RT's Think Pad

Dream is Reality

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:38:00 +0000

I spotted a sign on my way to work. It says "Dream is reality". I had originally thought that it was just a student, perhaps, printing out something to make a statement of some sort to the commuters from Falmouth but today I walked up to the sign to take a look. It was made from typical road sign material (i.e. the expensive metal type), secured by standard roadside fixings to the pole. So now there's more of a question: who was the sign made by, who is it for and why.

I like to think that it's a statement saying that if you dare to dream: your dreams can become reality. But, perhaps it is merely to perplex people like me.

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:08:00 +0000

It's been a long time since I've bothered to actually think of anything to write on here, and now I don't really want to think at all. The problem is is that I don't seem to be able to stop.
Earlier this evening I was given the news that one of my parents' neighbours, who I've known since I was 11, died of a sudden heart attack today. There was no warning, he went just like that. He was a good man; a kind man. And now he's gone.

I guess this should be a reminder that life can be taken away from you with no warning and that every breath you take is a gift. But right now I feel sad.

Civil Partnerships are for straight people too?

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:33:00 +0000

The other day I found out that someone I once knew was engaged to another woman. I sent my congratulations & asked how long they'd been together...the disappointing reply was that she was playing "Wedding Chicken" with her mate to see who would back out first.

I had thought that, perhaps, I wasn't understanding the situation, so I wasn't going to respond. I left it for a week or so but today (probably because of lack of sleep, which has therefore turned me into what is otherwise known as "a grotbag"), I couldn't resist any longer. Perhaps I was way too harsh, but for goodness sake...I really took the Civil Partnership seriously, more seriously than I would a wedding because of the politics, how it would effect relatives etc etc.

This was my response:

"Who'd have thought that 40 years worth of fighting for equal rights by victimised gay activists would have given straight people the opportunity to play wedding chicken with each other. And to think that ET and I took it as a serious commitment - one that still isn't equal to marriage, I may add."

The sarcasm is, I suppose, oozing from my words but I couldn't help myself. I'm still deciding whether it was the wrong thing to write.

Cornwall Pride 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:09:00 +0000

If I'm honest, I've been avoiding writing in this blog for so long that I'd almost forgotten about it (almost...except that I can't deny my guilt when I flick through my blogger dashboard and see a list of three, not two, blogs to contend with). To be fair, there hasn't been any news-worthy news to discuss. Sure, there's the impending bank crisis (I've been waiting for that, held breath, for nearly six years, there was always going to be the build up to an eventual, and inevitable, crash; okay so it took longer than I was expecting but it's happening all the same), and the highs and lows of this star and that (and if you think I'm really interested in keeping up with that crap, you've not quite got there yet), and there's been many murders, accidents, and the usual bad news we're getting used to on a daily basis. But there has been nothing that's really stuck in my mind and made me think "whoah...that's going to change my way of thinking forever".
So, I hear you ask (or, at least, I imagine I hear you) why come out of what seems to be a very early retirement?
Cornwall Pride.
Yep, someone has actually kicked the "do it dreckly" attitude aside and decided it's high time that us Cornish people be proud of our gay community. (Saturday the 23rd August 2008, to be precise, marching through Truro like we're the next big thing to happen to this tourist-worshipping peninsular). But is Cornwall really ready for us?
Over all, I have to say that Cornwall is one of the more laidback places to be, so I'm sure that the people will barely turn a head or two in our direction before quietly carrying on as if the "normal" world is still revolving.(More on this another time)
There was a gay pride at the beach last year; apparently. As a lesbian (I still hate that word) who has, on occassion, actually visited the local gay nightclub (yes, there is only one), you'd have thought I would have heard about it. You'd be wrong. I've read about it since though, and it only brings up an image of bad taste and misrepresentation.
This "Cornwall Pride" is better organised, there's more inclusion with the local businesses, and there's more awareness in the gay community as a whole. And, who knows, it might actually work.
I have to admit that I still have problems envisioning the event: will it be just a handful of the nightclub regulars waltzing down the street to the sound of good ol' Dusty blaring out on old speakers that makes the bass sound more like wet farts than real noise...a slow half caterpillar pushing its way through the suncream-smelling, pasty-eating (and usually miserable) tourists?
There's always been something about Pride events that I've found "odd". It's not like you have Straight Prides (hey...we're straight and we're proud), after all. At the beginning, Prides existed as a protest against the laws put against us (yes, I know, when I say "us" I should be more properly referring to male gays who faced the brunt of prejudice). But now, especially the bigger events, seem to be saying "hey, we're gay, we're great and, look: we've got the pink pound. (probably because there's been so much success in equality, despite the best efforts of the last few biggotted conservatives. And, perhaps, there's defense in numbers?).
Somewhere along the line I can't help but feel like there's been something missed. It's not about "we're gay and you're not, so just shut up and let us be". It's surely about us all being human and that we want to have the freedom to live happily alongside each other in acceptance.
And I'm sorry to my non-gay readers. This isn't some kind of LGBT promotion. I just think that Cornwall should be proud of it's diversity, it's acceptance and tolerance. And that's why I, for one, am happy that we are having a Cornwall Pride. I will be there and not just because I'm gay, but because I'm proud to be Cornish.

