Silver Fox

Vignette:

This morning

Mr comes in through the door (he's been out 'running')
I am making my lunch
Me: I have 3 grey hairs, I am old
Mr: I like it

Ok, that's a really small vignette.
But wasn't he quick on the appropriate response?
I was expecting a bit of ribbing at least.

3 grey hairs. I'm 24.

Disability and the right to sex

There's an article on the BBC website today about a young wheelchair bound male who's first sexual experience was bought in a Spanish brothel.

The article is framed around the question of acceptability for disabled people to visit brothels. So it's not all good - this is pretty patronising. It implies disabled people need special treatment because they are so unattractive they cannot express their sexuality without help or intervention.

I was surprised to read that somewhere this is believed to be true - there is a scheme in the Netherlands where a voluntary group provides sexual services for disabled people. Apparently most clients pay for 'the sex' themselves but some local authorities subsidise the service. That's kind of like sex on the NHS, right?

My own thoughts on prostitution; I am struggling to come to any real conclusion. On the one hand I would be instantly put off someone if I knew they had visited a prostitute. However that is just a personal reaction. It doesn't necessarily mean I think prostitution should be illegal.

It is often suggested that the majority of sex workers get into the profession as a last resort, or a response to factors they cannot control. I would interpret this to mean they had little power over their position, eg. they need to be there to make a living. So I tend to support criminalisation those who buy sex - as they are in the position of power in the transaction. I think this concept can, and is, applied to other situations of imbalanced power in supply and demand exchanges as well (eg drug dealers vs buyers).

I do believe that our patriarchal and capitalist system perpetuates a society in which prostitution can happen, and if this was to be broken down, the attitudes that allow and create a 'need' for it would not exist.

Anyway, there are some great quotes in the piece, for example counselling psychologist Simon Parritt, "I think everybody has the right to a sexual identity," but "I don't think everybody has the right to sex with another person. That involves somebody elses rights."

Anna Bowden, of Eaves, a group that helps vulnerable women,"We reject the view that men have a right to sex." I guess by 'men' she means 'people'. After all, women buy sex too - or maybe they have a right!

Cari Mitchell, of the English Collective of Prostitutes, "Prostitution is consenting sex between adults." This could be the last word on the matter if it was the case each and every time. But in reality, it's not.

There are some really interesting comments on the feature too, from disabled, celibate by circumstances, as well as able bodied sexually active people.

Small victories

Today I logged onto the work intranet to find a notice promoting the Alpha course - dodgy propaganda filled Christan conversion course - depending on who's advice you heed.
Inappropriate for work - right?


So I emailed them to tell them so.
My small victory - they're removing the notice.

People power!

Also, I am thinking of going 'undercover' on this course for a Subtext article. Call the emergency services if I'm not back by 9 ;o)

Pig-la-ta pics

Bert and Ernie (or Bertram and Ernest to use their Sunday names) have grown so big. I've had them nearly a year now and they are weird mixture of indoor pet that's conditioned to know the kitchen is where the food comes from and wild animal roaming and foraging around their habitat.



Here are some recent pics. The first one is taken from the kitchen. They're standing outside their house to get a better view of the food they're hoping is coming their way (you can just see the green fabric in the bottom right, that's in front of their hutch.)

The hutch.

Below is a pic taken just after we got them, see what I mean about them getting so big!

Seam stress

Today I am wearing this dress for work.

Please excuse the headless/footless photo.

My hand looks all boney and evil, doesn't it?

I made it from my own design!!

I was really simple, just 4 pieces of fabric.

It is already lunchtime and it hasn't fallen apart yet. I brought a back up dress in my bag just in case.

I have another dress design in my head, and some £1 fabric I bought from college with which to make it. (This new crafty me is due to a college course I enrolled on called 'fashion wear' that's all about how to make your own clothes).

I quite like the idea of making clothes out the the scraps of older stuff that you don't wear anymore. This is probably the reserve of the more accomplished seamstress (I have been to the sum total of 4 classes so far), but maybe I'll try it soon. I have loads of bits of old t shirt fabric to play with.

