Marriage equality in America – the best bits

Common sense has prevailed in America. Brilliant.

Brilliant for the couples who can now cement their love for each other when they’ve previously been forbidden.

Brilliant for the couples who will now enjoy equal rights around insurance, welfare and health in relation to their partners.

Brilliant that a few rogue states with delusions of power have been firmly put in their place and over ruled.

Brilliant that the Whitehouse was bathed in multi-coloured lights to celebrate such a momentous decision.

Rainbow Whitehouse marriage equality

Rainbow Whitehouse marriage equality

Rainbow Whitehouse marriage equality

Brilliant that Niagra Falls followed suit.

Niagra Falls same sex marriage

Brilliant that President Obama tweeted about it.

President Obama Twitter

Brilliant that Twitter had a hashtag with a rainbow heart.

Twitter rainbow heart

Brilliant that Facebook had an app to change your profile picture to a rainbow version.

Facebook rainbow profile picture

Some great stories about bigoted pastors who vowed to set themselves on fire if same sex marriage became legal…

…who then furiously backpeddled because he didn’t really mean it (roll eyes).

Americans who planned to move to Canada if the law changed (Canada legalised same sex marriage in 2005)

But this story here, with pictures, sums up what it’s all about – marriages that took place immediately after the ruling that would have previously been impossible.

Who can deny love like this?

Jack Evans, 84, left, and George Harris, 82, right, show their marriage license after being the first couple to receive it from the Dallas County Clerk Friday, June 26, 2015, in Dallas. Evans and Harris, who have been together for 54 years were the first couple married after having their license issued. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Jack Evans, 84, left, and George Harris, 82, right, show their marriage license after being the first couple to receive it from the Dallas County Clerk Friday, June 26, 2015, in Dallas. Evans and Harris, who have been together for 54 years were the first couple married after having their license issued. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Jaque Roberts,  left, and her partner of 31 years, Carmelita Cabello, right,  show off their marriage license at the Travis County building after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that  same-sex couples have the right to marry nationwide, Friday, June 26, 2015, in Austin, Texas. The court's 5-4 ruling means the remaining 14 states, in the South and Midwest, will have to stop enforcing their bans on same-sex marriage.(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Jaque Roberts, left, and her partner of 31 years, Carmelita Cabello, right, show off their marriage license at the Travis County building after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry nationwide, Friday, June 26, 2015, in Austin, Texas. The court’s 5-4 ruling means the remaining 14 states, in the South and Midwest, will have to stop enforcing their bans on same-sex marriage.(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Of course the fact that a decision got made by 9 individuals in the Supreme Court is ridiculous. But that’s a whole other story. Had the decision gone the other way then I’d have been more vocal about the process.

All that matters is that love wins.

Dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum

I thought I’d post some topical pictures (as topical as they can be, when they’re about a subject matter that’s millions of years old!) But with Jurassic World being released at the cinema (which, incidentally, I’ve been told is rubbish) it reminded me of my brief but interesting visit to the Natural History Museum.

A couple of months back I had a meeting in London which finished waaaay earlier than expected, but I’d got a pre-booked cheap return train ticket so I had some time to kill.

Embarrassingly, I’ve never actually been to the Natural History Museum. So I decided to poke my head in and have a quick look at the dinosaur exhibition.

My initial surprise was just how fabulous the building is. Wow!

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I love decoration for decoration’s sake. Look at the detail on those pillars around the entrance.

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Of course the big thing as you enter the Natural History Museum and what I really wanted to see is the model of Diplodocus. So big I could barely fit it all on one photo!

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Absolutely amazing and well worth dropping in for that alone.

Look at the size of its feet.

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The inside of the main entrance hall is a huge cavernous space, bathed in light from the big windows. Such a fabulous building.

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The dinosaur exhibit is free, and I imagine will be getting a whole load of visitors following the release of the film. Plus, with summer holidays coming, it’s a great place to entertain and educate the kids.

I’m slightly child phobic (the noise that they make, especially as a collective, goes right through me) and, despite it being after the Easter holidays, there was quite a large number of them there with parents and schools. Time constraints were therefore not the only reason my visit wasn’t of the lingering variety! I did get to see some cool stuff and snap some pics though.

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Some days I feel like I’m having a T-Rex growth spurt!

