tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824773636093417162024-03-17T11:49:00.154+01:00Sue's news and viewsSue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.comBlogger635125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-21034501270243675502024-03-11T20:56:00.003+01:002024-03-13T09:18:17.391+01:00A bit of a break<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes you need a break from the routine so I took the last week or so out from the blogosphere and social media. It's not like there's as much cheerful reading out there these days as there used to be! </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">There are various things that have gone wrong in my home largely because of the wet and windy weather we've had of late. A small leak from the roof, a faulty air con unit and other electric problems. I continue to suffer from some sort of allergic reaction that makes me sneeze a lot and can't put my finger on it, although that's diminishing now.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">But, on the positive side, I have been losing weight as intended, although not as rapidly as before. That slowdown is intentional as it's not healthy to crash down. Last Friday I had this urge for chocolate and wine, both of which I have largely avoided these last six months, and thoroughly enjoyed a 200g bar of milk chocco with hazelnuts and a bottle of easy-drinking red. I've got those cravings out of my system now and my weight-loss plan didn't seem to suffer too badly for it. I'm over half way to my target of 50lbs (22 kg) off. When my nose stops running and ruining my makeup, I'll take those wretched update photos I keep planning and never being able to do. Who said trans life was easy?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The daughter of a very good friend of mine is coming next week to help me with some secretarial/clerical work I need doing. As her mother is a very supportive trans ally and her sibling has spent some of her teenage years socially transitioned as F-M (although now seems to be reverting to F), I think I will have pleasant support from a young person. I have every confidence in this younger generation that seems far more humane and in touch with gender and sexual realities that previous generations, including mine.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I have also made plans to revisit the UK in May, partly to continue dealing with residual administrative matters and also to see friends I wasn't able to see during the Brexit and Covid years.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>A dip in the archives</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Seven years ago I went for a day out in London with a friend. It was cold, but going out as a tourist in the low season was a good plan. Here's me at Buckingham Palace.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTBeYjereGTe37RZSbQByj6djsCFz3b_2dxlv_prkkHaZD-lwRWNKxIVGSrIG1x8BrmGuq9adLPrConyJA2BNhqXZsn7pTBufCUzFnyYxlSfSFAKUDXF1nd7KNgr7Yv4Z2wU7Sqg1wBeX467ZswpJXtEEwodfQT9XINAZSHuGUE9qs83zFdpujy3af2vK/s4160/DSCN0233.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTBeYjereGTe37RZSbQByj6djsCFz3b_2dxlv_prkkHaZD-lwRWNKxIVGSrIG1x8BrmGuq9adLPrConyJA2BNhqXZsn7pTBufCUzFnyYxlSfSFAKUDXF1nd7KNgr7Yv4Z2wU7Sqg1wBeX467ZswpJXtEEwodfQT9XINAZSHuGUE9qs83zFdpujy3af2vK/w400-h300/DSCN0233.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">You can read the story of my day out here: <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2017/02/another-day-out.html" target="_blank">Another Day Out</a><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-41917237561153627282024-02-29T19:53:00.001+01:002024-02-29T19:53:27.297+01:00Transgender arts and culture, February 2024<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Some of the spectacles with a trans theme I have spotted from around the world this month.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Music</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">1) I wrote a lot about the huge Sanremo Music Festival earlier this month (<a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2024/02/body-mind-and-soul.html" target="_blank">Body, mind and Soul</a>; and <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-carnival-of-camp.html" target="_blank">A carnival of camp</a>; and <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2024/02/for-all-transphobia-theres.html" target="_blank">For all the transphobia, there's understanding out there</a>) and I'm pleased to see that the openly bi and trans-ally contestant, BigMama, who made the most impression on me, was invited to the United Nations in New York to speak at the Arts for Global Citizenship event for young people. She spoke about bullying, body shaming and discrimination of all kinds, which she herself has suffered from significantly. I think as trans people we can relate to all that.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">2) Obviously, BigMama benefits from a half century when being openly LGBT+ is legal. I notice a book out (</span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Non Tocchiamo Questo Tasto</i> (i.e. <i>Best not press that key</i>) by </span><span style="font-size: large;">Luca Ciammarughi) </span><span style="font-size: large;">about classical composers of past centuries who could reasonably fall under the queer umbrella and how they surreptitiously defied censorship in their works. Could be interesting. </span><span style="font-size: large;">There has, after all, been a recent biopic, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJP2QblqLA0" target="_blank"><i>Maestro</i></a>, about conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein that was able to present his bisexuality to modern audiences.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Carnival</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It's the carnival season, which is especially celebrated in Southern Europe and Latin America, although there's also a significant one in Basle/Bâle/Basel, Switzerland. I mention it as many of these are centuries old and have always provided an opportunity for people to go about in disguise. In places like Basle the costume traditionally covers all the body; in Venice, say, you may get away with just a mask, but wearing an all-over disguise is more in the spirit of the event; in Rio, the skimpy outfits are for the boldest only! <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">As, traditionally, you don't ask who's under the disguise, this annual opportunity to go about dressed differently has always been a godsend to trans people who need the chance to dress but without giving themselves away. In English-speaking countries, Hallowe'en has the same kind of usefulness.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It's also an opportunity to be very creative and wear something astonishing. These items from Venice:<br /></span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYCYYxGiITCRJgUcOb61fDvzxmH7l5inre_zV9LJdmgoY79GZQzK2Klqc6i-vGHQU2GjgKqPZn2gAs1rrb77s3sX4upIwp7pqNOaLYCybRaHO2vHp8UgsgKXByL0EmZwxFZVR8R4aWi4aL2IrQUcQzDSC_295knfyzbK_qJmnHcOGoP5e5aWp5BtjgugL/s680/Venezia_-_Maschera_in_Piazza_San_Marco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="680" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYCYYxGiITCRJgUcOb61fDvzxmH7l5inre_zV9LJdmgoY79GZQzK2Klqc6i-vGHQU2GjgKqPZn2gAs1rrb77s3sX4upIwp7pqNOaLYCybRaHO2vHp8UgsgKXByL0EmZwxFZVR8R4aWi4aL2IrQUcQzDSC_295knfyzbK_qJmnHcOGoP5e5aWp5BtjgugL/w400-h249/Venezia_-_Maschera_in_Piazza_San_Marco.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Massimo Telò<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxxLUICgiQNJIPDitKsiGlClunCu1xMPFXqLLa6UmejtpK9oaQfagBk80Pi-C168A7H-osRFku3tv9OgVGv_CQm2OPGsKGDiRSWzHUccy69-YKJBXljr4UncRA2RPGVMHOac1QnaZTjaEUNVysfcsdD7iyHW2Vwh_XzjniJfZ3QLKLotYRKKc4hbpZtGX/s1920/Carnival_of_Venice._2018-02-13_12-27-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxxLUICgiQNJIPDitKsiGlClunCu1xMPFXqLLa6UmejtpK9oaQfagBk80Pi-C168A7H-osRFku3tv9OgVGv_CQm2OPGsKGDiRSWzHUccy69-YKJBXljr4UncRA2RPGVMHOac1QnaZTjaEUNVysfcsdD7iyHW2Vwh_XzjniJfZ3QLKLotYRKKc4hbpZtGX/w400-h266/Carnival_of_Venice._2018-02-13_12-27-02.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Shesmax<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2Vw_pxtB2Asa82MvvI5OVBVBmbOp7rl2VKoFP8ZtrGBoODPRhzf-JzYYpvB2ZDNoosgFJx_ItVEFGXDOFByMk_LUpnqdCn10xkwsilKdUHu1hr11rimLTJu9QeIrLNxyFGMoP1XMAhY2jmr9fAvzKe7GeU0qYPqU4IktR-Btk56fzP_1Uq_VLociNVoe/s1600/Venezia_carnevale_11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2Vw_pxtB2Asa82MvvI5OVBVBmbOp7rl2VKoFP8ZtrGBoODPRhzf-JzYYpvB2ZDNoosgFJx_ItVEFGXDOFByMk_LUpnqdCn10xkwsilKdUHu1hr11rimLTJu9QeIrLNxyFGMoP1XMAhY2jmr9fAvzKe7GeU0qYPqU4IktR-Btk56fzP_1Uq_VLociNVoe/w400-h300/Venezia_carnevale_11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Who can say who's underneath these extravagant female costumes and china masks?</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The Venice Carnival is ongoing. The carnivals in the Canary Islands are famous for their more open opportunities for drag and crossdressing. Gran Canaria's drag queen parade is the largest but there are other such parades on other islands, and it's common for people to take the opportunity to present as another gender for whatever reason or none.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">These events, where normal life is upended and ordinary people can let their hair down, are thousands of years old and have always been an outlet for trans people. Such cultural outlets will always exist. For a bit more discussion of these events, see the second part, the "Dip in the Archives" of my post <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2021/06/proud-to-be-trans.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Photography</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Queen Bees</i> by Luigi Lista<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Luigi Lista has been following the trans community of Naples for six years and his book of photographs, <i>Queen Bees</i>, was published last year. Sleek Magazine's short review, translated (poorly) into English from a longer interview, is here, with lots of his photos: </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.sleek-mag.com/article/queen-bees-luigi-lista/" target="_blank">Queen Bees</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTe7P_JgYoQ6za17PdeauhL_PQReezyn2usn1d4icJILmaPO9jWcofIOO3AYAcmJUh0VAnVyEwhGhMO_xyXQTfT6ITxAjw85OZSrKbToq2fOi0XIx4JiilOO8CG0_q2hSpAcTPLrQxW6crGQRkaPjP_Idr5lGMxkSblrTIdjKQ7y7qE4Uo-qM-C3TP3OXj/s1920/17.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTe7P_JgYoQ6za17PdeauhL_PQReezyn2usn1d4icJILmaPO9jWcofIOO3AYAcmJUh0VAnVyEwhGhMO_xyXQTfT6ITxAjw85OZSrKbToq2fOi0XIx4JiilOO8CG0_q2hSpAcTPLrQxW6crGQRkaPjP_Idr5lGMxkSblrTIdjKQ7y7qE4Uo-qM-C3TP3OXj/w266-h400/17.webp" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">© Luigi Lista<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I hope you've enjoyed the extra day this month!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-88519331244804023242024-02-25T18:32:00.001+01:002024-02-25T18:32:32.980+01:00Weird health histories<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Despite being reassured by the London allergy clinics, with whom I spent a lot of time in the early 1990s and in 2014-16, that I have no known allergies, I have had some sort of streaming nose and sore eyes for nearly a fortnight. I am not sure why. Antihistamines are helping and the last couple of days have been better. But I suspect that, as with my killer eczema, it's probably due to my immune system being underemployed and attacking innocuous things or overreacting to something. This is one reason why there seems to be so much more hay fever, allergies, asthma and rashes these days than there used to be in the days when our bodies had to fight off plague, parasites and pox. As one consultant said, "There's no allergy that a good tapeworm wouldn't cure!"</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Now, I'm sure a good tapeworm would also help me slim a lot faster, too! My old school science teacher, who was always one for telling weird stories, said that around the turn of the twentieth century, ladies who were struggling with their wasp-waist corsetry could swallow a 'slimming pill' that was, in fact, a tapeworm egg. Once their little guest had helped them reach their desired weight, they would swallow the magic 'stop' pill, which was some antidote or worming tablet, and end their decline. I can't be bothered to check how true this tale is but I can say that I don't propose to go to the dubious-looking late-night kebab van to get a free sample of tapeworm with my purchase to help me either slim faster or get over whatever this allergic reaction is.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, I'm happy to report that, although my weight loss has lessened a bit recently (since I did need a bit of a break from the full-on slimming programme), I have lost 10.5 kg or 23 pounds to date. Nearly half of what I wanted to lose on November 1st has gone, and my healthy weight range is in sight. Ideally I'll be at target by the end of April, although that's a challenge. But if you don't set a challenge then it's too easy to just amble along and not make enough effort. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, the next post will be about the positive stuff I've seen and heard in this LGBT history month.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyjOkaAPV8Rp3oQNgDzR-qnGRnfTVch_y6N-4Ypox3pUM1RLOyweQLVzIu_YttzIArtZNtZSmTYzkQqV9Mtacg8O1Lma0npvGtqsplklqwcOqzfemYDD9yB1xH5jsQCN1Z578vcayjTNeVNLHOa5XO-qziKFwMJe_gOOw_z3zpNbI9XjryzrYdZlop54X5/s1600/Picture%20050%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="763" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyjOkaAPV8Rp3oQNgDzR-qnGRnfTVch_y6N-4Ypox3pUM1RLOyweQLVzIu_YttzIArtZNtZSmTYzkQqV9Mtacg8O1Lma0npvGtqsplklqwcOqzfemYDD9yB1xH5jsQCN1Z578vcayjTNeVNLHOa5XO-qziKFwMJe_gOOw_z3zpNbI9XjryzrYdZlop54X5/w191-h400/Picture%20050%203.jpg" width="191" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Optimum size<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Have a good week.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-87873090934452662482024-02-19T19:28:00.004+01:002024-02-19T19:31:34.783+01:00Cinderella time<p><span style="font-size: large;"> As a teenager, I was spellbound by a certain stage production of Cinderella: the ballgown to die for, the gorgeous wedding dress, the wonderful set, the costumes, the delightful music ... </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">No, not a pantomime or a film, but the opera by Rossini performed at La Scala opera house no less, which some kind and generous soul had given us tickets for.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I wrote more about this here: <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2022/12/fancy-frocks-to-make-your-heart-sing.html" target="_blank">Frocks to make your heart sing</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">At the weekend, they showed the video of that very
