Ageing Without Limits Day
We organised a party for Ageing Without Limits Day with some great entertainment, a raffle and buffet to celebrate ageing and to challenge ageism.
Thanks to Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited and all those who donated raffle prizes, Jim on reception, Andi, Ken, Norman and Peter for help in the kitchen, David for selling raffle tickets, and all the brilliant acts – Norman, Andi, Jennifer and Wolf.
Tony read out a poem by Alyson Malach:
Walk a Day in Our Shoes
Before you post those words tonight,
Before you press “share” and start a fight,
Before you mock, deny, dismiss,
Or question who we say we is.
Remember this before you write:
We wake each day and live this life.
We are not topics to debate,
Not headlines built on fear and hate.
We are your neighbours down the street,
The people that you daily meet.
The worker serving at the till,
The nurse, the teacher, showing skill.
We are the customers you greet,
The service users you may meet.
The people buying what you sell,
The people wishing simply well.
Yet still some choose to mock our name,
To misgender us and cause us pain.
To question who we know we are,
Whilst judging us from near and far.
Walk just one day within our shoes,
And feel the things we did not choose.
The stares, the whispers, constant fear,
The sense we’re never welcome here.
Feel what it means to be denied,
To have your truth pushed to one side.
To hear your identity debated,
Dismissed, diminished and invalidated.
The trauma builds, the burden grows,
In ways the outside seldom knows.
Discrimination leaves its mark,
Long after comments leave the dark.
It affects our health, our peace of mind,
The confidence we struggle to find.
It impacts work, our daily life,
And fills ordinary days with strife.
Some lose hope beneath the strain,
Of carrying exclusion’s pain.
Because words are never “just a joke”
When they leave another person broke.
And to those posting hate online,
Remember there is often a line.
Freedom of speech is not a shield
When discrimination is revealed.
The measure of a decent society
Is not agreement or conformity.
It is whether people can belong,
Even when others think they’re wrong.
So see our humanity first.
Not politics at its worst.
Not culture wars or online noise,
But human beings with human joys.
Accept us for who we are.
The truth need not be travelled far.
For dignity is not a special right
It belongs to everyone in sight.
And when history asks what side you chose,
When faced with people different from your own,
Let your answer be both kind and true:
“I chose respect.
I chose humanity.
I chose to walk in their shoes.”
Salford Pink Picnic
Thanks to AutoTrader for sponsoring a stand with Proud 2 B Parents at Salford Pride’s Pink Picnic. It was the 15th anniversary.
Bury LGBTQI+ History Walk
Saturday, 20 June – 2.00pm – 3.30pm
Meet at Victoria Wood Statue, Library Gardens, Manchester Road, Bury BL9 0DF
Discover Bury’s LGBTQI+ past and a great way to connect, share and celebrate together.
Tour is free – but donations welcome – no need to book.
Happy Straight Pride Month! Wait … let me double check my notes
It’s finally that time of year, when we celebrate “Straight Pride!” Frankly, it’s about time. For centuries, heterosexual people have been oppressed, marginalised, and forced to live in the shadows of a ruthlessly queer-dominated world. It’s time we address this glaring inequality and finally celebrate the joy, the triumph and the beautifully beige aesthetic of being straight.
First, let’s brush up on our straight history. Even before the 1960s, heterosexual people were routinely targeted, harassed and arrested just for holding hands in public.
Hold on, my editor is whispering in my ear. Correction: That was actually homosexual people. My mistake! But I’m sure if we dig deep enough into the archives, we’ll find a time when straight people were persecuted for their orientation. No? Nothing in the database?
Well, no matter! Straight people should still be able to celebrate the brave act of being exactly what society expects them to be. What’s not to celebrate? Imagine the sheer courage it takes to embrace an attraction to the opposite sex without a single fear of societal retaliation. It’s not like heterosexuality has been the default setting since, well, the dawn of human civilisation. They deserve a parade and a flag!
The big straight coming out
I’ll never forget the day my sister finally came out to our parents. Lord, what an emotional roller coaster. She had confided in me weeks prior, trembling as she asked if Mum and Dad would still love her. I kept reassuring her: “It’s going to be okay. They’re progressive. They’ll accept you.”
When the moment arrived, she sat on the couch, clutching a shredded tissue in her shaking hands, took a deep breath, and confessed that she was … straight. Mum immediately burst into tears. Dad gasped. But they both jumped up to embrace her, whispering, “No matter what the outside world thinks, you are our baby, and you are perfectly, statistically normal.” I was beaming with pride.
The fight for representation
It’s just exhausting seeing how lopsided our culture is in favour of the LGBT+ community. Those poor, sweet straights are practically invisible. You never see them in movies, and they are certainly never depicted as representing the “normal” way of living. When was the last time you saw a commercial featuring a man and a woman? Or a sitcom centred around a husband and wife? Almost never!
It’s completely unfair that straight people don’t have a designated month to look at a billboard and think, “Wow, it’s okay to be me.”
Consider the global crisis: Right now, there are nearly 70 countries where being heterosexual is literally illegal, and in several, it carries the death penalty!
Editor’s Note: Apologies again, I read the chart upside down. It is actually illegal to be homosexual in those countries. In fact, heterosexuality is legally protected and culturally enforced in 100% of the world.
But still! That doesn’t mean straight people feel like they have the entire weight of global law, religion, and history reinforcing their lifestyle. Right?
The legislative onslaught
Let’s talk about the political climate. As we speak, there are over 500 anti-heterosexual bills moving through the US legislature. Over 500! These hetero-haters are doing everything in their power to deny basic rights, ban straight couples from adopting, dictate which bathrooms they can use and ensure that bakers don’t have to bake them a wedding cake. They’ve even passed “Don’t Say Straight” bills in schools!
Oops! I’m looking at the script again. It turns out I got it backward one more time. It’s actually the LGBT+ community facing those bills.
Look, at the end of the day, I just don’t think it’s fair. Yes, my research has revealed that heterosexuals are the overwhelming majority. And yes, science confirms that society is already built entirely around the heterosexual lifestyle. But if they don’t get a parade for successfully doing the bare minimum required to propagate the species, then what was this all for?
David Hockney
RIP David Hockney: The world-renowned artist died peacefully at home on Friday, 12 June. The artist captured everyday moments of gay life in an era where being gay was criminalised, as well as being known for his dynamic, colourful scenes.
We recently visited Salts Mill in Saltaire which features several large rooms given over to the works of David Hockney, and last year we visited Aviva Studios to experience an immersive exhibition with a unique personal commentary by David himself.
Out in the City 