Fuzzy

I mentioned my dog in a previous post and it’s a subject that’s been on my mind for a while. I’ve finally persuaded TOH that we (or I…) need, actually REALLY NEED, a dog. It’s taken a while for me to convince him that it’s a great idea but since achieving this small victory many people have said things that have made even me waiver in my certainty that it’s what I really want.

Questions posed…

“You have a lot of holidays. What’s going to happen then?”
This is true. We also have a whole battalion of people waiting in the wings who are desperate to be dog-sitters. Phew! Next…

“You both work. Is it fair on the dog to be alone all day?”
TOH is currently working from home so the dog would usually have someone around to begin with. We’d also be having doggy-daycare pop in twice a day to take him for walks and to ensure he’s happy.

“Is this dog a child substitute?”
!!! This is the question that throws me every time someone asks it. Because I’m a gay man in a relationship with another gay man, people seem to assume that we want our lives to resemble a straight married couples’ lifestyle as closely as possible.

I’ve had to stop and think about the question though. Would the dog be a pseudo-child?

No. It would be a furry pet that I can take for walks and do fun stuff with but it would be just that - a pet. It wouldn’t be treated like a person, it wouldn’t be allowed to sleep on my bed, it wouldn’t be allowed to dictate what goes on in my house. I can sense the shaking of heads and rolling of eyes as people tut and say “just you wait”. My previous dog was brilliant. He was friendly, amiable and always up for tummy rubs but he didn’t think he was a person because he was never treated like one. I reckon he thought we were all dogs (I’m always keen on a biscuit and a backscratch myself!)

All I know is that I really enjoyed having a dog and I miss it. It’ll mean a change in our lives, true, and it will be a responsibility but it will NOT be a child and therefore not treated like one. It will have to wait until next year anyway as we’ve got too much on until then. Who knows? Circumstances may not allow it by then and I do feel a bit nause at the idea of scooping up poo…

Now, I have to decide what kind… just needs to be fuzzy and up for scratch behind his ears at any time of day.

Bon bons…. Can you shake yours?

In my last post I mentioned how certain music can lift my mood, Muzbot recently posted about his music collection and whilst faffing around with my iPod on the way to work this morning, trying to decide exactly what kind of mood I was in before I could choose appropriate music, I realised that it’s time I told you all something...

Back to this morning...

I really couldn’t settle on what to listen to so I just let fortune decide for me and put the whole thing on random. After a couple of songs I realised that this morning, absolutely nothing else would do but a playlist that I love yet don’t listen to very often. I’m not sure why I don’t listen to it that much and every time I do, I tell myself I should listen to it frequently and add more tunes to it.

Not sure if this should be a secret but now we’re all friends I’m feeling confident. I’m unashamed.

My name is Darth and I love Latino music. The cheesier the better. I suppose it’s my musical guilty pleasure.

I’m always on the lookout for new stuff so any recommendations will be gratefully received.

In the summer TOH and I were driving to a party in the north – about 5 hours drive – and we gave a couple from Buenos Aires a ride. We’d never met them before but they were good friends of the birthday girl and had flown to the UK especially for the occasion. I was a little anxious about the journey at first as we didn’t know them, it’s a long drive and I don’t speak any Spanish (apart from ‘Ola’ and ‘ tres cervezas por favor’). The trip turned out to be brilliant as they were so entertaining and lovely. Paola is an ex-model who eats like a horse yet remains glamorously toned - TOH and I watched slack-jawed as she demolished a Burger King mountain before dashing off to get donuts for the rest of the journey, just to keep hunger pangs at bay you understand. Esteban is a flirtatious, cheekily friendly little chap who won over this uber model by jumping into her car at traffic lights during Buenos Aires rush hour to ask her for a date.

After the preliminary introductions and clarification of links to our mutual friend, the conversation tailed off into silence as we all gazed out of the windows to watch the countryside zip by and to will the time to pass. As a desperate ploy to engage in something that we could talk about I volunteered my enjoyment of latino music as a starter for ten. Before we knew it, we were arriving at our destination, I had a huge list of artists to look up on iTunes and we’d made some new friends who proved to be hilarious company later in the evening at the party.