production on TV and I sat as delighted as I had been all those years
ago. I laughed at the gags, cried at the mistreatment of the heroine,
sang along to the music and rejoiced at the justice of the ending.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQe12r_zf_Yxtlq4DPcd4WVllGd4W0G6GKw1AZRWF_uv0VV_Z6O47kvEQRzf28EBTQhTLxtmzdLCkNyXH1j7f9JVaoIy4v8NFh8m4E2wCtKO7kFTkYhT2Z8UE8dB4uCIt2VTIlXw_bpVP3LyxtXYcBE48c3loMC0Y__Va6R5Sx1cDU0dBrr4YwcPKZrCH/s780/MV5BMzMxOGQ1OTItZGJhZC00YTY0LThlNjctYTczMWQyYzYzNDI3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzA4NTUyNjI@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="780" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQe12r_zf_Yxtlq4DPcd4WVllGd4W0G6GKw1AZRWF_uv0VV_Z6O47kvEQRzf28EBTQhTLxtmzdLCkNyXH1j7f9JVaoIy4v8NFh8m4E2wCtKO7kFTkYhT2Z8UE8dB4uCIt2VTIlXw_bpVP3LyxtXYcBE48c3loMC0Y__Va6R5Sx1cDU0dBrr4YwcPKZrCH/w400-h225/MV5BMzMxOGQ1OTItZGJhZC00YTY0LThlNjctYTczMWQyYzYzNDI3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzA4NTUyNjI@._V1_.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ponnelle's production for La Scala of Rossini's <i>La Cenerentola</i> with Frederica von Stade in the title role. Uncredited photo from IMDb.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span><span style="font-size: large;">As I said last time I wrote about this: isn't every TGirl a little
Cinderella, really? She has to fight for her right to take part in the
social life of her country and be treated with respect. Frankly, I think
we all merit a lovely dress for every big outing... And, frankly, whenever we feel like wearing a lovely dress just for the sake of it, too.<br /></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-size: large;">The weather has turned to spring and I've been able to eat my lunch outdoors again. Last night I heard the first frogs of the season. And the first mosquito of the year paid a visit to my bedroom. I heard it quite loudly by my ear. No wonder it was loud as I had rolled my head over onto it and it was trying to get out of the tight embrace it was in between my face and the pillow! I have also been doing a lot of spring cleaning, throwing out old stuff and generally tidying and rearranging. Except that dust and/or cleaning products have set off an allergy and I have been sneezing for a week. I even had to take an antihistamine today. But I've been enjoying my Cinderella time: an old comfy dress and house shoes, nothing attractive obviously or it might get spoilt. I have always delighted not just in the fancy TGirl parties but in the everyday humdrum life of a trans women getting on with her household chores or relaxing with a book. I don't have to be preening in front of a mirror or strutting on the dance floor to feel comfortable in myself.</span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLEfENsbk0cWOxfmEZhJoeaRcwrcySpVPR4ZMRnvyV7kT3TedFTCLRNxFekq7fvgy4dHmgebI5qhppE1ILKaEOXpdbEXIEiIUPJc34MrQ2Xa_Q4FXqUYE3vwqY7cDifznhBgw3jkEqEx58yADMPJ_ldBEWvdhGJV2SsxIIsIAAc5fDtjx655Wf10klsMQ0/s638/428354147_7363485317047109_3281673400751720494_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="638" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLEfENsbk0cWOxfmEZhJoeaRcwrcySpVPR4ZMRnvyV7kT3TedFTCLRNxFekq7fvgy4dHmgebI5qhppE1ILKaEOXpdbEXIEiIUPJc34MrQ2Xa_Q4FXqUYE3vwqY7cDifznhBgw3jkEqEx58yADMPJ_ldBEWvdhGJV2SsxIIsIAAc5fDtjx655Wf10klsMQ0/w400-h213/428354147_7363485317047109_3281673400751720494_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p><span><span style="font-size: large;">I was hoping to take a photo of myself as it's been ages since I last did so, but this constant blowing of my nose has put paid to my makeup! Another day soon... <br /></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-66510258056729628942024-02-14T19:38:00.003+01:002024-02-15T17:10:46.250+01:00For all the transphobia, there's understanding out there too<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Do you remember this cover of Time magazine, from ten years ago?</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBFxVJHlHP6YnEuqVIhpLnw9LqR4XA87kZtQ27aGwDmT6lG9FStW613ORuJVu816FDoV39EGpA-0pKUkmPCm-aLXO-t-OLKMZMQKSY8tmaXzg-wycQ04dqsp8s3eICEezgWpyrcRsP8hajZcwD8QWwl9Np0zcq0lAJPRvCFTM09kwBz5RCuAgsn6L6HEkB/s800/428404252_4049919471910578_150942763096342178_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBFxVJHlHP6YnEuqVIhpLnw9LqR4XA87kZtQ27aGwDmT6lG9FStW613ORuJVu816FDoV39EGpA-0pKUkmPCm-aLXO-t-OLKMZMQKSY8tmaXzg-wycQ04dqsp8s3eICEezgWpyrcRsP8hajZcwD8QWwl9Np0zcq0lAJPRvCFTM09kwBz5RCuAgsn6L6HEkB/w300-h400/428404252_4049919471910578_150942763096342178_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(c) <i>Time</i>, 29 May 2014<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The article is here if you're interested: <a href="https://time.com/magazine/us/135460/june-9th-2014-vol-183-no-22-u-s/" target="_blank">The Transgender Tipping Point</a></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">We really thought we were moving towards a rosier future for trans people. Clearly, in the USA, things went backwards under Trump and are difficult in certain states now. In the UK, even the deranged Brit</span><span style="font-size: large;">i</span><span style="font-size: large;">sh Prime Minister Theresa May, for all her hatred of human rights, planned to extend trans rights, but her replacements, the crooked Boris Johnson, the mad Liz Truss and the cruel Richy Sunak have used trans people as a source of abuse. I feel only revulsion at Sunak making a transphobic joke specifically when the mother of a murdered trans teenager was attending parliament the other week. It shows new heights of nastiness.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My blog intends to be positive overall. I was amazingly happy when I first started writing my blog in 2011 as I made my way as a woman in the world. Now I am uncertain. But one thing I do know is that in the European Union I stand a better chance of long-term tolerance than in the English-speaking world. Although here in Italy there is still a way to go, which makes me cautious. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Nevertheless, I open a recent copy of the Italian edition of <i>Elle</i> magazine and it has an article for parents on how to help your child if he or she is trans or struggling with gender issues, reviewing Emma Mirò's recent book on that very subject.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My December issue of <i>Mind</i> magazine (dedicated to neuroscience and psychology) discusses teenage image and, without judgment, simply talks of gender identity as part of the issues that teenagers face when engaging with the world and with their peers. Later in the same issue, there is a long and emotionally difficult article on electroshock, emetic and other aversion 'therapies' to 'cure' LGBT people, which were used in the 20th Century. None of these treatments worked, they conclude, they simply tortured people and are now rejected by civilized medicine because being LGBT is inherent and not a mental health disorder.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My daily regional paper, <i>Il Secolo XIX</i>, had a long positive obituary on 6 January about Ulla, the last of the grand old "princesas" of the trans ghetto of Genoa, who took so many TGirls under her wing. If you want to know more about the trans ghetto of Genoa, see my page on the photography of Lisetta Carmi: <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2023/10/identities-1960s-trans-photographic.html" target="_blank">Identities</a>. Ulla was subject to annoyance by the police throughout her life as she never transitioned despite living as a woman, and when an ordinance from the city authorities as recently as 2009 tried to close down certain venues for "immorality", the locals stood with the trans community as the girls actually kept crime out of their patch. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The paper's monthly health supplement has five pages on the gradual weakening of the Y chromosome that has just been sequenced, on the implications of that for men in the long term, on non-binary people, on gender dysphoria and how begging governments for trans rights is unjust. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I'm not looking out for articles on trans subjects specifically, these just crop up regularly in my normal reading of mainstream media articles here. And they are all trans supportive, just accepting being trans as a reality of life. For all the noisy hate that some politicians and TERFS spew as a distraction from the chaos and corruption they create, I think society as a whole is broadly trying to understand us and acknowledge our difficulties.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I'll be continuing to post the positive stuff.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Sanremo Festival aftermath</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My last two posts on the annual Sanremo Song Festival seem to have generated a great deal of interest, to judge by the stats. The overall winner was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelina_Mango" target="_blank">Angelina Mango</a>, who will present her song <i>La Noia </i>("Boredom") at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden, on 7-11 May. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">For me the champion was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BigMama" target="_blank">Big Mama</a> with her song <i>La rabbia non ti basta</i> ("Anger just isn't enough for you"), a song condemning childhood bullying and abuse. Her support for LGBT people, and those suffering in one way or another, was pretty unequivocal during the show. It's not really my kind of music but I wish her well. Great outfits, too!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, some are saying it was the best festival ever. The outgoing mayor hopes the event can be extended to two weeks in future. That's all very well for the hospitality industry, but it's chaos for us ordinary mortals who need the bank or the department store or even want a coffee in town during that time as these businesses close so as to be given over to radio execs and TV engineers. "Good for the economy" is a phrase that never quite seems to include me!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-14261385527277502122024-02-09T19:18:00.016+01:002024-02-10T21:18:19.578+01:00A carnival of camp!<p> <span style="font-size: large;">I’ve had a surprising amount of interest in comments on my last post, on Facebook and elsewhere, on the camp funfest that is the annual Sanremo Music Festival, so I thought I’d expand on that. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Here Storm Pulcinella is bucketing down as I write but that doesn't stop the loony tunes festival. I'm not prepared to watch all 5-6 hours of TV every night just to report back, but it's proving quite fun, even if Sanremo town centre is virtually off limits to ordinary mortals. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The main venue is the Ariston theatre, that for much of the year operates as a four-screen cinema:<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiByqqR7PtOzwolhhB0hCdXGJOeb6LnMaEsNnsSp3uPDBn_wwGRqI7IAbAo8aNutjzOrIuMTAHqo5tpFBuAfrtRaBDw5MqhSn6KG4UIt06JUCNAZahilVxarqppL2LNM-0n_-z36kCFNs4KtdjWamtiCdrNsHZGoDH4dhSOJcZ1GdTEzba0krtrZx-BPr9Y/s4160/DSCN1834.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiByqqR7PtOzwolhhB0hCdXGJOeb6LnMaEsNnsSp3uPDBn_wwGRqI7IAbAo8aNutjzOrIuMTAHqo5tpFBuAfrtRaBDw5MqhSn6KG4UIt06JUCNAZahilVxarqppL2LNM-0n_-z36kCFNs4KtdjWamtiCdrNsHZGoDH4dhSOJcZ1GdTEzba0krtrZx-BPr9Y/w300-h400/DSCN1834.jpeg" width="300" /></a></span></div><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Z8QE-zL_lv5YiCD7EWyuPnImIhhQPuY0fWFr6NBPVrMQ-WQ8_NJHigUBXwL5lM0HAwNsfburd84aBn3vZ2Zgb-SpAQlKKqOO57DBrojlqCGrXQ7dBFdhqWh2AxwQT7AWG_Q8EKpLWbiOF2yKBFOMV3Lr50T-zecKZgAR8iRtX33aCqX_jAQ-dGmG1qLf/s750/sanremo2024_orchestra_fg.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Z8QE-zL_lv5YiCD7EWyuPnImIhhQPuY0fWFr6NBPVrMQ-WQ8_NJHigUBXwL5lM0HAwNsfburd84aBn3vZ2Zgb-SpAQlKKqOO57DBrojlqCGrXQ7dBFdhqWh2AxwQT7AWG_Q8EKpLWbiOF2yKBFOMV3Lr50T-zecKZgAR8iRtX33aCqX_jAQ-dGmG1qLf/w400-h266/sanremo2024_orchestra_fg.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(c) Fotogramma : adnkronos<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;">2024 sees a fabulous stage, an outstanding presenter, varied music, lovely flowers (all grown locally through the mild winter), and lots of peripheral events... I'm not sure that John Travolta's rendition of the birdie song accompanied by fluffy dancing ducks was the high point of his career, but hey!