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There was a life size moving model that was rather atmospheric.

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And so my brief but box ticking visit was over. Short but good!

Why don’t more women get more tattoos?

This is a ponder, rather than requiring a definitive answer.

When I was out last Friday I saw a girl, with long sandy wavy hair, tanned, pretty, wearing a maxi dress and sleeveless denim gilet. When she turned around, I was shocked that she had a full sleeve. Not shocked in an “oh my god, that’s disgusting” kind of way. But she didn’t look the type.

Daft huh?

I mean, what does “the type” look like anyway?

On the same night, my husband took this photograph of me.

Tattooed back

It’s not often I see how many tattoos I actually have (I mean obviously I know how many I have, because I commissioned all of them, but because of their position and me not being able to do an exorcist style headspin I don’t get to see them all). And I wondered how many people had the same thought about me? Were they surprised? Did they do a double take? Did they think that I was purposely trying to show them off with the top I was wearing? (that isn’t why I bought it, by the way, although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the effect).

If the girl I mentioned had been a boy, I wouldn’t have taken any notice at all.

I know a lot of it is down to pop culture. David Beckham is heavily tattooed and has made the look very much mainstream. Sure, there are people who are vocal about not liking his look, but in the main he’s classed as a handsome man with a fantastic career behind him, a sporting hero and a real family man (apart from the old Rebecca Loos phase). ASOS use many (in fact, mainly) tattooed models in their male section. Sports (I use that term lightly) like UFC, where men are pretty naked as they fight, showcase tattooed bodies. And, let’s face it, tattoos on blokes are now pretty “trendy”.

Name a heavily tattooed woman? You probably can’t. The first one that comes to my mind (excluding actual tattoo artists) is Jodie Marsh, and she’s not exactly someone to aspire to based on her past (can you say judgemental?!). Yes there are women who have tattoos (Angelina Jolie, for example) but not many of them, and certainly none with much coverage.

Maybe part of it comes down to clothing differences between genders. If a man is going to an event, or to work, where he may not want to show his tattoos for whatever reason, then he can easily cover up in a long sleeved shirt and trousers. If a woman is going to an event then it’s much more difficult. And while I have blogged before about my own appreciation of a glamorous woman with tattoos on show, I can’t say I would dress like that for a work function.

If I had a different life I would look different. I’d certainly like a half sleeve. I’d like finger tattoos. I’d like to look like any one of these cool ladies.

Tattooed woman

Tattooed women

Tattooed woman

But fear of judgement stops me in my current life. Because, despite equality and feminism and all the other great steps that womankind has supposedly made, I still believe that women with tattoos are judged negatively by many.

And that is why I think more women don’t get a lot of tattoos.

But to those that do? You’re awesome!

Deprived of Dave and the Foos Crew

So the Foo Fighters have cancelled the rest of their European tour, including Saturday’s Wembley gig which I have tickets for. I kind of have mixed feelings. Obviously I’m gutted not to be seeing them – it was going to be a great day out, hopefully in the sun, with friends. The support acts of Iggy Pop and Royal Blood were bands I was really looking forward to seeing (having never seen either before). I’ve never been to a gig at Wembley, and the only time I’ve ever seen the Foos I was up in the gods at the O2 arena – literally 2 rows from the very very back, so I was looking forward to getting more up close and personal. BUT Dave Grohl is a performer, a rockstar, and delivering a set from the confines of a wheelchair just isn’t him. He wouldn’t be enjoying it, the crowd wouldn’t enjoy it as much (despite what people are saying) and the band wouldn’t have that same interaction. Plus, Dave’s future health and wellbeing has to be priority. No point struggling on and doing himself more damage.

I think that cancelling all of the UK dates is the right thing to do. He couldn’t pick and choose one or two.

Being as I currently still feel rough post-Download (whether I actually have a touch of illness or the worst hangover ever isn’t clear, although lack of appetite suggests the former, as I’m usually ALWAYS hungry!) it’s not the end of the world for me (remind me of that on Saturday!). The thought of a lie in at the weekend is all that’s keeping me going, and it also means I get to spend Father’s Day on Sunday with my Dad. Financially I could do without the spends, as Download was very expensive. At least I’m not out of pocket. The hotel we had booked has a 24 hour cancellation fee, and a friend of ours was driving, so no train tickets booked. I might have had a very different opinion if it was going to cost me money!