Gayfriendly M&S

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:42:00 +0000

This surprised me so much, I had to take a photograph! Cards available from our local Marks and Spencer. I always assumed that M&S was an old-school, conservative chainstore, but this goes to show that they are modernising faster than most shops.

The Dangerous Seas

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 07:52:00 +0000

I've been following the news of a ship's captain who was seriously injured during gale force 10 winds off the Isles of Scilly. Last night there was an attempt to rescue the man with a Seaking Helicopter, but it was too dangerous:

Rescue of ship captain abandoned

I can't imagine how bad it would be to be stuck on a reefer (refrigerated cargo vessel) with minimum power, floating like jetsom on 30-40 foot waves with your captain suffering from internal bleeding and little hope of rescue until at least the morning.

I can't help but notice that there have been a lot of ship-casualties lately. Mostly because I work in the industry, but I don't think I've seen so many in one year. The Napoli, The Ice Prince, The M/S Explorer; and the ones whose drama is still being played out: the stricken ferry "Riverdance", a trawler "Spinning Dale", The Portrush Lifeboat... These are just a few of the many and it should serve to remind us that the sea is, after all, just as dangerous as it always was.

Life and stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:04:00 +0000

After reading about Ledger being found dead in his home, I’ve been thinking a little more than I usually would about life and stuff. He was only 28, the same age as me; he had so much potential, so much life yet to live. All this thinking and I still can’t quite figure out what life is all about.

When you turn on the news, it is so full of suicides, murders, rapes, stabbings, shootings, war, famine; one disaster after the next. Click onto the BBC website, or Reuters, and all you’ll see is bad news. But it’s not just in the papers, my godmother was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to have an operation yesterday, one of ET’s friends’ mum was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and the prognosis really isn’t good (it’s already spread to the bones).

I know many people who have lost loved ones recently and it’s made me stop and consider my own life.

I don’t know. Perhaps I read too many newspaper articles but sometimes I can’t help but wonder if we’re like leaves caught in the wind of time, helpless in its grasp, taken to destinations unknown to us.

I’ve come to only one conclusion so far: that life is very precious and we should make the most of it now. Not tomorrow, because tomorrow might not come. I don’t care if that’s morbid, it could be true. I’m not going to hesitate with following my dreams anymore. I’m going to chase them and use the wind like a sail boat does to get there.

Love Eternal

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Because love is eternal
I turn to you,
Helpless as a falling star.
An affinity to you,
I can't let go.
My path, my destiny:
Predetermined.