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6FHVBGKiZnIRZJ9o72uhPZWeg7JGLFdJd3pGXaAYbu0zRZXW1nuLRjdFNg6GyQ-hjXqgNqV5Bz-fINe3p2PJcDV3hbcqo7ybQFble9Fh1xgsa3E8zjY-euPWxT6TJzCT-e213qA5n1CLgBV2VjMqGmgs30dBsM8oY6jj2z5lQGgZT7paGrabG_XMQ1XIE/s620/7923127_08101255_john_travolta_ballo_qua_qua.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="620" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6FHVBGKiZnIRZJ9o72uhPZWeg7JGLFdJd3pGXaAYbu0zRZXW1nuLRjdFNg6GyQ-hjXqgNqV5Bz-fINe3p2PJcDV3hbcqo7ybQFble9Fh1xgsa3E8zjY-euPWxT6TJzCT-e213qA5n1CLgBV2VjMqGmgs30dBsM8oY6jj2z5lQGgZT7paGrabG_XMQ1XIE/w400-h219/7923127_08101255_john_travolta_ballo_qua_qua.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(c) Il Gezzettino.it<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Big Mama, twerking in tomato-red tights with trans symbols on, dedicates her song to the queer community (thank you). Alessandro de Santis, one half of Santi Francesi, performs in a rather lovely glittery floor-length black evening dress. Ghali has sparkly bracelets and earrings that look very feminine. Marco Mengoni wears leather culottes by Fendi that look like a skirt. And is that a skirt that one of the boys of BNKR44 is wearing? Or some kind of Tarzanesque loincloth? Who cares, it’s not boring trousers, so that’s good.<br /><br />Of course, being a giant national event, it attracts politics, such as Ercolina 2, a cow protesting against the EU Common Agricultural Policy (successor to the original Ercolina who was famously granted an audience with the Pope in 1997 whilst protesting about milk quotas). Ercolina 2 appreciated the Sanremo Green Carpet to the extent of eating some of it! Well, it is organic! <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbjFessVeLbzGxteG6ZE4QHZ2_JUB-VqNCGvSoIXyKQQzOVxNtoJT5KJjuPu2tosF8_QP3SLJWsNMazuq12pH7QwfK_MjdNIE6W2GrHu7Rk9GREnH1CgDgY_C_ShEbISG1EciLRY7HoL3yBYZP7yORqN_y8FqTBGi2YsE5eVbh8LzWk7B4eRTxeSFa1Oe/s1200/sanremo-2024-ercolina-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="1200" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbjFessVeLbzGxteG6ZE4QHZ2_JUB-VqNCGvSoIXyKQQzOVxNtoJT5KJjuPu2tosF8_QP3SLJWsNMazuq12pH7QwfK_MjdNIE6W2GrHu7Rk9GREnH1CgDgY_C_ShEbISG1EciLRY7HoL3yBYZP7yORqN_y8FqTBGi2YsE5eVbh8LzWk7B4eRTxeSFa1Oe/w400-h246/sanremo-2024-ercolina-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The carpet tastes lousy, but the flowers are good! Ercolina 2 at Sanremo 2024. (c) Liguria Notizie<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The event is heavily mediatized, though, and only about one third of seats in the Ariston theatre are available to music fans; the other two thirds are for radio and TV people, music industry execs and the like. Ditto the vast cruise ship with DJ and outsize LED screen flashing messages to shore all night. <br /><br />The first festival was held in 1951 in the theatre at the casino, and the huge Ariston theatre was then built to house it from 1977. The event spawned the Eurovision song contest and if Sanremo council had remembered to renew an old contract with the government, Sanremo would have hosted Eurovision in 2022. The winner of the song contest gets a trophy, a guaranteed music career, and, better still, a municipal drain cover with their name and song on it!</span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGMdl8yb4tdXIxLo_3XcxwcOcZWuAuPMxLm1YWG88l_WMoATe31O6ZuyoyiVgRgaD6RQeEkU9LrJIReUZx1pY9wZ587iz0Gowrz5YkltWjtleZxIPkeHYeonN70pJGq_M3irEJMJfZeSQ5gTDPHcQjBqy-Xqm9GCPA_YZtqqYcym6c8dNB5gU5vAX7EFa/s320/T_b3fda4b8ea.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="240" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGMdl8yb4tdXIxLo_3XcxwcOcZWuAuPMxLm1YWG88l_WMoATe31O6ZuyoyiVgRgaD6RQeEkU9LrJIReUZx1pY9wZ587iz0Gowrz5YkltWjtleZxIPkeHYeonN70pJGq_M3irEJMJfZeSQ5gTDPHcQjBqy-Xqm9GCPA_YZtqqYcym6c8dNB5gU5vAX7EFa/w300-h400/T_b3fda4b8ea.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(c) Tonino Bonomo: Sanremonews.it<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;">No complaints so far from the local homophobic bishop this year that it's too camp. In fact, a very conservative Catholic organisation, Opus Dei, has just put out a list of pop songs that its faithful may enjoy without guilt. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Besides, any more anti-queer abuse from the bishop and Big Mama might well crush his head like a walnut between her gigantic thighs! (Only kidding, bishop; though she might not be!)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It's a commercial pop show, so of course it's camp and a bit gender-bending. This is the creative world for you. And that's why everyone loves it.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The winner will be announced at the end of Saturday night's TV marathon.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Weight loss</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Only half a pound off this week; I've lost focus a bit. And maybe that glass of wine to celebrate January is at fault! It'll be better next week.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x </span><br /></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-15304635178056735012024-02-05T19:04:00.003+01:002024-02-05T19:04:49.059+01:00Body, mind and soul<p> <span style="font-size: large;">I've lost 20 pounds (or 9 kg) since November 1st, so I have 30 to go to target. I'm almost back where I was two years ago before the distress of the Ukraine war and its refugees took my mind off slimming. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I hope to be at 28 pounds (2 stone, or 12.7 kg) loss by the end of this month, although I appreciate that that's quite a challenge. But I think I should set the bar quite high, otherwise it's easy to lose focus. I'm fed up with being overweight, literally!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Doing "Dry January" really helped. I think I might try to give up alcoholic drinks altogether except for big social occasions. On February 1st, as I'd been so good with my slimming in January, I thought I'd treat myself to lunch out in my favourite restaurant and I even ordered a glass of white wine as a reward for having had none the previous month. (It's very hard not to have wine here in Italy. They think you're weird if you don't.) The rest of the afternoon I felt sluggish even after just one glass so really it's better to do without it. Like so many 'bad' things, like coffee, sugar, tobacco, watching TV... it's just a habit as much as anything.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, I enjoyed my lunch out very much! You can get tired of your own cooking!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I took the train to Nice a couple of days later just to enjoy a change of scene. They were preparing for the two week long Carnival later this month. I enjoyed a bit of shopping, a museum (the <a href="https://www.explorenicecotedazur.com/en/info/palais-lascaris-en/" target="_blank">Palais Lascaris</a> with its beautiful interiors) and the book fair in one of the squares where they were virtually giving away antiquarian books. I selected one, an 1862 leatherbound volume in reasonable condition for just two euros!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIPa8cajzAZhwps3wsgzTDpRUUpujn6Za_qWVbEpM2V9hf7fY8p7UkkyMP88T8nyp5L3kwhqWEHgEXGsS8gMBbfpJGu6FUO64rqzoZfMox4TfRu-6vaC-yAUehojhF4vIVAiIpls_Bmx5pZWImdmZzDg3pyqPkTFQFyhk4mqcj4mL-qG_mi7WXPhgMeDH/s4160/DSCN6274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIPa8cajzAZhwps3wsgzTDpRUUpujn6Za_qWVbEpM2V9hf7fY8p7UkkyMP88T8nyp5L3kwhqWEHgEXGsS8gMBbfpJGu6FUO64rqzoZfMox4TfRu-6vaC-yAUehojhF4vIVAiIpls_Bmx5pZWImdmZzDg3pyqPkTFQFyhk4mqcj4mL-qG_mi7WXPhgMeDH/s320/DSCN6274.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">This week we have the Sanremo Music Festival on, which is the biggest annual national event in Italy. Covid stopped the Olympics but it didn't stop this! Nevertheless, this is the first festival unaffected by Covid since 2019 and they are making a HUGE thing of what is already huge. Last night I watched the fabulous firework display over Sanremo harbour from my home up the hill. Did you know they now have fireworks that burst in the shape of hearts, smiley emojis and musical notation? I didn't, but they do. Offshore, a huge ship for celebs to party in was all illuminated and had a laser show to match that in main square. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, the festival, which is a national song contest now in its 74th iteration, provides five hours a night of top TV for the next week. You don't venture into the town centre without a ticket and the "City of Music" is full of TV presenters, fey popstrels, dazed rockers blinking in the daylight and drooling drummers in chains with their minders. Apparently, John Travolta will be co-hosting on Wednesday. Here are some pictures of the preparations and the Green Carpet (Sanremo is not just the City of Music but also the City of Flowers, so the red carpet is green!)</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgplJcne5YlQw7NduKBsRNk6qlbb28PuEZuTjOA4-N6b3Urvir3vE0OEzcLm_NP9-E-8t_DylHWQei0Ls7OuEuZIZ3WN9dLpVhEg3zjI5GiHrx9TfxBPHnxRR6BrC7m5YdnutZpnAq6o59xmwOwLTPGTnqAm6BXuD9AY42uWrRexD1hFCt6e3lyh0ISmYsC/s4160/DSCN6259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgplJcne5YlQw7NduKBsRNk6qlbb28PuEZuTjOA4-N6b3Urvir3vE0OEzcLm_NP9-E-8t_DylHWQei0Ls7OuEuZIZ3WN9dLpVhEg3zjI5GiHrx9TfxBPHnxRR6BrC7m5YdnutZpnAq6o59xmwOwLTPGTnqAm6BXuD9AY42uWrRexD1hFCt6e3lyh0ISmYsC/w300-h400/DSCN6259.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ariston Theatre, a huge building that takes up much of a city block, is the main venue.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnR_pd3eVVqTKQlWwDTRf7o2Wqo8kL0Qqlg7ntmdsoIjsWiHaTtBOac1X9LH9EjaZdBCE-ml4Hmvw3bxElNW7HJaFwQQbgzjF9oaV04r0ldtWVkdCz0u3_-Nfb9BpL3gb3NqLq9z3KQYn313BLk0vXkTeMQ7iP7GKe8lhkw55hw_90FgmXzR9RINFA1gG-/s4160/DSCN6265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnR_pd3eVVqTKQlWwDTRf7o2Wqo8kL0Qqlg7ntmdsoIjsWiHaTtBOac1X9LH9EjaZdBCE-ml4Hmvw3bxElNW7HJaFwQQbgzjF9oaV04r0ldtWVkdCz0u3_-Nfb9BpL3gb3NqLq9z3KQYn313BLk0vXkTeMQ7iP7GKe8lhkw55hw_90FgmXzR9RINFA1gG-/w400-h300/DSCN6265.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The main square, normally an empty, open space<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigrJPFntRdrzq4d_uEdz85UpoD175bB_8uhj078-pBWX6dnl11Pphtp2YvyafKJcjd7eDv9LqVysMYUWCJ7WUWFXwRKbBClik6fD6vn7KmjWS6A6ZC6Miwt7LO3fw3WPuXz7G5PF2QPKuozg-0-Y1u87aljdXA_jwCQddifPbCa6ctZ6rqTWnuD1ogAp96/s4160/DSCN6267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigrJPFntRdrzq4d_uEdz85UpoD175bB_8uhj078-pBWX6dnl11Pphtp2YvyafKJcjd7eDv9LqVysMYUWCJ7WUWFXwRKbBClik6fD6vn7KmjWS6A6ZC6Miwt7LO3fw3WPuXz7G5PF2QPKuozg-0-Y1u87aljdXA_jwCQddifPbCa6ctZ6rqTWnuD1ogAp96/s320/DSCN6267.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Green Carpet<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;">In 2021 the Festival played on despite the raging pandemic and Måneskin, a genderfluid group, won, which really boosted LGBT morale here. I wrote about that <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2021/03/more-wins-for-gender-fluidity.html" target="_blank">here</a>. They then went on to win the <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2021/05/maneskin.html" target="_blank">Eurovision song contest</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I'm not sufficiently keen on contemporary pop music to join the crush in Sanremo but I plan to walk the beautiful coast road this month. It'll get me fresh air and help me lose even more weight.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Later, as the spring emerges from winter we will have the Milan-Sanremo cycle race, local carnivals, the Flower Parade and other events. I feel glad I moved here from Britain. Between New Year and Easter, the UK has no festivities or public holidays at all in the darkest, coldest period of the year. Here they realise that people need fun and festivity precisely because the season brings little joy in itself. I'm looking forward to the forthcoming events, including Pride in April.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Brianna Ghey judgment</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I will comment on this in a more serious post, but I tuned in live to the sentencing hearing and my feeling is that the sentence is correct. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x <br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-36385973123086886272024-01-31T16:59:00.004+01:002024-01-31T17:14:53.997+01:00Transgender arts and culture, January 2024<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Last year I wrote a number of items about art and photography shows, plays, films, etc. with a trans theme or slant. To judge by the number of views, they were popular so I plan to do more of these every month or so. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Here I aim to show that in the world of creativity, being trans can be a status worth celebrating. This month I have spotted various items in France and Italy, with contributions from further afield.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Art <br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Paraventi: folding screens from the 17th to the 21st centuries</i> at the Prada Foundation in Milan (to 26 Feb) may seem an odd exhibition to include here, but it is receiving much praise. It includes a section on how the queer community has turned a screen for dressing behind into something transgressive. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">From the <a href="https://www.moussemagazine.it/magazine/paraventi-folding-screens-from-the-17th-to-21st-centuries-fondazione-prada-milan-2023/" target="_blank">Mousse Magazine review</a>: <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800180;">“Painting or sculpture? Art or furniture? Utilitarian or ornamental?
