Hi,
Okay, let’s hammer the plastic keys and brain dump, maybe that’ll bring some stillness…. or, more likely, silliness. Ah, and there we go; off to the usual start of nonsense! Writing as it goes from brain to fingers to keyboard 🙃
Visiting
I’d had enough this week, so I booked Friday off to shorten the week. I had some chores I wanted to catch up on, and with Wee Man having moved a little closer, it was a chance to pop over for a visit. He and partner – I’ll have to think up a nickname at some point! 🤔Mrs Wee Man seems a little too early! – have moved into their new rental, and have been busying setting up flatpack furniture, and sorting out bills. The usual: energy, council tax, broadband, insurance, etc.
Thinking back to when the Ever Lovely Mrs J and I last moved, it’s pretty much all done on-line now. No need for a telephone as they have mobiles, and I didn’t see a television in the apartment either. They love to game & stream, and what I came in YouTube was paused. Mind you, I can’t remember the last time I turned on the TV to watch something as it was being broadcast. Modern worlds eh?
Thursday
It was a Cham night, uhh, last night; and it was nudging towards the too warm levels for those of us with thin Celtic blood 🥵. In years gone, I would’ve been trying to hide the reWookieedness, but I no longer – thank all that is fabulous 💖 – have that worry, nay burden.
Indeed, it was I think the first time I’d gone barelegged at Chams. I guess with tights being make-up for your legs, they are my go to option. But with a rising temperature, I decided to try my hand – or more accurately leg, with some tanning drops mixing in with my regular body moisturiser. What do you mean my body is irregular? Brick is still a shape! 😜 Sadly, not quite flat in the tum area, but I guess that’s middle age
Was the coverage perfect? No, but I would say that’s a lack of skill on behalf of the applicant. However, my legs – despite a regular walk with the hounds each day in shorts – now look, well, less white. I’ll take that as a win. I did the top of my arms too – to get rid of the ‘office tan’, but I couldn’t do my forearms. I’d had a DIY incident – thankfully non-fatal! – involving some sandpaper and this has scratched my forearms like I’d been trying to give a cat a bath. The marks are fading, and that’ll teach me to take more care when furlting about between cupboards and brickwork.
Just before I set off from home, my Vinted parcels arrived and that’s two summer vests and some plain black leather heels (prepping for Autumn). Of the vest tops, one I shall definitely keep – a flowing, black number – but I think the white one will go to charity. Talking of which, I’ve a bag with shoes, skirts, and tops to be dropped off at some point. The local hospice raised just under 40 quid with the items from last time, so it all helps.
In Chams news, one of our members had a birthday and had kindly brought in cake to share. They – and I shall not name them without their permission – had brought along a card their sister had made, having recently come out to her. The card was hand drawn and beautifully done. All that and a very accepting and moving message within. Now that’s a birthday gift! 💖
[ Thanks to Val for working her photographic wizardry 🙏]
People
On the way back from the school run this morning, I happened to catch Desert Island Discs. This week, Laura was interviewing Professor Lucy Easthope, who is an expert in emergency planning. No, I don’t mean helping clown management resolve their lack of inducing inebriation in a brewing establishment, but responding to disasters: earthquakes, terror incident, crashes, etc.
I was struck by Lucy’s words around two things. Firstly, this when she spoke very eloquently around the awful situation when there’s not much left of the person, but often, just their worldly goods:
“…what I’ve called the furniture of self – from the wonderful Kai Erikson, the disaster sociologist – and these are the things that make us, us.”
The second element was of her taking about trust. That her role – and my apologies if I am not getting this quite right – her role around the families of those who did not survive. Lucy spoke about the need to establish trust and to look after people. I felt her word – and wisdom – chime with my own thoughts and beliefs. Certainly not at a level of what she’s managed to deal with, but I recognised a lot of her words about fear, trust, not knowing, etc. I’ve seen these emotions on the faces to people new to Chameleons; felt the tone in their emails; and the quiver in their voice as they pull a smile from somewhere, as they sit down.
As with Lucy, I think – if I may say this – that as trans folk, particularly in these awful times, need to look after those who come to us; or those who reach out and want support, help, or just a friendly ear. So much right new seems to be about bluster, bullying, and othering.
To pause for a moment and listen to what’s being said about trans people around the EHRC ruling. I think, would we say the same nonsense about people of colour, people of Jewish or Muslim faiths; oh wait! People did back in the day and it was as wrong then as it is now.
Kindness, IMO, is not weak. I feel it take strength to listen to those who’ve struggled, who are still fighting just to be them, and they are somehow – mostly, perhaps – getting by. To care, to dare to offer a shoulder to lean on; that’s leadership. Not hissy fits and petty squabbles over punch-down rhetoric.
L x
Here’s to non work Fridays, especially when they’re tagged as Friday the 13th.