I’m sure the dates will be rearranged, rather than completely cancelled, and I can only hope that the support acts can still support, and it’s still a Saturday and I can still make it. We’ll see what happens. Perhaps I was optimistic thinking I could do two weekends in a row. I’ll be even more excited by the time they do reschedule!

Meanwhile I have a sneaking suspicion that Foos will headline Download next year (and I may have already booked a hotel, because I had so much fun this year!)

Yet again proving himself to be the nicest man in rock, here was Dave’s message to the fans (accessed by clicking on the “broken heart” on a picture of Operation).

Dave Grohl cancels Foos tour

“Hey everyone….

Your old pal, Dave here. Been a while, eh? It’s been one hell of a year, that’s for sure. Looks like we’ve got some serious catching up to do! Hmmm, let’s see…..where do I begin?

Drumroll, please….

The funniest thing happened to me the other day in Sweden!

Two songs into our set at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, I made a mad dash to the right of the stage during MONKEY WRENCH to shred some tasty licks for the kids up front. It was a beautiful night, beautiful stadium, 52,000 screaming people….dream gig! Well….wait for it….I definitely shredded something (ZING!) Wound up feet first over the Edge (pun intended), dropping about 12 feet, dislocating my ankle and snapping my fibula like an old pair of take out chopsticks. Whoopsie daisy. Not good. Without realizing the extent of my injuries, I stood up to get back onstage and crumbled like a sack of Joe Theismanns (look it up, kiddies). That shit was B-R-O-K-E.

As I lay there on my back, I just thought, “Are you kidding me? We haven’t even gotten to the screamy bit of the song and the gig is fucking OVER?” So, I asked for a microphone and told the audience I’d get fixed up and come right back to finish the show ASAP. Shock? Probably. But, I couldn’t stand the thought of such a perfect night going to waste! I looked at our drummer Taylor and said, “Bust out some Chevy Metal covers while they fix me up!” So, as the band kicked in to “Stay With Me” by The Faces, the medics poured me onto a stretcher, took me off to the side, cut my favorite pants off (so bummed) and popped my ankle back into place. I asked if I could get back onstage to finish the show, but they said I needed a cast (which was 20 minutes away at the hospital) to hold my ankle in place. So I looked my EMT, Johan in the eyes and said “Well, then you’re coming up there with me right now and holding it in place until they can bring the cast here. Ready?” He stared at me wide-eyed for a second and said, “OK, lets’ go…”

I don’t know who was more scared, me or Johan. 5 minutes later, I don’t know who was having more fun, me or Johan. (I actually looked at him in between songs and said “This is pretty fun, isn’t it?” He smiled and nodded yes.)

Like clockwork, the cast arrived, I walked offstage for a song or two as they put it on me, and then came back to finish the gig. Let’s just say that singing our song “Walk” with a straight face was pretty goddamned hard. “These Days” was a good one, too. (Easy for you to say! Your leg has never been broken!) All in all, it was without a doubt the single most bizarre Foo Fighters show in the entire 20 years of being a band. Hands down. What seemed like a tragedy at first turned into a triumph, and we all walked away with a new sense of appreciation for what we’ve got…

Straight to the hospital for x-rays, where we finally saw the extent of the damage. That’s when things got really real. I was told I needed surgery to fix the break. I decided to fly back to London and find a doctor that could see me ASAP. (Thanks for the recommendation, Paul!) An MRI and a few x-rays later, we set a date and prepared for the operation.

Operation went well. Had a great team and nice stay in hospital. Good curry, too! Thank you to everyone involved.

So….here I am, recovering with 6 metal screws in my leg, thinking about a lifetime of holding up TSA lines from here to Kalamazoo….damn.

Here’s the not so witty bit…….My doctors have advised me to lay low for a while. The most important thing now is for me to recover from the surgery, to keep my leg elevated so as to keep swelling down and prevent any infection/complication that could do long term damage. I’m not out of the woods yet, folks…

Which means, and it kills me to say it…..the doctors have told us to cancel shows. I’m really so sorry, guys. You know I hate to do it, but I’m afraid it’s just not physically possible for me at the moment. We’re doing our best right now to work out a plan, so bear with us. You know we’re good for our word. But for now, I need to make sure we have YEARS of gigs ahead of us….

