Christians Have the Right to Bully Gay Kids - What?!

Bullying is not acceptable, regardless of whether your religion goes against something.

Nobody has the license to bully someone for whatever reason.

Absolutely despicable this is even being considered.

UK Home Secretary Theresa May Is @Out4Marriage - Are you?

Well Done Theresa!!

Watch the other videos on Out4Marriages YouTube Channel here! Spread the word!!

The Miserables

A term that could probably be used to describe the hordes of students this time of year, traipsing to important examinations (I myself have just concluded the cycle of AS Levels.)

However, before my exam period, my school decided it would hold auditions for the musical, Les Miz, to take place next November. Of course my reaction was a mixture of uncontrolled glee and slight nausea from the prospect of singing in front of people at the audition. Now obviously my dulcet bass tones were set to impress, but I, just as much as anyone, get nervous!

So, when it came to my turn to belt out 'At the End of the Day' in a cockney accent, my hands were trembling...making it incredibly hard to focus on the words....but I think it went pretty well!

Les Miserables is an incredibly interesting musical. The way it explores the darker side of life is incredibly true to the story by Victor Hugo...not to mention it has some truly epic tunes!

My favourites are: At the End of the Day, I Dreamed a Dream (sung much better by the original West End Fantine, than by SuBo), Lovely Ladies, Master of the House, One Day More and Do You Hear the People Sing?

In fact, my obsession with this musical has led me to buy the entire soundtrack...watch exerts from the 25th Anniversary concert on YouTube...and now I am going to see it next week!

So excited.

Here are some videos!

This includes 'At the End of the Day', 'I Dreamed A Dream', 'Lovely Ladies' and 'Fantine's Arrest'. (yay!!!)

MASTER OF THE 'OUSE! QUICK T'CATCH YE EYE!

And the Finale (Including the Original West End Cast) - One Day More and Do You Hear The People Sing?

I love love love love love LOVE this musical!

Out4Marriage

Hi guys! Sorry for my inexcusable absence from blogging for the past few months. I have been panicking over the stress that is exams. I have one left tomorrow...but I thought I deserved a break from reading about Achilleus's childish exhibitions of behaviour in the Iliad. (He really is bloody irritating.)

Now. I am sure many of you are aware of the increasing support for the legalisation of equal marriage around the world and the many campaigns that have been set up to honour this worthwhile cause.

In the UK we are currently going through a consultation period which is nearly over!

Here are some of the reasons why I believe equal marriage should be legalised:

I don't like the fact that people who are homosexual lose rights...for telling the truth and expressing a fundamental part of who they are. What also seems absurd to me is that a gay man and a lesbian can get married but they can't get married to their respective same sex partners.

There is also this huge generalisation that being gay means one is inherently promiscuous and that they wouldn't value a monogamous commitment. This is not true. Many gay people enjoy committed, monogamous relationships that can transcend that of a heterosexual couple, because of the gender they share (some would argue that makes the pair more understanding of each others emotions).

Anyway, focussing back on the point. It's the 21st Century! I honestly can't understand the hold up on equal marriage...its so simple. Also, religion should have no say in civil rights...I would like to refer to religion and government as 'non-overlapping magisteria'. They should remain separate...

What religion does in its own walls is up to religion (however I am heartened to see a declaration of support for equal marriage among Deans and Bishops of the UK.

Also, I don't fully understand some religions grounds for opposition. They scream that homosexuality is abhorrent and that homosexuals are sinful but they ignore a lot of other stuff in the Bible that is 'no longer relevant'.

For example. DEUTERONOMY!

22.20 But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel,22.21 then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die, because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house; so shalt thou put evil away from among you.

Right...roughly 95% of women in the Western World have premarital sex... When do we start with the stoning? My message to the Church: If you are going to focus on a few passages in the Bible that condemn homosexuality and ignore other passages with clear instructions regarding heterosexual relationships...you lose all credibility. (Obviously I don't think women should be stoned on their wedding night if they aren't a virgin!)

Christians can't pick and choose what in the Bible they believe to be true. All of the Bible should be up for interpretation and/or discredited.

Furthermore, the Bible got something as simple as slavery wrong...its pretty safe to assume it got the complexities of human sexuality wrong too.