Trading places of worship

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:09:00 +0000

Exeter Cathedral to start charging admission fees - I'm not particularly one for reading the bible, but wasn't there a story about trade in places of Christian worship? Besides, won't charging people to view the insides of a cathedral alienate the church from the population even more than it already is? I don't believe that this is the answer to their problems.The COE is fast becoming an old dinosaur with limited time left because it only appeals to a generation that's shrinking with each passing year. Charging entry fees could be the deciding factor for the bystander who might be curious about religion and turn them away.

Religion should be free; faith, an inspiration.

Data Protection

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:14:00 +0000

Clarkson Stung after Bank Prank - I've only got one thing to say: what kind of idiot would publish their bank details in a national paper? It's just not something you would do, unless you're Clarkson, that is. I have to say that he has always irritated me by the way he's so opinionated. Hopefully he'll learn his lesson.

I mean, why did he think people were so worried about the loss of their personal data by government departments?

What makes me laugh about Data Protection legislation is that if say my company (a small business) were to do something like let a disc full of people's bank account details get lost in the post, we would have a huge pile of pooh heading our way, but if it's the government? Well, it's just bad P.R. isn't it?

At least Clarkson's money went to a good cause, you can't complain about that.

What’s in a word?

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 13:59:00 +0000

Call me fussy, but there are just some words I really don’t like. One of them is “dyke”, referring to its use as an alternative name for lesbian. I don’t actually like the word lesbian either because of the way it is often pronounced quickly by people like it’s swearing to utter it (and there’s just something about my mother using it that makes me cringe).

When I studied geology, a dyke was an intrusion of igneous material in an existing ‘country rock’ and, when I went to Shropshire, dyke referred to Offa’s dyke: a ‘ditch’ that separates England from Wales. Internet sources tell me that the use of dyke for lesbian originated as “bulldyker”, a butch woman. It sounds crude, offensive even (especially when considering that “dyke” was a slang word for a woman’s bits, mind you that sounds nicer than the “c” word that’s creeping back). And yet, certainly from my older gay friends, it’s a popular word for women who love women. I guess it’s from the philosophy that taking a word back and making it your own makes it less hurtful, but that doesn’t work for me.

A word can be used to label people. Me, I am determined not to label myself because with a label there comes stigma or an expectancy, almost, of what you should be. A label puts you in a box, but I am more than just a woman who loves women.

Killing sharks and gassing turkeys

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 14:40:00 +0000

A giant thresher shark was caught off the cornish coast this week, it measured a massive 16 foot. It's bloodied face has already appeared on newspapers and internet alike. Earlier I was startled from work when a colleague, who had been down to Newlyn, showed me a close up photograph on his mobile phone [why would you want a photograph of a dead shark on your phone?], it was pretty gory. Apparently quite a bit of money can be made by cutting it up and selling it in pieces, although there are reports of the new owner wanting to have it stuffed and, presumeably, have it as a show piece. People apparently flocked around the Newlyn fish market to see this gruesome sight [why?], so I guess they would visit it stuffed too.

Also in the news is the bird flu again, and foot and mouth. The farming industry will be waivering on fresh panic as the gas bottles were being driven up to one farm so that the turkeys could be gassed. Once upon a time ago, a farmer told me that the spread of things like TB, and foot & mouth, are down to the intensive farming techniques. With an increasing number of outbreaks, you have to wonder if she had a point. Still, it looks like turkey is going to be in short supply this year.

More on this later.

Even whales like to go site-seeing

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:20:00 +0000

Whale found 1,000 Miles inside Amazon.. I guess even whales get lost, but to travel 1,000 miles up the Amazon river is something quite extraordinary. The poor thing must be rather confused, and no doubt wondering why it can't see much in the murky brown waters of that particular river and, not to say the least, that it's fresh water. I hope it survives and finds its way out again.

Fat Wildlife

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 06:33:00 +0000

Not even hedgehogs are allowed to be overweight nowadays... Huge hedgehog goes on Atkins Diet.

Is it my imagination or is this nation obsessed with being fat? Already there are self-help style books to help our poor, over-fed children and teenagers, (for example Children and Teens Afraid to Eat:Helping Youth in Todays Weight-Obsessed World).