You have always stood by our band, and we will always stand by you. Like I say at every show, we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you guys. And I mean that. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. And I will do everything I can to come back and give you a night to remember for the rest of your lives AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Until then…my sincerest apologies.

Your friend, Dave”

You can’t be mad about that. Well, you can, but a) it would be pointless, and b) he’s hardly done it on purpose!

Let’s have some cool pics of Dave and the band to finish off with.

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Foo-Fighters-Logo

I say “GET WELL DAVE!”

Download festival (in the rain)

My worst fear about going to a festival is rain. And mud. And basically all of the associated icky, cold, not fun, wet parts of bad weather. It’s hard to get excited about anything in the rain.

Last year at Download it was glorious. Which made sitting around, watching bands, having drinks and chilling out on the grass all lovely and nice and how summer should be.

This year I was determined to remain optimistic in the face of adversity – despite all of the weather reports that were saying otherwise, I was sure it wouldn’t rain. At most it might be cool and, even if there were showers, it had been so dry in the lead up that the rain would just drain away.

Wrong. The heavens opened on Friday night like someone had turned a tap on. It bucketed down! And by Saturday the whole of Download was churned up into a big squelchy muddy field.

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I learnt some stuff this weekend. I learnt that wellies are much more comfortable than I ever remembered (I haven’t had any since I was about 8). I also learnt that it’s kind of fun splashing around in puddles when you know you’re protected. I learnt that paying £100 extra for a guest area pass is most definitely worth it if you want to sit down under cover and not queue ages for a stinky muddy toilet (although I seriously hope the drinking water and toilet water came from separate sources!)

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The lesson that jagerbombs and Sambuca shots will lead to a whole body hangover that lasts almost as long as the festival was a harder one to handle.

Jagerbombs

Most of all, I had fun. The kind of fun that makes your sides hurt with laughter. The kind of fun that you only truly have when everyone is on the same wavelength. Daft fun, sing-a-long fun, screaming til you start to lose your voice fun.

Me at Download

I didn’t see as many bands as I expected to, which was partly due to the weather (we had to abandon Judas Priest and missed all of Slipknot on Friday) but also partly because Download is about more than that. It’s about catching up with friends, hanging out, talking crap and soaking up life. Also because it was always mainly about the Sunday line up, for us, and we knew that’s when we would find a spot and barely move.

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Friday started off badly due to poor organisation – collecting our wristbands took 2 hours this year, when last year it had only taken 10 minutes. The set up just wasn’t equipped to deal with the number of people and the process (the festival organisers had introduced a cashless system this year which meant that each wristband had to be uploaded with the pre-paid cash on arrival and there was one person at one computer doing it). We missed a couple of bands as a result just catching the end of Lacuna Coil.

Marilyn Manson on Saturday was as weirdly brilliant as ever (although I’m hearing conflicting stories that he was terrible, so maybe I was really drunk!)

Our Sunday started with Backyard Babies on Stage 2 – kicking off with their new song and delivering a corking set. Billy Idol was brilliant (and looking fab; my childhood crush doesn’t abate!) Slash with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators was as cool as expected (throwing in a couple of GnR classics too – brilliant!) Motley Crue delivered the goods more so than expected considering the car crash from Sweden Rocks the week before and the stage show and pyro made up for Vince’s missing vocals.

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Kiss were a blast of noise and fire and make up and everything you would expect – sounding and looking great.

What I will say for Download is that it’s an incredibly friendly festival. No attitude, no trouble – just like minded people with no alternative agenda enjoying themselves and throwing themselves wholeheartedly into the action. And fair play to the organisers for having a shedload of hay on hand to try and make up for the mud – it certainly helped! In spite of the fact I originally said I wouldn’t be going next year, there’s a very real chance that in 365 days I’ll be rounding up my 2016 highlights – hopefully with less hangover.

Festival Fashion – Download style

In just one week time I’ll be frantically packing for Download Festival, praying for dry weather, and wondering whether I really need 6 pairs of boots for 3 days (obviously the answer is yes).

Last year at this time I was having a mini (read major) meltdown because I’d never been to a festival before. Well, not on the scale of Download. I’d been to a one day dance festival back in the day, and a local folk festival. I also had tickets to V Festival one year, but sold them the night before because it had been raining for 3 days and I couldn’t stand the idea of mud (and we weren’t even camping) Download is massive compared to any of those things; just the thought of the size of it made my head explode. And I knew that cancelling was not an option.