Decorative, functional, architectural, or theatrical? This innovative
exhibition examines the many questions and paradoxes surrounding the
unfolding history of the paravent." (Curator Nicholas Cullinan)<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800180;">Queer aesthetics are at the center of another series of works that
transform this everyday object into an overtly subversive decoration
element. From an Omega workshop screen by Duncan Grant from the
Bloomsbury haven of Charleston to a rare 1929 screen made by Francis
Bacon and <i>World of Cats</i> (1966) by British actor, writer, and
collagist Kenneth Halliwell through to works by contemporary artists
such as Kai Althoff, Marc-Camille Chaimowicz and Francesco Vezzoli, a
culturally disruptive narrative is told. <span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">There are many online reviews of this exhibition but the most entertaining is this one from <a href="https://www.designboom.com/art/paraventi-fondazione-prada-milan-exhibition-folding-screens-sanaa-nicholas-cullinan-interview-10-29-2023/" target="_blank">Designboom</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Theatre<br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">(1) In the port of Savona, NW Italy, the show <i>Finora</i> [<i>Up till now</i>] performed Anna Giusto and Giancarlo Mariottini, covers the personal search by actor and actress into male and female identities through the exaggerated femininity of drag queens and faux queens, so as to challenge the irrational threat that some people experience if they believe in rigid gender norms. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiraXAQw1CWJa0IYxmewS0pO1VLiqmsdbnDWtNE4BjNLMbaEYGdykeuCQUTf2rb9Sjl5N3MiByTttJj-0yQY6taxZdkDnNIB3V9-1fhU_USfwUiK_MrD500hyphenhyphen_ENZ9PJbfL2Uqo-dMpsmbNb9r1c7tCTDPOfZ1fsH4NrKn_ZSqbSDk2dBTFWg6mK11lEscc/s1500/419280185_874280734699323_6266644185739895588_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiraXAQw1CWJa0IYxmewS0pO1VLiqmsdbnDWtNE4BjNLMbaEYGdykeuCQUTf2rb9Sjl5N3MiByTttJj-0yQY6taxZdkDnNIB3V9-1fhU_USfwUiK_MrD500hyphenhyphen_ENZ9PJbfL2Uqo-dMpsmbNb9r1c7tCTDPOfZ1fsH4NrKn_ZSqbSDk2dBTFWg6mK11lEscc/w266-h400/419280185_874280734699323_6266644185739895588_n.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Officine Solimano promotional material for <i>Finora</i> in Savona, Jan 2024<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">(2) Vladimir Luxuria, former member of the Italian parliament and trans actress, continues to tour with <i>Princesa</i>, a show about the difficult life and tragic death of Brazilian trans woman <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernanda_Farias_de_Albuquerque" target="_blank">Fernanda Farias de Albuquerque</a>, based on her autobiography. There was also a <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0281094/" target="_blank">2001 film</a> about Princesa.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_Pto-rtOUJUnS0mTEKB__WE3F5jOkvNJCYH06VCov4FC00Vou7gWRnjgEAZ_-iP0-eM_6OEBoTJRq0RVRr-UgukIalwqGQSd5UOSLre9vcWViRS6k08BIxpksS7Jb3S-_oX3SryZczPyt0GdCTEGaJKDwxJTQcHqhASUHzkFC2kYJKxGqN3zTDH3np2A/s1200/teatro.it-vladimir-luxuria-princesa-date-tour-man.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_Pto-rtOUJUnS0mTEKB__WE3F5jOkvNJCYH06VCov4FC00Vou7gWRnjgEAZ_-iP0-eM_6OEBoTJRq0RVRr-UgukIalwqGQSd5UOSLre9vcWViRS6k08BIxpksS7Jb3S-_oX3SryZczPyt0GdCTEGaJKDwxJTQcHqhASUHzkFC2kYJKxGqN3zTDH3np2A/w334-h400/teatro.it-vladimir-luxuria-princesa-date-tour-man.jpg" width="334" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Promotional material for the <i>Princesa</i> tour<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Film</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Arche de Noé</i> (<i>Noah's Ark</i>),
starring Valérie Lemercier, is a French comedy drama about a centre for
young LGBT people who have felt it necessary to leave home. They have
six months to find their feet. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">There doesn't seem to be an English version yet, though, but the French trailer is here:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZaGoFhadT98" width="320" youtube-src-id="ZaGoFhadT98"></iframe></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It has mixed reviews.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I discussed such a centre last year: <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2023/07/like-box-of-chocolates.html" target="_blank">Like a Box of Chocolates</a> (second item: <i>La Bulle</i>).</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Obituaries<br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Vincent Honoré, exhibitions curator at MO.CO. (the unique Modern Arts 'ecosystem' in Montpellier, France) died on November 29th last. His exhibitions included the highly acclaimed 2020-21 <b>Possédé·e·s</b> (<b>Possessed</b>) on the theme of "deviance, performance, resistance", exploring</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800180;">the relationship between resistant or excluded bodies and esoterisms: a
means to reappropriate and perform feminist, queer or decolonial
identities.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The centre's pages, including videos and photos of the exhibition and a 32-page illustrated booklet you can download, are on there site here: <a href="https://www.moco.art/en/exposition/possessed" target="_blank">Possessed</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Especially relevant were: M. Mahdi Hamad Hassanzada from Afghanistan's pictures of Divs, supernatural hermaphroditic creatures from Persian mythology; Pierre Molinier, a surrealist French artist (died 1976) who explored drag and fetish culture in his photography; Antonio Obà from Brazil who explores Afro-Brazilian animist religions, especially the Pomba-gira deity who represents beauty and desire and is seen as protective of the LGBT community; and Apolinia Sokol's fabulous transgender upgrade of Botticelli's <i>Primavera</i> that is the second image in the rolling photos on MO.CO.'s exhibition page (link above).<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Incidentally, Montpellier is a pleasant and interesting historic city, worth visiting anyway. I was there a year ago: <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2023/02/french-holiday.html" target="_blank">French holiday</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Wishing you a good transition to February, with its lengthening days, Valentine's Day, Carnival and leap day.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-57421872443300141232024-01-25T18:00:00.001+01:002024-01-29T20:50:26.542+01:00My photo with no clothes, or how to deal with pests<p><span style="font-size: large;">Let's talk about sex pests and some ways to stop their attention from escalating. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">From time to time we all get some inadequate man contacting us wanting to start a conversation that we know has only one direction, don't we?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">This week I've had one who's kept pestering me with "Hi" and "You look beautiful" and "Good morning". </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">In an idle moment earlier today I wondered if perhaps he wasn't the usual kind of pest as, to be fair, there are some genuine people out there. Indeed, I've made a good friend and ally from one such unpromising opening. So I replied with "Good morning. You keep contacting me but, to be honest, you may be wasting your time."<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">"You very beautiful," was his <i>non sequitur</i>.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">"Thank you. That's the power of makeup!"</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">"Pls send photo with no clothes."</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">So I sent him this photo of my drying rack, with no clothes. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-E01StyCwgDPsov_4bSBk4YTynuQ6E9cOwOfYMJovt6laavFrrCSMUSxhLOSv7dEANP0g9XdCJ_M1ds2fJKOmnaId7p9Vrnxe5g3AZJ-YLeMqI_j0GPoX2LjVj9xq8GbzSagPGYiExxWji556DZ8fet-yOGmLhQeVgWuWYr0hqHXzMd7TmQ7QAnta-4W1/s4160/DSCN6256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-E01StyCwgDPsov_4bSBk4YTynuQ6E9cOwOfYMJovt6laavFrrCSMUSxhLOSv7dEANP0g9XdCJ_M1ds2fJKOmnaId7p9Vrnxe5g3AZJ-YLeMqI_j0GPoX2LjVj9xq8GbzSagPGYiExxWji556DZ8fet-yOGmLhQeVgWuWYr0hqHXzMd7TmQ7QAnta-4W1/w400-h300/DSCN6256.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I've not heard back from him!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Similarly, if you receive an unsolicited dick pic, I and other friends have found one effective response is to ask them, "Thanks for the picture, but what exactly is that? It looks a bit like a weird sort of penis thing, only smaller." </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">As for one trans friend's priceless response to an aggressive and overcurious person who wanted to know why the hell 'he' was dressed like that, said friend replied that she was off to the clubs to pick up women. "Did you know," she said, "more women than you'd imagine are bi and there's nothing they love more than a crossdresser. It gives them the best of both worlds. I'm going to get laid tonight. How about you?" She continued on her way, leaving him open-mouthed, perhaps the gears of his mind slowly beginning to churn around the question of whether his lack of success with women was due to his not being a crossdresser, too. Hey, buddy, new recruits always welcome!