Just goes to show that music can unite us all. Right, I need to find a bucket to vom into after my last, seriously groany comment.

Cue brassy trumpets, maracas and rapid plonky piano….

Pick n Mix

I was dithering about what to write today. Whilst a fair amount has gone on and I've done stuff lately it's all quite bittty and, I reckon, wouldn't make for interesting reading. Then I thought that I didn't start this blog to make it interesting reading but that it was for me to write that was the point. Then I had to have a sit down as I was out last night with some lovely London bloggers and a visiting Australian, I mixed far too many drinks, stayed out far too late on a school night and enjoyed myself far too much. Actually, I don't think I could ever enjoy myself too much.

So. This post is going to consist of some random bits and pieces. Apologies if it makes no sense, follows no acceptable patterns or reason. I'm kinda hungover, which for me doesn't actually involve headaches or nausea but a vague and distant state of thought and being. Right now this feels like I'm using someone else's hands to type and I definitely have at least one of someone else's eyeballs in.

Random thingy no. 1

Here's a pic of the beautiful view I woke up to each morning in Wales where I spent the weekend with TOH and 10 of my friends.

Random thingy no. 2

Here's a pic of the wide, blissfully empty beach that we walked along for hours in Wales. My friends all happily incognito too.

Random thingy no. 3

Whilst listening to my iPod this afternoon on my way home from work I was considering why certain songs literally make me smile - I just can't help it. I have a playlist called "Smile" which I listen to to cheer myself up or just because I'm feeling perky.

Some songs make me smile because they remind me of something in particular - people, for example, or places. Some songs just make me smile because they're so damn good. This may be something that could warrant more discussion in a post devoted all to itself but my train of thought moved on to how certain senses bring back such powerful memories.

Here is a quick list of a memory that I associate with each sense.

Clove cigarettes - the smell of these instantly brings back memories of Western Australia, Perth in particular. I was in a new country - one that I'd been desperate to visit for many years - and I loved it.

Little Red Corvette - this song just reminds me of being young, with hair and actually enjoying being a youth! I don't understand why but the guitar solo is the bit that makes me grin my head off.

Fur - I love animals, I can't help it. Stroking dogs or cats reminds me of my dog, Blue. He was 18 years old when he died and I was away backpacking around the world. For months after I got home, eating a biscuit always had a sad, little ending as I always, ALWAYS gave the last corner of it to him. I felt bad finishing a whole biscuit to myself for ages.

Ribena - I don't actually like it any more but the tase of it still makes me feel like I'm about 5 years old. For some reason, when I was growing up, it always seemed like such a luxury. We weren't the poorest of families but we weren't rich either so I suppose mum and dad made sure that the essentials were always there. Ribena always tasted... forbidden almost, a guilty pleasure - hard when you're only 5!

The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert - Not just because it reminded me of Australia and our own van, Mitzi, but because it reminds me of when I saw it first here in London with my friends. The Prince Charles cinema had a drag show before the film and everyone dressed up. It followed on from their infamous Friday night screenings of the Rocky Horror show and Sing-along-a-Sound of Music. I was newly gay, new to London and absolutely loving it. I loved my friends and I couldn't believe that my life could be so brilliant. Watching it now still fills me with a little of that excitement. However, it's like drugs, it never ever feels as good as the first time and fades a little more each go.

My final words are to recommend a song to make you smile. It's brilliant, I defy anyone not to grin at some point during it. Wierdly it's about a shipwreck but it's kinda sea-shanty-like and totally jolly. Look it up if you've never heard it.

Lady of the Sea by Seth Lakeman

Tea & Toast and Fluffy Socks...

...that's all you need when you return from a trip away.

I arrived home at 4pm this afternoon. Tomorrow morning I have to get up early to catch a train to North Wales where I'm spending the weekend with TOH and 10 of our friends in a beautiful country house. I can't wait.

Apologies to those who've commented that I'm never here (Matterdays!). I promise I'll do a proper post early next week.

In the meantime here is my homecoming haiku. I'm trying hard Muzbot!

Goodbye Fuji-san.
Here brittle blue London skies,
Love's open arms. Home.