That looks a cool outfit in both senses of that word. It is getting to that point where it’s too warm for tights but without them my legs have the colour and appearance of uncooked dough. I shall have to investigate the tanning drops option.
I heard part of that Desert Island Discs program with Pr. Lucy Easthope. Some of it was tough listening, but a lot of wisdom.
Thanks Susie. Yes, the programme was not always easy to listen to. I feel I would rather have the choice of a trigger warning and something of interest (or substance?), than nothing but mindless fluff. This was not in the latter category but a long way, and I felt it was moving, informative, and inspiring too.
The skirt was suitably light, so not too warm, thankfully. I guess we’ll see how long before it’s too hot for hair, padding, and make-up. Fingers crossed it’ll only be brief.
As to the drops, they’re in -ahem- all good chemists, and you can add between two to six drops with your moisturiser. I found two drops and two ‘pumps’ from my Nivea body cream didn’t give much colour. Upping the drops to six helped, but not in a Tango or Orange Clown way, thankfully!
Friday off is always a good plan. Frankly, I’m campaigning for a statutory weekend of 3.5 days starting Thursday night and leaving out Monday morning, ’cause we all hate Monday mornings.
Lovely, floaty, cool summer number there, Missus. You also get extra plus points for the cute smiley mushroom. I have a thing for smiley mushrooms! (Er, maybe I shouldn’t eat so many! :-p )
I think the trans community in the UK has a lot of allies. It’s a question of their getting their voices heard above the elite’s.
Have a nice weekend.
Sue x
Kate Nash has definitely come out as a staunch ally (interview in today’s Metro)
Kate’s doing a grand job, IMO. Completely with her on how trans folk are not the preparators, but – like other minorities – frequently the victims.
Ooo, long weekends by default! Sounds ace, Sue. We can let the AI automations send emails between each other 😉 Actually, would folk notice in certain organisations? 😜 On that note, interesting to see the AI ‘hype cycle’ following the usual pattern out of ‘peak hype’ and into ‘trough of disillusionment’. I read that certain tech firms are starting to re-employ people, as the AI offering just isn’t mature enough yet.
There seems to be a groundswell of allyship pushing back against the bigots and useful idiots. You’re right in that certain negative voices are being platformed – hate & fear sells, quelle surprisé! 🙄 However, I’m trying to stay hopeful that progress will win eventually.
Glad you liked the wee mushroom. Maybe I should try to get them included in any further goblin related pieces 🙂
Oh, and thanks for the kind words re the outfit.
I love how your posts always weave the small stuff with the big stuff, Lynn. Like, yes, bare legs and summer vests—and also “the furniture of self” and what it means to really show up for people. That kindness bit? You nailed it. It’s not soft. It’s power with empathy. And it’s exactly what we need more of right now. 💜
I think it’s like a long-winded joke or – as they say over here, a shaggy dog story – where it’s -ahem- a bit of a wandering tale, and eventually, we reach the punchline. But, this is a blog, not journalism or writing, so maybe taking one’s time isn’t necessary a bad thing.
As to the mix of the small and the big; yes, it certainly seems like that at the mo. The nonsense of the ‘big’ stuff, which feels both out of reach and yet, oddly, affects you & yours directly. Then there’s the ‘small’ of just getting on, the everyday, and the good stuff that happens. I guess you have to take the good where you can! 🩷🙏
Oh, and thanks for the kind comment about empathy. If you have an interest in science fiction, may I recommend this:
https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Point_of_View_gun
Comedy aside, rather than thinking ‘anyone not with us, is against us’; I wonder what one might learn from those with a different point of view? I would imagine a dose of doctrine or absorbed ideology. Those, and perhaps, the usual human motivator: fear. Fear of the unknown and/or fear for personal safety.
But then again 😉, this:
“It can be very dangerous to see things from somebody else’s point of view without the proper training.” ~ Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, #5)
Yay for bare legs and being at peace with one’s pins. And a similar yay for being able to help one’s children and partners do Big Things! Moving house is a particularly Big Deal – even if most of it is online these days – but hopefully things will settle quickly afterwards!
The outfit, as always, looks lovely.
Kindness, in times like these, is a powerful act of resistance. ✊
Peace is good; I’ll take that.🙂 Oh, and thank you for the compliment about the outfit. Rather pleased with it, as A) cooling, B) summery, and C) skirt & heels are second hand – so recycling win.
The flat move wasn’t that hands on for us, thankfully 🤭 I think we did ourselves in helping last time, so when (future) Mrs Wee Man’s folks said they’d get a big van – as they were bringing along donated furniture – well, that’s not a tribute equine that requires any investigative dentistry 😉 I think our contributions were monetary (quite a bit from Mrs J’s family stash) and parental support from El Gobbo, here. Mostly organising/advising on insurance, utilities, ordering things, and – of course – IT related matters. But that are moved in and have built a load of flatpack to make the place a home. V proud of them.