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Stay safe out there and online. </span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxitaVatQK-s0VxvKEf3RvEcihGB0LQHAK5zntAbl0tWbAmFMiDlABosC2bMmyXPCxLMXtyKK8LkU-6-eQPYY9q5mRdDnikeB0PYlUe3CZ-DvuYNNnh4mkvrU7iJrDle-MYV9d8Nb-_eDcuHEf2ecTUZtj6NKLGlVi1501Tovklj19zB5mhbbPk0zcc8lQ/s4160/DSCN6251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxitaVatQK-s0VxvKEf3RvEcihGB0LQHAK5zntAbl0tWbAmFMiDlABosC2bMmyXPCxLMXtyKK8LkU-6-eQPYY9q5mRdDnikeB0PYlUe3CZ-DvuYNNnh4mkvrU7iJrDle-MYV9d8Nb-_eDcuHEf2ecTUZtj6NKLGlVi1501Tovklj19zB5mhbbPk0zcc8lQ/w400-h300/DSCN6251.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winter sunset from home<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-4494087928334273472024-01-22T20:25:00.001+01:002024-01-22T20:25:13.088+01:00Winter fairy<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Now to talk about pretty things. Although these last two weeks have been mainly cold, clammy and grey, and my mood sinks in such weather and in the shorter days of winter, I watched a video earlier of someone making a winter fairy garden in a basket, with evergreen plants like holly and ivy, a tiny pool of water in the centre and unusual pieces of wood, stones and other material. The end result was lovely and it inspired me to tidy up my garden that gets very messy and neglected in winter.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I remember how one of my sisters loved fairies when she was little. Her favourite books were the little Flower Fairy volumes by Cicely Mary Barker. I won't put an example up here as they are still in copyright and trademarked but you can look at the website of her estate here: <a href="https://flowerfairies.com/meet-the-fairies/" target="_blank">Flower Fairies: Meet the Fairies</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">There were many other such fairy books at home, beautifully illustrated by superb artists such as Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite ...<br /></span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKQ2pCm4tv3dUjeVEpLeYxqtkwZOEmZPsiHP3Ins2RUFPI73FKHGFUyK8YaExiBRaZrBmaugLMeugp0u5cAfI5Vm_NjJf1J2YbqzuWI1kS76MCWdtShyw7RXjkb3q-DAhr1C8QSLLITVIDe0XzBee8Eyn7MEOXr3JAMYZiO6qJ6JXoyKRlSeeFXXjkIcm/s640/'Fairy_Islands'_from_the_book_Elves_and_Fairies_1916_by_Ida_Rentoul_Outhwaite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="640" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKQ2pCm4tv3dUjeVEpLeYxqtkwZOEmZPsiHP3Ins2RUFPI73FKHGFUyK8YaExiBRaZrBmaugLMeugp0u5cAfI5Vm_NjJf1J2YbqzuWI1kS76MCWdtShyw7RXjkb3q-DAhr1C8QSLLITVIDe0XzBee8Eyn7MEOXr3JAMYZiO6qJ6JXoyKRlSeeFXXjkIcm/w400-h313/'Fairy_Islands'_from_the_book_Elves_and_Fairies_1916_by_Ida_Rentoul_Outhwaite.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Fairy Islands", illustration by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite for the book "Elves and Fairies".<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I loved these books, too, but I was supposed to be a boy and they were definitely <i>only for girls</i> so I had to pretend to hate them and I was quite nasty to my sister about them out of sheer jealousy and the pain of having to stick with gender norms. Abuse passes down the line... </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">But I still love fairies. I don't <i>believe</i> in fairies, but I love their delicacy. As I've said before, being trans is <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2021/10/its-not-just-about-clothes.html" target="_blank">not just about the clothes</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeJZKs8ub9-zOG6e5J86vE3PyUe68YotSIk19OtjFJNAAXe05UaOmK70TArudful2CxbHwv09UAvcGXFiGUwjzsTQv6y-C5GxU7ebYonZx-NKPQNnz9FlL0ZJhQt_hs0WFod5Sn7HScPn9cgSZUv4j5kPsRzLstWYPKXLP7hRcFSdudh9krwI-1M5qOdxX/s470/arthur-rackham-a-fairy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="343" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeJZKs8ub9-zOG6e5J86vE3PyUe68YotSIk19OtjFJNAAXe05UaOmK70TArudful2CxbHwv09UAvcGXFiGUwjzsTQv6y-C5GxU7ebYonZx-NKPQNnz9FlL0ZJhQt_hs0WFod5Sn7HScPn9cgSZUv4j5kPsRzLstWYPKXLP7hRcFSdudh9krwI-1M5qOdxX/w293-h400/arthur-rackham-a-fairy.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"A fairy" by Arthur Rackham; pen, ink & watercolour.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">So maybe I'll make a fairy garden, too, with plants and water that might attract delicate winged creatures like butterflies or dragonflies. I do like the little animals here, mainly small reptiles. But remember,<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span>Newts and blindworms do no wrong, </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">come not near our fairy queen. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(Shakespeare, <i>A Midsummer Night's Dream</i>)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Another magical thing happened yesterday. Occasionally, when the air is very clear, you can see the island of Corsica from here. It's not just a question of good seeing, though, but refraction since the whole island, even the highest peaks, are actually below the horizon, 200 km (125 miles) away and more.<br /></span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgEaE35-X7D9ohkyn7pwgJ-xTL0nkMl5d4Ktrpuv3LIz69ImaXqiePO8dYB62-KgiAwm06TK0hViGn_qlTYkr68SoP0WUNTEBkgjzmKVdZs1q36zASBrnLycr_R1c237vxMcLBCmDZXudbuEPLlTkqlndFlI_zQS5RvQ4HjAv6FtRoCye5G49z1GG2DfPZ/s706/421842826_1608078796685785_2766857322697939246_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="706" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgEaE35-X7D9ohkyn7pwgJ-xTL0nkMl5d4Ktrpuv3LIz69ImaXqiePO8dYB62-KgiAwm06TK0hViGn_qlTYkr68SoP0WUNTEBkgjzmKVdZs1q36zASBrnLycr_R1c237vxMcLBCmDZXudbuEPLlTkqlndFlI_zQS5RvQ4HjAv6FtRoCye5G49z1GG2DfPZ/w400-h393/421842826_1608078796685785_2766857322697939246_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corsica, from western Liguria, January 21st 2024, by Paolo Valbusa on Facebook<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Corsica is often visible in late May when the setting sun reflects off the last snows on the highest mountains and makes the whole thing an ethereal pink, like a blancmange floating on the sea. It's an amazing sight. I'd never seen it in January before.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Maybe it's true that the best things in life are free.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Weight loss</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">In my bid to become a fairyweight transwoman, I've lost another 3 pounds (1.36 kg) over the last week (although my bathroom scales were doing some very odd things this morning - maybe the battery's running low). That's over 18.5 pounds (8.4kg) so far, with 31.5 to go. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>You Spotted Snakes, by Will Shakespeare<br /></i></span></p><div class="__center_block" style="display: table; height: auto; margin: 0 auto 0 auto; position: relative; width: auto;">
<p><span class="smallcaps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">You</span> spotted snakes with double tongue,<br />
<span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 1em;"></span>Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen;<br />
Newts and blind-worms, do no wrong,<br />
<span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 1em;"></span>Come not near our fairy queen.
</p><p><span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 4em;"></span>Philomel, with melody<br />
<span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 4em;"></span>Sing in our sweet lullaby;<br />
Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby:<br />
<span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 6em;"></span>Never harm,<br />
<span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 6em;"></span>Nor spell nor charm,<br />
<span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 4em;"></span>Come our lovely lady nigh;<br />
<span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 4em;"></span>So, good night, with lullaby.
</p><p>Weaving spiders, come not here;<br />
<span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 1em;"></span>Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence!<br />
Beetles black, approach not near;<br />
<span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 1em;"></span>Worm nor snail, do no offence.
</p>
<div class="__nop wst-nop"></div>
<p> <span><span class="pagenum ws-pagenum" data-page-index="26" data-page-name="Page:Shakespeare's Songs.djvu/26" data-page-number="12" data-page-quality="3" id="12" title="Page:Shakespeare%27s_Songs.djvu/26"><span class="pagenum-inner ws-noexport" id="pageindex_26"></span></span></span><span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 4em;"></span>Philomel, with melody<br />
<span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 4em;"></span>Sing in our sweet lullaby;<br />
Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby:<br />
<span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 6em;"></span>Never harm,<br />
<span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 6em;"></span>Nor spell nor charm,<br />
<span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 4em;"></span>Come our lovely lady nigh;<br />
<span class="wst-gap __gap" style="display: inline-block; width: 4em;"></span>So, good night, with lullaby.
