Dec 09
TODAY I STAYED at home in the warmth, working on the annual report of the Michael Causer Foundation, of which I am a trustee. To prevent me going stir-crazy from being home all day, I decided to walk to the evening service at a nearby Anglican Church. On the way, I passed the derelict Welsh …
Dec 08
FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY my partner and I had our first date. Little did we know as we met in that café that we would make the news in 2012 as the first couple in the UK to register a civil partnership in a place of worship. Yesterday I found myself on the news again, as the …
Dec 04
THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT a black and white photo that adds drama and impact. This was not taken today, but on the day of our civil partnership on 6th May. It is one of my favourite photos of the year, too good not to share. My partner and I are poised on the threshold of the …
Nov 30
‘HOW DEEP dare I go? How far might I reach?’ These challenging questions form part of a framed display of the life story St Ignatius of Loyola on the wall of Loyola Hall Jesuit Spirituality Centre in Merseyside. I went there with an early draft of of my ‘coming out’ story to make an eight …
Nov 24
TODAY I was at a workshop about sharing good practice examples of LGBT work in schools. The sound I heard today was inspiration. As coordinator of the longest running LGBT youth group in the country, I receive requests to speak in schools and deliver workshops on LGBT awareness for young people. Other colleagues from around …
Nov 22
AT THE young people’s charity where I run the LGBT youth group, these thank you cards stand on the bookcase behind my desk. On days when deadlines loom and papers topple off the piles in my in-tray, these good wishes, from young people I have supported, volunteers I have managed, and students we have trained, …
Nov 21
AS THIS IS Anti-Bullying Week, here is a photo of me wearing my ‘I Stand Up Against Bullying’ t-shirt. Actually, it’s not me, it’s former England rugby union international player and anti-bullying campaigner Ben Cohen. I did wear this t-shirt today as I was running a youth group on the theme of bullying, but he looks better in …
Nov 20
I AM very fortunate to be a youth worker, which means often when I’m working, I also get to play! Working with young people aged 13-25 helps keep me young. This is the rainbow umbrella I use to lead my LGBT youth group in the Liverpool Pride march each year. It is a highlight of …
Nov 19
As I returned to Liverpool on the train this afternoon after delivering anti-bullying workshops on behalf of the Michael Causer Foundation in the area where Michael was from, I looked through the rain-speckled window to see what must have been the widest rainbow I have ever seen. Sadly, as I had been out since early …
Nov 18
ON THE THIRD Sunday of each month in Liverpool, a church service for LGBT Christians takes place. This month it looks forward to Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) , which takes place on Tuesday. TDOR is commemorated on November 20th each year to remember and bear witness to the lives lost due to transphobia in the past …
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