Every day there is almost guaranteed to be something about fat, or at least food, in the news. Last week alone saw too many stories on food and fat than I'd like to remember: eating bacon can give you pancreatic cancer (btw, it's not the bacon that causes this, it's the sodium nitrite that's added to it...but adding chemicals to food is another subject), that women's weight problems were linked to 6,000 cancers a year and there were even new claims that larger people live longer.

Personally, I'm all for the "a little of what you like can't do you no harm" philosophy one of my Mum's elderly friends had (sadly deceased). She was 91.

Perhaps if we weren't obsessing about what we eat and how large our thighs are, we could concentrate on the more important things in life.

And as for the hedgehog...when it gets reintroduced to it's habitat, theres always the risk it could go back to its usual habits, like having a food addiction? What would you choose if you were it: bread or cat food?

House Prices

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 11:44:00 +0000

Surveyors See House Price Falls

At long last, we might be getting closer to buying our own home. It's been a long wait, but perhaps the house-price madness has reached its peak and we're coming out on the other side. I don't wish for people to lose their homes because of ill-advised re-mortgaging or buying properties that have prices well out of their capability to pay back, but a downturn in house prices will eventually mean that we can afford to buy our own home (well, by that I mean sensibly afford a place within our own means).

Anything beats paying out the ridiculous amount of rent that we are now. I calculated the other day that in the past four years we have wasted £26,000 on rent alone (and the landlords can't even be bothered to keep the place well-maintained). I shall be watching eagerly.

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 05:59:00 +0000

My sister sent this to me, so I've just got to post it up. If something can get me laughing at 5.30 in the morning, it must be good.

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:49:00 +0000

White Deer Killed and Decapitated

All I can say is: Why? Why kill such a beautiful creature. For money? For a trophy? It's disgusting.

Phase 2

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 19:43:00 +0000

I started this second blog to air views etc that don't "fit" in my other blog. I also wanted, eventually, to add bits and pieces from my writing work. This would be phase two, if you like.

I don't have many examples of my work left, I destroyed most of it. There were reasons, but they're too long winded to go into.

The first is a poem:

Fire
Hot flickering flames,
Dancing in the dark,
Casting your eerie shadows,
Deep within my heart,
Your warmth is almost soothing
I am transfixed upon your play.
You fill me with such desire
That could lead my plans astray;
for I do not want to leave your side,
Nor step out to the cold.
Your enchanting flame has filled my heart,
and with you, I will never be cold.

And the second, a short piece I wrote for a competition. I won and got to see Minette Walters (my all time favourite author).

Birds of a Feather
I am standing on the edge. The lichen-covered rocks fall away until the boiling water of the sea smashes against them far below. There is a wind blowing. Icy fingers tear at my flimsy dress, hooking my flesh like needles.

I smile as I remember how George had faked a fall in the garden that morning. He and I had the closeness that only our predicament could produce. ‘Birds of a feather’ they always said, or ‘thick as thieves’ when we were plotting together.

When they rushed around him, I ran off into the woods. Soon there had been shouting, but I hid in a ruined building in the old manor grounds. The walls had once been thick, but now were rubble with brambles for a roof. I think it must have been an icehouse once.

Later, I had walked out of the garden and found myself here. A lonely footpath seldom walked.

I close my eyes and spread out my arms. I am ready to let myself fall. A noise breaks my concentration. Loud airwaves blast my delicate eardrums. I open my eyes. A black ship is being piloted out into the bay. I can see the name clearly, ‘Fortuitous’ in large white writing. Another burst comes. Is it saying goodbye?

I close my eyes, but my nerve has gone. I am on the edge, but I choose not to fall. I turn around and walk down the path, back to the hospital where I belong.

Both pieces are pretty old now, but the temptation to edit them is still there.

Faith

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 16:54:00 +0000

Jehovah's Witness mother dies after refusing blood transfusion

I can't say how I feel about this, but what I can is that it must take an incredibly strong faith to face death rather than disobey your religion.

I'll add more when I've thought about this more.