</p>
</div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqkFXRTHDTpBBmiraLJjNy-g5wmeQ9ghJ7J5HgdbgDLyqcRCyLs-BkBauHFY_fAZRoFu52fsvh0l-SYSUHc3nzAdJjwv00pzbustJsS3Q_fV2TyRr3WzBY4ZhrLz5WjLREfMc35Yq4xQ3yV8NLIgUeG_hQXvEi6sPtOkurVAEd_Eh10rkHU3JOEHZA3OXi/s1200/John_Simmons_-_Titania_sleeping_in_the_moonlight_protected_by_her_fairies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1070" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqkFXRTHDTpBBmiraLJjNy-g5wmeQ9ghJ7J5HgdbgDLyqcRCyLs-BkBauHFY_fAZRoFu52fsvh0l-SYSUHc3nzAdJjwv00pzbustJsS3Q_fV2TyRr3WzBY4ZhrLz5WjLREfMc35Yq4xQ3yV8NLIgUeG_hQXvEi6sPtOkurVAEd_Eh10rkHU3JOEHZA3OXi/w356-h400/John_Simmons_-_Titania_sleeping_in_the_moonlight_protected_by_her_fairies.jpg" width="356" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Titania sleeping in the moonlight protected by her fairies", by John Simmons<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-81223711686827039312024-01-19T18:18:00.004+01:002024-01-20T09:27:10.542+01:00Turning the tables on male violence - a lesson from a lady<p> <span style="font-size: large;">I took a day trip to Genoa yesterday, to have a mooch around and see an exhibition on Artemisia Gentileschi and other female painters. I was blown away by it. And by the lesson to be learnt.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Genoa (or Genova) is the Mediterranean port that used to be capital of a powerful little maritime trading empire hundreds of years ago and its rich past is seen everywhere. My previous posts on Genoese culture include the origins of <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2021/08/jeans-garment-that-made-modern-world.html" target="_blank">jeans</a> and local <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2023/10/identities-1960s-trans-photographic.html" target="_blank">trans life in the 1960s</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_Gentileschi" target="_blank">Artemisia Gentileschi</a> (1593-1656) was the first woman to be admitted to the academy of Florence, and the other painters on display like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofonisba_Anguissola" target="_blank">Sofonisba Anguissola</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalba_Carriera" target="_blank">Rosalba Carriera</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabetta_Sirani" target="_blank">Elisabetta Sirani</a>, etc. had similar accolades. Prior to that, female painters were usually nuns working in churches, so this was a new era in which an independent professional woman could make her own career. <br /><br />The paintings were stunning and the curators had done a grand job.<br /><br />The formative moment in her life was being raped at knifepoint by her father’s associate. She was able to secure his conviction and imprisonment. Ever after, her main theme was the determined woman getting the better of leering, strong or powerful men: Judith cutting off Holofernes’ head is a favourite subject; Cleopatra choosing suicide by snake rather than falling into the hands of the Romans; Delilah giving Samson a buzzcut; and Susanna and the Elders who want their wicked way with her as she bathes. This is likely a nude self-portrait, a bold statement of her feelings on this matter. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrgIXF0NXlrDxjAHHwcfXuH40Whh7xPfkCF5o133sHoyXCmkx33FNMqICLgdaTofLEzsExqeUkwjYXXYQLLkgmS51kxgZI1xbJ9kNVsXb-RRHcjcMIR1_FSSwk9qqwneWT477k3PLTJYtTfHslOc2622cQ-uMDb22sGVG7glpj2Fx0Tag2eIeKBvGzWD4/s700/Susanna_and_the_Elders_(1610),_Artemisia_Gentileschi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="493" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrgIXF0NXlrDxjAHHwcfXuH40Whh7xPfkCF5o133sHoyXCmkx33FNMqICLgdaTofLEzsExqeUkwjYXXYQLLkgmS51kxgZI1xbJ9kNVsXb-RRHcjcMIR1_FSSwk9qqwneWT477k3PLTJYtTfHslOc2622cQ-uMDb22sGVG7glpj2Fx0Tag2eIeKBvGzWD4/w281-h400/Susanna_and_the_Elders_(1610),_Artemisia_Gentileschi.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi, <i>Susanna and the Elders</i>, c. 1610<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Fearing the violence of men is a constant concern for women. I too have taken the longer but better lit route home at night rather than increase the risk of attack, or crossed the street to avoid groups of men, even in a safe city like London. Bringing rapists to justice remains very difficult. Artemisia's testimony was subject to the most rigorous testing, by judicial torture. Even so, she did not back down on her story, and that gained the confidence of the court. We do not resort to such horrible practices today but securing convictions for such crimes remains hard. The world is seeing an upsurge of male aggression, bullying, war and violence, tapped into by some very unscrupulous politicians, and women are bearing more of the brunt of that, not to mention the reduction of the rights of the LGBT+ community. More on that another day. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">This woman turned the cruelty in her life to good effect, creating formidable paintings that inspired a whole movement in the art of the era that depicted strong women, by contrast to all too prevalent male notions of women being the weaker sex. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>More of Genoa</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It was quite a grey day for the most part, with stormy seas, so I wasn't able to get the best photos, but a few odd bits and pieces include this jolly lion guarding the steps of the cathedral:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6EEH0qUKG4G9QZbANSPKxzslG1vys8J2YHA0yQtfXeYMHQCR1le8LgyEtK-jh8h0GsORNeuglIfnNIz9ytVSybQFPwWQ-1lUvjFDmSzWXuXPLT6CZKRPg1a1QeAlekgRiwa2xZBT3d7SjasCw3ffKOE9_pzxQm4aHU2yu8xWhPpmewEVT5v5ddRWoLFUe/s4160/DSCN6231.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6EEH0qUKG4G9QZbANSPKxzslG1vys8J2YHA0yQtfXeYMHQCR1le8LgyEtK-jh8h0GsORNeuglIfnNIz9ytVSybQFPwWQ-1lUvjFDmSzWXuXPLT6CZKRPg1a1QeAlekgRiwa2xZBT3d7SjasCw3ffKOE9_pzxQm4aHU2yu8xWhPpmewEVT5v5ddRWoLFUe/w400-h300/DSCN6231.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">wheels of cheese in this shop window (I think that customer buys a lot of cheese!):</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYlv0AweTv4sKv0msCHfLYRDUvqSxzTS8ynBU9de-ecmNG_rKLq4m73bKit0jin4Y3gp9pHRLotDNDw9NwT_TQToaqwrKSUZlPtpLY9lk3PivVaTaL9FasiMBUtzaIBQrws22blEXk7ylAsxUEmGrvik71tTx73I3_QsqKITBttM2NPSS7vwm9phquJUSW/s4160/DSCN6234.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYlv0AweTv4sKv0msCHfLYRDUvqSxzTS8ynBU9de-ecmNG_rKLq4m73bKit0jin4Y3gp9pHRLotDNDw9NwT_TQToaqwrKSUZlPtpLY9lk3PivVaTaL9FasiMBUtzaIBQrws22blEXk7ylAsxUEmGrvik71tTx73I3_QsqKITBttM2NPSS7vwm9phquJUSW/w300-h400/DSCN6234.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">and this beautifully painted building on the dockside with a centrepiece of St George slaying the dragon:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTSGLV6nSxQ5zZaNMNFTrjMxirjUIgnnyZwKgGbvPG2yuWveuawoR6f52wAoCIXucBWckI5pzALakC2R7ItMGCT0s-VD1MxCJWSE7i5-aLuuafAR7x6gkNguf0xar34tvZzXXjAtUz9WCY8fAUGBwShwKGS-q2mGmKplxJdwH7MsVX9gMQH8zUjWrX7xn/s4160/DSCN6238.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTSGLV6nSxQ5zZaNMNFTrjMxirjUIgnnyZwKgGbvPG2yuWveuawoR6f52wAoCIXucBWckI5pzALakC2R7ItMGCT0s-VD1MxCJWSE7i5-aLuuafAR7x6gkNguf0xar34tvZzXXjAtUz9WCY8fAUGBwShwKGS-q2mGmKplxJdwH7MsVX9gMQH8zUjWrX7xn/w400-h300/DSCN6238.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I couldn't get a better shot because, as in so many places in the world, a major road passes right in front of it on an elevated section, which you can see a bit of in the top left corner. Ah, the 1960s, age of free love and flyovers!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Most of the rest of the time I spent enjoying the shops and stalls, took the metro just for the fun of it and strolled through the narrow streets of the old city. A good day out. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">PS Thanks for your patience with the previous post - sometimes I have to take time out here to deal with thoughts unrelated to trans life. <br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-44473630795307940812024-01-15T19:48:00.002+01:002024-01-16T15:46:59.500+01:00The ire-land of Doctor Moron<p> <span style="font-size: large;">I was hoping to post last week about quite positive trans news but instead I've spent many days puzzling over what to do about a friend of mine. We've known each other since our teens but I wonder if it's time to call it a day. Maybe readers can inject some wise ideas into my mind? </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My friend has a PhD but is acting idiotically and it's making me cross. Hence the title of my post.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My friend's father was a minister of religion. Like a lot of ministers, he was a bully. He was even unpleasant to me the first time we met. I was also brought up in a bullying religious household so I guess that's why my friend and I clicked to start with. However, I lost my religion half a lifetime ago; my god was brutal and I still suffer frightening flashbacks to that time. My friend continues in faith. That's OK: it's a free country. But the problem is that the religion has a significant moral component and, despite being a decent person, my friend acts a lot through guilt and shame. This usually consists of giving lots of money away, which would be fantastically kind if it were directed at organised charity or those in real want. Instead it usually consists of my friend insisting on paying for meals in restaurants and giving the staff inappropriately huge tips. It can be embarrassing at times, and not a little condescending. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Worse, though, is that my friend, who is pretty wealthy, is the target of conmen because people get wind of the excess generosity and come up with all sorts of stories of misfortune, poverty and illness to obtain immense gifts. My friend even bought someone a house on the strength of some sob story. That's right, a whole house! </span><span style="font-size: large;">Another person seems to have received a plot of land. </span><span style="font-size: large;">I and other friends, even those working in law and government, keep advising and warning about the company my friend keeps, about the obvious crooks and the more devious lovers. To little avail. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Last year I ate out with my friend and, as is so often the case, when the bill came, the meal was paid by them quite insistently - almost rudely when I protested - even though my food cost twice theirs. Shortly after this I was invited by my friend's aunt to join a large dinner arranged in a restaurant by my friend's extended family, about a dozen people. The bill was to be paid out of the proceeds of a property sale, as a sort of celebration. It was kind of them to invite me. But my friend wanted to ovverride the arrangements and pay the bill for all of them. And therefore would I contribute half the cost? </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I said no. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">And at the end of the meal this friend showered banknotes on the tabletop and insisted the next meal was on them.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My feeling is that if you deem yourself so unworthy of your own family that you have to regard yourself as a paying guest at your own family gathering, then you have a problem. If you are so wracked with guilt and frightened of what your god will do to you if you don't be generous, no matter how inappropriate or unnecessary that is in some contexts, then you have a problem.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I and others have previously tried to assist with the problem, without success. My friend is pushing 60 and that's probably too old to change ingrained habits now. In fact, it's a bit like dealing with a junkie, but in this case they're addicted to debasement.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">So, should I turn mean and take advantage of my friend as so many others have done? It's not in my nature but, hey, free dinners!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Should I try to encourage, yet again, a more rational approach to charity? Sadly, irrational beliefs and fears have their own playbook that no-one else has access to.