If its a question of procreation, a lot of infertile heterosexual people or those that don't wish to have children get married. Plus, gay people can provide loving environments to children in need of adoption. Orphaned or unwanted children need a home too. (Plus do we really need to increase the population?)

Ok. A parting video. A chap I have been messaging over the past 2 weeks is the film maker behind the Out4Marriage campaign. Have a watch. His name is Mike Buonaiuto and he was responsible for the Coalition for equal Marriage Viral film (which I will also post.). He has been incredibly supportive of me and my coming to terms with who I am. Thankyou Mike.

After all. It's about love isn't it? We are all capable of love, and love is the same everywhere.

That is why I am Out4Marriage.

Celtic Sirens

I'm not sure what it is about Irish singers that make me feel that little bit more content with life. The ethereal tones of my two favourite Irish singers are reverie inducing - mine often take the form of autumn leaves falling off trees...and the fragrant smell of long grasses being carried by the wind. The two I am talking about are Enya...and Janet Devlin.

Enya has been in my life ever since I was a tiny tot, often used by my parents to induce a non-wreckless mentality while on long car journeys to our chosen holiday destination (usually on the North Norfolk Coast). It was because of this that I associated Enya with adventure...and she inspired me to create my own world within which I could be myself and all I wanted to be. There is something beautifully romantic about Enya...she lives in a castle, dresses as if she is a Celtic princess and most of her music videos involve her and some aspect of the natural world.

Now, I chose Janet Devlin for a number of reasons: she suits my personal taste of laid back music that you can listen to accompany a daydream, she has an effortless voice and I can listen to her renditions of songs on repeat quite happily. She has quite a willowy, light voice...and I can imagine her being the 21st Century's answer to Enya. One suggestion I would make to Janet is that she should hold her own. I don't want another voice lost to the corporate machine that is Pop Music. Janet herself said she wasn't a huge fan of pop, so just keep that dream in sight! She should be an artist...not a singer who sings songs other people have written her. I really like her though.

Here are some videos of both of them:

Greek temple.

Ok, ok...I'm going through a photography phase. These are all pictures I have taken....feed back is greatly appreciated! (FYI The image is larger if you click on it.)

The Times are right…

Here I am spending the day at the Times newspaper headquarters. A nice early start prompted by my dearly beloved alarm tone…Antelope. If you are unfamiliar with this most infuriating of alarm tones, I suggest you never EVER get a Blackberry. Granted, its harsh tones get you out of bed quicker than you can say gazelle. I guess that makes it a good alarm then. Anyway, in preparation for my work experience here at the Times I have been keeping myself up to date on the goings on in the country by watching the news, reading the newspaper and keeping up to date online as well.

With the London and Birmingham Riots taking centre-stage in this week’s news coverage I thought to myself, ‘What on earth brought that on?’

Many of the rioters maintain that the wrongful killing of Mark Duggan by a policeman who was killed last Thursday in Tottenham, North London, motivated them. However, while some of the anger may be fueled by this, I believe that many just (for want of a better phrase) ‘jumped onto the band wagon’. The riots were just as much motivated by the desire for high-quality clothing as they were in outrage for Mark Duggan’s death. Camila Batmanghelidjh, of the charity Kids Company in Waterloo, talked to the Times reporter, David Aaronovitch about her taxonomy of responsibility for the young people involved. According to Ms Batmanghelidjh there are these three groups: initiators, imitators and opportunists. Many of the young people involved were opportunists, who reasoned that ‘Everyone else was doing it…’

What I think needs to change in this country is the way the government handle the benefits scheme. Many parents who are on benefits expect the government and state sector of education to raise their children for them. However, with suffocating restrictions placed on teachers in these schools they are unable to discipline the children who are being raised in dysfunctional family environments, with many of them living in the absence of a father figure. Many single mothers are ‘scared of their children’ and dare not to question these criminal acts as the children are taking on the role of provider/bread-winner.

However, although a majority of the rioters were of working-class backgrounds, there were many from middle-classes as well! One girl, who acted as the getaway driver for some of the looters, lived in a one million pound home! So while some of the rioters were motivated by political problems, a lot was just pure greed.