Of course my main concern was what to wear. With the chance of rain being ever present in the UK, even in high summer, I needed to be prepared for everything. Such was my naivety that I even enquired of festival going friends whether I could wear sandals if the weather was good (yes, if you want your feet trampled and covered in beer/food/general festival ickiness, was the answer).

At one point I had 16 (yes sixteen) pairs of wellies in my flat, trying to decide which pair I liked best, fitted best, suited my style best. I bought a waterproof poncho. I overthought the whole thing to the point where I didn’t actually enjoy the lead up.

And then it was sunny. Sunny as in warm sunny. Sunny as in denim shorts and sleeveless tops sunny. It was glorious! I wore denim cut offs and vests and shades. Only on the last day did I need my poncho for 10 minutes. Fingers crossed for more of the same!

Because I don’t do camping (I mean, just why?!) I have the luxury of being able to take oodles and oodles of stuff, stack the car up and clutter our hotel room – hurrah! It also means I should be covered for all eventualities should the weather go from one extreme to the other (double hurrah! No-one needs a wet, cold and under-prepared me on their hands – I reckon I can out-bawl even the loudest of bands if I’m not happy). Plus, should the worst come to the worst and I fall over in mud, I have a whole clean set of clothes for the following day(s).

None of this “camping is all part of the experience” for me. Forget it.

Here’s a selection of what I’ll be taking this year.

Biker wellies – Asda (last year)

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Side split maxi dress with leopard print cross (H&M)

H&M maxi top dress

High waisted black denim shorts (H&M)Black denim shorts

Feather headdress (ebay)

Feather headdress

Black and white stripe top (H&M)

Black and white stripe top

Waterproof poncho (Amazon)

Waterproof poncho

Fringed skirt (H&M)

H&M fringed skirt

Tartan trousers (New Look)

Tartan trousers

Grey draped vest (H&M)

Grey draped top

C’est la Vie t-shirt (Dorothy Perkins)

Cest La Vie tee

Black leather jacket (Tesco F&F) and berry fedora (H&M)

Download festival outfit

Denim playsuit (Tesco F&F) and blue denim shorts (Matalan)

Download festival outfit

Obviously there’ll also be the usual staples of black skinnies, leather look leggings, over shirts, maybe a baggy jumper or two (depending on weather forecast). Perhaps kimonos if it’s not going to be too cold at night (although if I take a big enough bag I can have a costume change). Loads of jewellery. The good thing is I can just pack EVERYTHING! And I fully intend to!

Welcome to the world Caitlyn Jenner

It’s just 5 days since I posted about Bruce Jenner’s rumoured gender reassignment surgery, and I had no idea that Caitlyn would introduce herself to the world so soon. But she’s done so with style and grace. Wow. What an entrance.

Caitlyn Jenner

To anyone who “can’t deal” with the situation I’d say this. Chances are you’re never going to meet her, so it doesn’t really affect you. If you don’t like it, well tough, because it doesn’t really affect you. And also, for any other negative thoughts or comments, it doesn’t really affect you.

Live and let live.

A 65 year old man doesn’t go through invasive surgery, ridicule and potential isolation from his family and friends on a whim. Caitlyn is newly born and the rest of her life starts here. It’s just such a shame it took so long for her to be able to make the transition and become who she really is.

Kellie Maloney, former boxing promoter who was born Frank Maloney, went through the same process.

Kellie Maloney

Having previously retired from boxing, she’s now signed up two new fighters and will once again be involved in the sport. That’s a really positive step not only in her personal life, but also in challenging typical gender stereotypes in a male dominated sport. Kellie admits that she attempted suicide on more than one occasion, so to have come so far by being true to herself is proof that living a lie can only be toxic and hurtful.

This is a great article from The Guardian. Because yes, Caitlyn now looks like a woman. But in truth she has been a woman, albeit in her head, for a long time.

This is also a great article, because it answers so many of the stupid comments and questions that are out there – not only about Caitlyn but about all transgender people.

To paraphrase, don’t be a dick about the situation.

Sometimes in life it’s ok to be selfish. Living life in your true gender is one of those times.