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Should I try to suggest that my friend has a problem and encourage a visit to a neutral advisor, such as a psychologist? Good advice from professionals such as lawyers has not worked before, though. And religious people often seek help from their minister rather than a person outside the context that is causing the problem.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Should I refuse to eat out with my friend any more and so avoid the problem in future? <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Should I walk away? It seems a shame to lose such and old acquaintance, and one who is very supportive in many other ways. But seeing a person malfunctioning because of a sense of unworthiness is pitiable. And it reminds me of the abuse I was subject to, which I could do without. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Or what?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">What would you do? <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I said my friend was an idiot with a PhD, hence Doctor Moron. I am being uncharitable because I am exasperated with them. I know it's unfair as they are the victim of abuse</span><span style="font-size: large;">. Yet they are also an educated, rational, responsible adult. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Any ideas gratefully received. Or you can buy me a house if you like. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Weight loss</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I've lost almost two pounds this week. Not bad. It would have been more except that I had to go shopping in the city centre and had a coffee break in a bar where I ate a jam croissant. And that one croissant has blocked any further weight loss for three days! Oops! Bad croissant! Naughty croissant!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>A dip in the archives</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">From time to time I come across old photos that I haven't posted before and here's one I like. This is me 16 years ago when I had had my makeup done professionally.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CuLcOpYn6cHYG35_6AUwtRHl1fw3tN9KdbjS6Ksz4eoRwSV3ta1QNN_Dh1kd_xOjg1MOv8GFjsi4Y38fL1H2yDix5x8RH39N0wg1qi_-nDAXWL3QkvKX9nH0cyAmJrXzMCDSubepGaP17dWgKRw7mvm3_a3nGcP7mnw23P_mGMbQV-tXZhJ0GbJOl74Y/s3264/Sue%20no%20exif.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CuLcOpYn6cHYG35_6AUwtRHl1fw3tN9KdbjS6Ksz4eoRwSV3ta1QNN_Dh1kd_xOjg1MOv8GFjsi4Y38fL1H2yDix5x8RH39N0wg1qi_-nDAXWL3QkvKX9nH0cyAmJrXzMCDSubepGaP17dWgKRw7mvm3_a3nGcP7mnw23P_mGMbQV-tXZhJ0GbJOl74Y/w300-h400/Sue%20no%20exif.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Ah! To be young and beautiful again!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-6474009612332700072024-01-09T12:28:00.001+01:002024-01-09T12:28:56.565+01:00Off to a good start<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Two good things to report today. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">In terms of my weight, I am already below where I was before both Christmas, New Year and the two holidays I had in December interrupted my progress. </span><span style="font-size: large;">When away from home or celebrating, </span><span style="font-size: large;">you lose a lot of control of what and how you eat. But I am now losing weight fast again. In fact, I have now lost my first stone since 1 November. I am slightly behind my schedule, but not much.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">For those who work in kilos, one stone is 6.35 kg (or 6,35 kg if your language uses that system). For metric fans, one stone is divided into 14 pounds, and one pound is divided into 16 ounces. Simple, right? I am trying to lose 50 pounds overall (22.68 kg). I chose 50 pounds (50 lb), as by luck it is exactly the weight between what I was on 1 November and my optimum weight. I'm sick of being overweight both because of how it makes me look and how it makes me feel - putting my shoes and legwear on isn't so easy with a big tummy.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">For information, I am using the <a href="https://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/" target="_blank">Slimming World</a> healthy eating plan which has worked for me when needed. I'm also doing Dry January with no alcohol. Booze is the biggest fattener of all, especially wine.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Let's see what I lose over the rest of the month. I hope to make it one and a half stone (21 lb) by the end of January and then I'll be almost half way.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The other piece of good news is that one of the trans groups I have recently joined via Facebook, Crossdresser Italia, is setting up as a proper national association based in Naples. A bit far from my home but a good choice as Naples has a very long history of trans and third gender culture going back to who knows when. Pre-Roman times, probably. The current very right-wing government gets much of its support in that locality but a solid trans base in the same place should assist in keeping a sometimes anti-trans political slant sweet.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Weather watch<br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The weather is very mixed here at the moment: nice warm days where you can sit outdoors in the sunshine, followed by cold, wet, windy days. However, the lemons and oranges are ripening nicely and one of the ornamental orange trees outside the front door is very laden this year. I love the cheerful colour. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> <br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxH8kmxUAXZmw-ezlm9xfkc6AxqYJaYSqNBrMG2LHC1rcXOTRhQ2oJnqA-ZbnnIidMaq8-fWgKdAi8iJAqCWaTSXnulEU3wbLaVfSJsIHM0KLQx-1lSK6-n8ftSiydCiXdLTeIn_ctRJLhJdHwlR6yG_eF4RDmTqr0gsgh5T9GXZJNLYnkjhcx88YO6kd/s4160/DSCN6211%202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxH8kmxUAXZmw-ezlm9xfkc6AxqYJaYSqNBrMG2LHC1rcXOTRhQ2oJnqA-ZbnnIidMaq8-fWgKdAi8iJAqCWaTSXnulEU3wbLaVfSJsIHM0KLQx-1lSK6-n8ftSiydCiXdLTeIn_ctRJLhJdHwlR6yG_eF4RDmTqr0gsgh5T9GXZJNLYnkjhcx88YO6kd/w400-h300/DSCN6211%202.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I am sending a hug to my friends in northern Europe, such as in the British Midlands, who are coping with flooding, or in Scandinavia who are dealing with exceptionally cold temperatures. I hope that things will return to normal very fast.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-3784117884546411332024-01-05T18:57:00.003+01:002024-01-06T18:38:20.482+01:00Looking back, looking ahead<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Hello dear readers, happy New Year. I hope that 2024 is a good one for you. We could do with something good now as, let's face it, the last few years have been difficult for everyone.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Summing up 2023 <br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I don't propose to sum up 2023 in much detail. For me, it was a bit of a transitional year (not in a surgical sense!) but I am looking ahead to a better 2024. So, by way of summary, I'll just link to the four posts that attracted the most views last year. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Fittingly, more people read my tribute to my lovely friend Kate Collins than anything else. Kate's death from illness was a shock to the trans community and I hope I did her memory some justice. <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2023/04/kate-collins-tribute.html" target="_blank">Kate Collins - a tribute</a>. Rest in peace, beautiful girl. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">As a followup, Kate's widow is at least deriving much joy from her 18-month old grandson; they seem inseparable, and that's some consolation.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPdwVeo3HGKBZOvyB2rJMs6pOVxaGHQInDTeKVS1Zo-cMpDziQEjyTahNapf9bgBgjqicJzY0dkZ3wPyM92iULmGlEN0gKMwPVODwRl_Y0dTxV_CyGipDCeT8usNSZPo4Jx2XdYFz9SgzZuVEASiQFr_298wM1MgZY-lMDFBdHnYBsVjJ7mqP_1gqXsJ4/s577/94353921_1438793079657099_4206224247938351104_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="577" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPdwVeo3HGKBZOvyB2rJMs6pOVxaGHQInDTeKVS1Zo-cMpDziQEjyTahNapf9bgBgjqicJzY0dkZ3wPyM92iULmGlEN0gKMwPVODwRl_Y0dTxV_CyGipDCeT8usNSZPo4Jx2XdYFz9SgzZuVEASiQFr_298wM1MgZY-lMDFBdHnYBsVjJ7mqP_1gqXsJ4/s320/94353921_1438793079657099_4206224247938351104_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kate Collins<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">By complete contrast, nobody commiserated with me when my bra exploded. It is an ex bra; it has ceased to be. Stop laughing, you insensitive people! <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-day-my-bra-exploded.html" target="_blank">The day my bra exploded</a>.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I live predominantly as a woman - that's been the case for over a quarter of a century - but I've never gone full-time female for various reasons. So occasionally I have to be male and put away my feminine things. And that's not just clothes. <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2023/06/hiding-stuff-again.html" target="_blank">Hiding stuff again</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I commented on what looked like becoming the big trend of 2023, all-over pink. <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2023/02/in-pink.html" target="_blank">In the pink</a>. (I think the idea of all-over cerise or magenta petered out pretty fast, but peach fuzz is now in.)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Future plans<br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">As for the future, in as much as anything can be planned in a world gone unstable, I recently completed what I think is the final stage of my residence in Italy and confirmation of citizenship. I moved to Italy partly for health reasons - the grey skies and cold winters of the UK were literally killing me - and partly because I work internationally and Britain isolated under Brexit is not the place to do that. Originally, I had planned to spend summers in the UK and winters somewhere warmer like the Canary Islands, but that idea was killed by the chaos that followed the Brexit vote in 2016. So I am essentially here to stay now, with only occasional time in Britain. To that end, I have been putting feelers out to Italian trans groups that are about trans living and hope to start again by making friends in the trans community here. I could do with getting out again, but I feel I need some support to start with. It was a decade ago that my trans life outside home ended abruptly with a bout of eczema that prevented my wearing makeup, so I'm definitely out of practice.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Despite the excesses of the Christmas and New Year fortnight I am only a little over the weight I was in mid-December so I'll be back on track to get into my healthy weight range by the spring.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">As for my blog, the posts I started writing last year about trans art and photographic exhibitions, about trans films and theatre, about support for trans people from outside the community, proved very popular. I hope to do regular monthly updates on the creative scene as it applies to trans life. Posts discussing fashion and the latest items in my wardrobe are popular, too. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">All the best for 2024. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x <br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-24588913631346086142023-12-31T13:14:00.001+01:002023-12-31T13:14:36.098+01:00End of year '23<p> <span style="font-size: large;">My resolution for 2023 is not to leave things till the last minute.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">An old joke there. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I hope you had a nice Christmas and Santa brought you something pretty or sparkly to wear. I'm sure you had something nice to eat and drink.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, it's the last post of 2023 and I've just got back from a few days away with friends in France. The same place I went <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2023/01/holidays-coming-to-close.html" target="_blank">last year</a>. Some of the more unusual sights this year include a snowman in a plane, a rainbow of beehives on the road into town, a weather vane in the shape of a cat chasing birds, frog face graffiti high up on the town hall clock (how did it get there? - is it a comment on the mayor?) and a wall covered in soft toys. It's the odd things you notice most!