Britain has a history of tantrum throwing when it comes to the EU and our membership has often been questioned by some of the other members.  I often feel we have been a well-poisoner , in it but never really wanting it to work but happy to profit from it, our businesses certainly have.  Many British people have benefited from the EU...