On a related note, has anyone heard of the brown dress project? The artist made and wore the same brown dress everyday for a year in a response to our culture of consumption. And then after the year was over she embarked on another year long project, only wearing clothes she had made herself from fabric she already owned (including other items of clothing). She had to give up on home made shoes though since hers fell apart.

Friday afternoons

Friday afternoons should be moved from the end of the working week to the first bit of the weekend. Imagine, finishing work at 1pm on a Friday (let's make it 1 so as not to dent productivity too badly).

This afternoon I would have had a sleep.

Whatta write about?

So, the contributions deadline for issue 5 is drawing close and I haven't begun to think about writing an article. Sure, I have begun editing and compiling articles from super efficient and excellent contributors, but not really given my own writing any thought.

Any ideas people?

Don't tell my arms, my achey breaky arms...

I am an achey breaky person today. All over.

'Tis due to a caving excursion over the weekend involving a day of SRT training (single rope technique - that's climbing and descending ropes with gadgets to the non caver) and another day of using practised skills in cave called 'Lost John's'.

There were 5 pitches to abseil down, one of which required you to swing in through a 'window' onto a ledge. And 3 pitches to ascend on the way out (because it was a through trip rather than going back the way you went in). The first pitch of ascent was over 70 ft and was thoroughly knackering.

I feel, and look, like I've been in a fight. Bruiser.

I should have taken my camera.

Pay day feels so good

Ah, the fresh air of pay day, the long awaited allieviation of stress and penny pinching.

This has been a particularly bad month for money. So i am very happy to have the extra overtime money in my paycheque. It means...

Freedom to buy up select best items from my Etsy favourites list :o)
Abillity to afford a winter wetsuit (surfing tomorrow in east cosat waters - not good plan in 2mm suit, especically as I am currently sat indoors at work with 3 layers plus coat and scarf)
or,
The most amazing boots in town from Green Shoes that I have been saving for for about 3 months (they are not cheap at all).

Kind folks motivate lazy blogger

Thank you kind folks who emailed and commented saying the odd irregular post on one of the worlds forgotten blogs would be missed. You are super nice and I feel heartened to carry on polluting your eyes with more posts.

I love the old TP, and like an addict I just can't quit it.

So, I intend to tell you about my weekend's adventure at 'Truck'.

Small village fete style indie festivals are not usually my thing (in fact, indie is generally not my thing hence the pen name) but I was at a loose end this weekend. The date I had made with some fabric and my sewing machine fell through since my new overlocking foot hadn't arrived (I am currently engaged in a evening class on how to sew and am feeling very motivated to spend time cursing in the front bedroom with a bundle of thread and some impatience).

So, off to truck at 7:30 Saturday morn in a Micra jam packed to busting point. I called shotgun.

The sun shone, I got sunburnt, my nose is all read and my lips are too dry.
I drank beer, which was cheap, since you could carry it in. Good folks at Truck.

Saw some piss poor bands on the Saturday. Merged into one through beer and lack of sleep.

Saw some ok bands on the Sunday, namely The Mules (a bit like Gogol Bordello but with more funk than gypsy) Chris TT (political acoustic folky type stuff about hedgehogs that tugged at the heartstrings and nearly made me cry - I am a softy any day but after no sleep there is no hope for me) and Little Sisters, who were a local band and sang one song about Jesus which kind of put me off. I refuse to dance to praiseful worship godloving songs. But the rest of their set was good. They had a harp and two fiddles though which was super ace.

Highpoint?
Some chap asked me to take a photo of him with a beardy man I assumed to be his friend. Thinking it might be a good idea to have our pic taken we asked said bloke to return the favour. Positioned ourselves in front of a nice leafy background in the vicinity of beardy bloke (careful not to stand too close in case he would be in the picture).

Photo taking man said, "well, stand a bit closer!" in an inpatient tone, so, confused, we quickly did as we were told. Result, us standing next to some beardy bloke we can only assume has fame associated with him since strangers expect us to want him in our photos. Cue sheepish grins on our part as we scarpered from the scene.

You're thinking 'that's the highpoint?!?'. Well, it was funny at the time.

I will find the picture and post it at some point to see if anyone can identify him.