Equality Act (S.O.) Regs 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 07:07:00 +0000

On Wednesday 21^st March 2007, the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 made it through the House of Lords with a vote of 168 to 122. From the 30^th April 2007, it became unlawful for anyone concerned with the provision of goods, facilities and services to the public to discriminate against another because of their sexual orientation. Great…but what has it really done for the gay community?

So far, on a limited scale and within Cornwall, I have found that few people outside the LGBT community have actually heard of this addition to the Equality Act, including businesses that supply financial services. Far more money has been spent advertising the smoking ban in public places. At the time the Act was being passed, much of the publicity in the papers circled around the debate about catholic adoption agencies having to consider LGBT applicants to adopt children, than the actually scope it covers.

If you’re treated in a discriminate manner, you have to take your case to the county courts within six months of the event, which could well involve expensive legal fees (solicitors aren’t cheap)…something that will put most people off in the first instance.

Over six months later, I’m still wondering whether there was much point. But wasn’t there some EU directive that meant that the UK government would have had to put in some kind of legislation in the end anyway?

Call me a skeptic, but I don’t see how this has tackled the real problem: homophobia, (starting in schools) and prejudice, which will exist whether there is legislation or not. Surely that is where we should be focusing?

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:21:00 +0000

I can sense the weekend coming up again, so I thought I'd add some more music. I'd like to introduce Louise Setara, a hugely talented singer. She was a warm-up act for the Beverly Knight concert we went to last year.

And I thought I'd add my favourite track of the moment - Saving my Face, KT Tunstall.

the new and interesting ways of displaying lingerie

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:50:00 +0000

This post is just for fun. We were walking idly through a local M&S store when we saw this new and interesting way of shop displays: a model posed "Basic Instinct-style" on a glass chair. It had us in stitches and not just because it was amusing, but because we estimated that a good percentage of customers were over the 45 mark and would probably find this offensive. Still, it gave us a smile and gave new light on an old advertising form.

The Madness of Science

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:37:00 +0000

A new list of the ten most bizarre experiments has been drawn up (Click Here ) and seeing them makes me wonder what was going on in the scientists' minds when they thought of such experiments. Is there really a close link between genius and madness?

Science has a turbid history, and although the apparent aim is for the "greater good", one wonders whether the truth is closer to something darker, perhaps more selfish than we would like to admit.

Science has the ability to give with one hand and take away with the other, and how it is carried out all depends on who is taking control (we're talking politics, btw). A moral code of ethics can not always be relied upon,nor is the integrity of "scientists" (for instance during WWII when Josef Mengele (nicknamed the Angel of Death) carried out the most horrific experiments on children).

It is important that we uphold the integrity of science and not use it for learning about how male turkeys get turned on by a head on a stick, or how an elephant might react to LSD. Thankfully we're now in the 21st century, but that doesn't mean we should stop monitoring to ensure that things are done without harming animals, people and the environment. And we should remember that just because something is "modern" doesn't make it okay.

Rat run

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 09:52:00 +0000

"Ratatouille inspires a run on rats in Bristish pet shops"

- An article from the Independent this morning. Again, children's films are influencing the must-haves of the younger generation. Once upon a time ago it was clown fish, but this time it's rats, and I find myself asking: whatever next?

I have no problems with people buying pets for children, but following the whims and fancies of a temporary blip caused by the latest movie fad is something I can't agree with. What happens when the child moves on to the next fad, does the animal get forgotten?

I used to keep rats, they had their own "tanks" (old fish tanks), but I used to let them have the freedom of the entire room (much to my mother's complaints because they tended to chew on things...like bedding and cushions). They're intelligent, they can be trained, they love being held or to sit on your shoulder. But they are not the pets for small children.

Following the fads - buy children cute cuddly toys, not animals that can be maltreated or abandoned as soon as the fashion changes.

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Taunton) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:39:00 +0000

A little music for the weekend...I'd rather of had a live video version, but this will have to do. It is, of course, the fabulous KT Tunstall