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCG1SX0ulx4IMeAGvUvoXrqGDr2W5NsoHmAKQmpm_buEjvpkAxbEKiabgzwwSG2ZCvnTepc6g8hHEzlWmd3j7ZohMezXB6LmuavrarexBq33ZtOl-RBczRUFopWt5yV_pp1dfbTAtFdAuAYvtSAl3Ik4FZvhZy0H-Q5fyOSxHCLGKpl4ox96lYvcJPqFJy/s4160/DSCN6197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCG1SX0ulx4IMeAGvUvoXrqGDr2W5NsoHmAKQmpm_buEjvpkAxbEKiabgzwwSG2ZCvnTepc6g8hHEzlWmd3j7ZohMezXB6LmuavrarexBq33ZtOl-RBczRUFopWt5yV_pp1dfbTAtFdAuAYvtSAl3Ik4FZvhZy0H-Q5fyOSxHCLGKpl4ox96lYvcJPqFJy/w400-h300/DSCN6197.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOgIElI0b16AEk279J2LkIevMdxUxOFWV2MTFBd_RsBbFWfTDZkIwZlfOjPknhq7Pp9cNnLSWBylAwRHNQnXqG7DspamQF5qGyEWQ5MzZXCOAgdVYkepNPPlDLSUSnSRJrELZ1iNEVXXDF0pPGd0qklyzLP2J_K1FzUTUE3N06phOvTZTL18WHWI-zf1Q/s4160/DSCN6195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOgIElI0b16AEk279J2LkIevMdxUxOFWV2MTFBd_RsBbFWfTDZkIwZlfOjPknhq7Pp9cNnLSWBylAwRHNQnXqG7DspamQF5qGyEWQ5MzZXCOAgdVYkepNPPlDLSUSnSRJrELZ1iNEVXXDF0pPGd0qklyzLP2J_K1FzUTUE3N06phOvTZTL18WHWI-zf1Q/w400-h300/DSCN6195.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FdKzdtU8caKU7zxO4y0ory0OsqBP9yYwBzK22rIVJJJQMGDLf-dDy61bd5laqnAdF6cnYjCp32G-5YKGE6REZUVtehNkfvI33QwAbMOebnvi8D56QqHPpGZvTidyvYMYoU0O0AGxbyYqaFjFTFv19Oq7Pu4iALEzXjUAcuRcO49L4zJpAk-hOQgKaN1Z/s4160/DSCN6201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FdKzdtU8caKU7zxO4y0ory0OsqBP9yYwBzK22rIVJJJQMGDLf-dDy61bd5laqnAdF6cnYjCp32G-5YKGE6REZUVtehNkfvI33QwAbMOebnvi8D56QqHPpGZvTidyvYMYoU0O0AGxbyYqaFjFTFv19Oq7Pu4iALEzXjUAcuRcO49L4zJpAk-hOQgKaN1Z/w400-h300/DSCN6201.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2O6iU7IvWWRbqiNTkfaSCD0BiS5xiCjl3baZUFpvHYJqFaQ6XMitEnqos_1QHXFbL2wlDMjQolGEdeht0jp6H7I6SxO1etGMYJtgOeM00GsOAQH36HUgJpSvgu79HIaRgOPNoTh2Nhn0dL8RycQZASognOsF4iufZhETc2qwqvBWTgPBrsL5a-BmiO4fa/s4160/DSCN6206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2O6iU7IvWWRbqiNTkfaSCD0BiS5xiCjl3baZUFpvHYJqFaQ6XMitEnqos_1QHXFbL2wlDMjQolGEdeht0jp6H7I6SxO1etGMYJtgOeM00GsOAQH36HUgJpSvgu79HIaRgOPNoTh2Nhn0dL8RycQZASognOsF4iufZhETc2qwqvBWTgPBrsL5a-BmiO4fa/w400-h300/DSCN6206.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrlG6mGdssfJpFUJwXMmvmCqvtWsgaAzO1BbcMY2otXmhycE5ymzdXcH7s2JX5OCJtYzpc5k4Pg6uF9FSoRj0hVO8MGF5LpB68yJuYeXGx-Re1w-haSuaxDExpkoUIiseqKCr0R-guHWTlt0Jjo-yfHCJYCMRLMIl1ggCR3YbaRJj47uwW3EgzFxHenX8/s4160/DSCN6198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrlG6mGdssfJpFUJwXMmvmCqvtWsgaAzO1BbcMY2otXmhycE5ymzdXcH7s2JX5OCJtYzpc5k4Pg6uF9FSoRj0hVO8MGF5LpB68yJuYeXGx-Re1w-haSuaxDExpkoUIiseqKCr0R-guHWTlt0Jjo-yfHCJYCMRLMIl1ggCR3YbaRJj47uwW3EgzFxHenX8/w400-h300/DSCN6198.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I ate too many croissants, though! Mind you, despite the inevitable overindulgence at this time of year, my weight loss has not been too badly affected... well, certainly not as much as I thought it would be. I'll see exactly what the scales say tomorrow morning. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It's been raining all morning so I hope that's not going to carry on to this evening and drown out tonight's fireworks that are always a pleasure to watch.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Wishing you a good New Year's Eve and a good New Year's Day holiday tomorrow, and a happy, successful, prosperous 2024. May your stresses be low, your heels be high and your makeup never fail.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-31372427270609068662023-12-22T22:44:00.002+01:002023-12-22T22:44:59.398+01:00Season's greetings<p> <span style="font-size: large;">There's a lot I'd like to write about but it's the start of a nice long weekend and there are presents to wrap and all that food to prepare so instead I'll simply wish you a very happy holiday season and I hope you get lots of nice gifts. Ideally, of course, that'll be jewellery, perfume and pretty clothes. Maybe you'll get to wear them, too. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I've always made sure that at least one day of the Christmas holidays is a fully fem day with my makeup done properly, and it's an excuse to wear something a bit more glamorous than usual. I'm about to look through my wardrobe now to choose something suitable...</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Best wishes</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0aX9ZcdLXW2sbxBv0MwzfKvuxVsS9Ny8MAehCnhJGJWGEj8kl0Xf6orpCZzilfYp0UNHUVOehMj7-OMWXXuCcPXYulwFBmWCw64U7lVqS1m6VhaWDP3TB7fpu2k4m0x2cj1s0VRKez886VKXuwYnVSR4_CSUsFkXJZjyx2tRjSFQlt66ere7hAh4s_XDM/s1600/PC130739_2-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1078" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0aX9ZcdLXW2sbxBv0MwzfKvuxVsS9Ny8MAehCnhJGJWGEj8kl0Xf6orpCZzilfYp0UNHUVOehMj7-OMWXXuCcPXYulwFBmWCw64U7lVqS1m6VhaWDP3TB7fpu2k4m0x2cj1s0VRKez886VKXuwYnVSR4_CSUsFkXJZjyx2tRjSFQlt66ere7hAh4s_XDM/w432-h640/PC130739_2-1.JPG" width="432" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> <br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-64277928429556037982023-12-18T18:52:00.002+01:002023-12-21T09:07:22.735+01:00Window shopping only<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Hello little blog, Mummy's been away.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I went to Milan, which is one of the world's fashion capitals. That's a great thing ... and not so great. Amazing and fun to see the pretty or crazy get-ups but I wouldn't spend ridiculous money on the sort of clothes to be seen in the windows of the fashion houses.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It's always the busiest week of the year just before Christmas so, rather than present anything too challenging, I thought I'd just post some photos with captions and let you look too.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Here's the Christmas tree outside Montenapoleone metro station. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3aXp_yS0k8lzf-RWFE3AIUcax7kcSUP-EL4vAqPZvANKWifN8MyCnwZcqIv4YkrvfY5A3RHlfUmYAAGjcnU9Or-Gj0nqM97Gq6TkZQsiEO_LICbuMqmUWAqQ-mlzHYnlHv9nTC9O-k3BMM2IP31JgWKOXeoajdNDyfZQlTYZHnLE36x9fLT-FGA0-hZl3/s4160/DSCN6105.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3aXp_yS0k8lzf-RWFE3AIUcax7kcSUP-EL4vAqPZvANKWifN8MyCnwZcqIv4YkrvfY5A3RHlfUmYAAGjcnU9Or-Gj0nqM97Gq6TkZQsiEO_LICbuMqmUWAqQ-mlzHYnlHv9nTC9O-k3BMM2IP31JgWKOXeoajdNDyfZQlTYZHnLE36x9fLT-FGA0-hZl3/w300-h400/DSCN6105.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> And the huge one in the cathedral square.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUD4JhLcpCQyK7kddW-kkFJaFykN3Anz6kpNc1uo-3x4U4L_cSCU4NvqhR814AXzH5wS0VDyf_WVLTDEVc87BclfUw8beY3yb3IgaNme_wic5HA_OOnt1bWcQOxu36OS5T5aMPemqqqCi1Zrct8nN4k1Cmc2nGEFEvljue_yuhiP1AYKlkTnkc678ZUhIS/s4160/DSCN6151%202.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUD4JhLcpCQyK7kddW-kkFJaFykN3Anz6kpNc1uo-3x4U4L_cSCU4NvqhR814AXzH5wS0VDyf_WVLTDEVc87BclfUw8beY3yb3IgaNme_wic5HA_OOnt1bWcQOxu36OS5T5aMPemqqqCi1Zrct8nN4k1Cmc2nGEFEvljue_yuhiP1AYKlkTnkc678ZUhIS/w300-h400/DSCN6151%202.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> And the vast cathedral itself.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-D4AehNV4FIbKrA-yUIiXup-1BymIgmRlekqwoVAXcpE6byzg3qKs2ov7cqwca6zH5pk6oKRNX4xryS8y-WKo4wNMoPVwAQWUbe51y3a_ZsCyVxL-3CsFsQvpu13k5Reml3rtUtZKBWq_KB9pvqxl-EyHhD1nSAcVF2I2RDE4jeanYt-wIeZpJa-dqC30/s4160/DSCN6123.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-D4AehNV4FIbKrA-yUIiXup-1BymIgmRlekqwoVAXcpE6byzg3qKs2ov7cqwca6zH5pk6oKRNX4xryS8y-WKo4wNMoPVwAQWUbe51y3a_ZsCyVxL-3CsFsQvpu13k5Reml3rtUtZKBWq_KB9pvqxl-EyHhD1nSAcVF2I2RDE4jeanYt-wIeZpJa-dqC30/w400-h300/DSCN6123.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The Christmas market behind the cathedral.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaCD_2cvgfWN-KO-i2mlOQNHcJ3v7sr2uBrqFSzfr-ihkSC0v5GW3hw-59eaAxMyAIDLkTQgv69gstMrACe2e0FWzE3Bv4Du2dDkWDa8u2PEOw5PiV6Y3KWjvbXct1UZP3wsVS8HIo4nWgjCAk6phcLf6AXCpBftNtmuwUg0J0VSQQJqFfB3dx-B4vPDS/s4160/DSCN6142.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaCD_2cvgfWN-KO-i2mlOQNHcJ3v7sr2uBrqFSzfr-ihkSC0v5GW3hw-59eaAxMyAIDLkTQgv69gstMrACe2e0FWzE3Bv4Du2dDkWDa8u2PEOw5PiV6Y3KWjvbXct1UZP3wsVS8HIo4nWgjCAk6phcLf6AXCpBftNtmuwUg0J0VSQQJqFfB3dx-B4vPDS/w400-h300/DSCN6142.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sausage stall.</span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyAzUgeiOlu6Qrb_ivFrotNeSEiDr2aeZ672-jjohKHo-ySYlKNLAxqCm0FxX6WJdE7cGbS7fn_RlEmr7r0_qZofQqhGGbt69ax5HLk5twgMLljDDoTlQ1iRUwWxiXUHJQTohRnFzYQ2Y0ECtKds-OKfeUpBjz27HPrIO_bmYAUUirNSEUQ_Ul91isYP-/s4160/DSCN6140.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyAzUgeiOlu6Qrb_ivFrotNeSEiDr2aeZ672-jjohKHo-ySYlKNLAxqCm0FxX6WJdE7cGbS7fn_RlEmr7r0_qZofQqhGGbt69ax5HLk5twgMLljDDoTlQ1iRUwWxiXUHJQTohRnFzYQ2Y0ECtKds-OKfeUpBjz27HPrIO_bmYAUUirNSEUQ_Ul91isYP-/w400-h300/DSCN6140.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Chocolate kebabs!</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPtcdVA2umKVG5fkyAido6btDaFXKXcikNu203Jc1OrkBiwWWJlS2eKDiKYSdJ3u5cY66M8Xhtp6r3_5JgT2Se1l6Fd5z8X-aJ18XB1AVJZEseZV0mRXvJ3AlfXTl2cY2_bE6bSsbCNDNzuJwYvo32HkqtHp-JSBtGn7b7UkbeRXRLngkSg8EQ5ljsYqqi/s4160/DSCN6137.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPtcdVA2umKVG5fkyAido6btDaFXKXcikNu203Jc1OrkBiwWWJlS2eKDiKYSdJ3u5cY66M8Xhtp6r3_5JgT2Se1l6Fd5z8X-aJ18XB1AVJZEseZV0mRXvJ3AlfXTl2cY2_bE6bSsbCNDNzuJwYvo32HkqtHp-JSBtGn7b7UkbeRXRLngkSg8EQ5ljsYqqi/w400-h300/DSCN6137.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">This little old lady checking out jars of beans will be giving a quality report later!</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuY5vGt2q4MIJGPy9qPP0I9xBqlG4p0eKdRG05VACtzXRP5Y-Oeh0e3G_0XK6QtpjkgiP3T7ew3W1YGSF87aVswByX8hlr0ok1xySvf0zTrkqmEBQPyDjAN0Qdm8M45JpdTgtN7o7HvjgXcqX9Pc_knxb0w_W8XJ-9fa7QLfIdk1Zc-fV1TqaJS2yBjvfO/s4160/DSCN6136.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuY5vGt2q4MIJGPy9qPP0I9xBqlG4p0eKdRG05VACtzXRP5Y-Oeh0e3G_0XK6QtpjkgiP3T7ew3W1YGSF87aVswByX8hlr0ok1xySvf0zTrkqmEBQPyDjAN0Qdm8M45JpdTgtN7o7HvjgXcqX9Pc_knxb0w_W8XJ-9fa7QLfIdk1Zc-fV1TqaJS2yBjvfO/w400-h300/DSCN6136.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">A stall that sells cuddly sheep in all sizes!</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLNSRh6V5lp14iCb6l6qsMU_xtypinVGa0Guytu1s52Bz9Sbhzxz-g2Cl7IciDjBSUNLhjir20Uv9lht___4BpAFS4pzTOFaNVu2xezLVwPO0MHqE3hJX89zn6jgTGOClLx8sn5ERFA04gTJlgnzJDQo6o0TwMtnWdZj9lmy9GBhPzMd3oAEVp3PJb_kj/s4160/DSCN6138.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLNSRh6V5lp14iCb6l6qsMU_xtypinVGa0Guytu1s52Bz9Sbhzxz-g2Cl7IciDjBSUNLhjir20Uv9lht___4BpAFS4pzTOFaNVu2xezLVwPO0MHqE3hJX89zn6jgTGOClLx8sn5ERFA04gTJlgnzJDQo6o0TwMtnWdZj9lmy9GBhPzMd3oAEVp3PJb_kj/w400-h300/DSCN6138.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Christmas decorations.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipkD09eja40rJYyH36rW0rV7SZHALFyDEG_KgJSLDKaWcsTPjYYGX16DWt0K8WVDSKrKzW0kj3Wu3isMorvRKtSk5DrVOvnUcelpw9A2F-0Bxr5hvKPFyMxR7eCr3x3AVs8BHrsFHkf8BfaRCEV0NE5M9M9N9y0p6lm9if6s72hPtvMygrF6Me7vgrks_G/s4160/DSCN6141.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipkD09eja40rJYyH36rW0rV7SZHALFyDEG_KgJSLDKaWcsTPjYYGX16DWt0K8WVDSKrKzW0kj3Wu3isMorvRKtSk5DrVOvnUcelpw9A2F-0Bxr5hvKPFyMxR7eCr3x3AVs8BHrsFHkf8BfaRCEV0NE5M9M9N9y0p6lm9if6s72hPtvMygrF6Me7vgrks_G/w400-h300/DSCN6141.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">In the main shopping arcade there are the large fashion houses, such as Dior. I didn't mind these outfits - ageless style and rich colour, I guess - or the display.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZO-jM0TZW1c3ZfHLGUKSgmgTPEC4xgV3XuAPvRG071Cqrm0tm8vSU9TmRXrnFi0co5bbiURnarx50s5yRXpPuPT7eoHYXFZu8fRyhsYTaPwdn6IhiLnBVFJPL75ecaWApqQGBItPg5T7Cc2nj0R7XfMKv70I_XILZPaL2vkKsFLPeIr1XZjC6-z9IQa5X/s4160/DSCN6108.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZO-jM0TZW1c3ZfHLGUKSgmgTPEC4xgV3XuAPvRG071Cqrm0tm8vSU9TmRXrnFi0co5bbiURnarx50s5yRXpPuPT7eoHYXFZu8fRyhsYTaPwdn6IhiLnBVFJPL75ecaWApqQGBItPg5T7Cc2nj0R7XfMKv70I_XILZPaL2vkKsFLPeIr1XZjC6-z9IQa5X/w300-h400/DSCN6108.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Prada window display. I quite like the bag.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFHsBLNv-XXvT2PNSOs3ghF0XOc2Qu5DyJBFxAAcoqujGqsIEbLsRfl-uT5T2-_fhDNTCew4s0hRYDog8snbh7aUe3VtCZQLEBkgorj63XiPlJzvet2T0dhAN2Sasx5S_sTsVI4RNXZgW3pHjasJkjGXMXdDoDxxQP1IASE6-4Mjf8uYfuM2XsPqM-r5N/s4160/DSCN6163.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFHsBLNv-XXvT2PNSOs3ghF0XOc2Qu5DyJBFxAAcoqujGqsIEbLsRfl-uT5T2-_fhDNTCew4s0hRYDog8snbh7aUe3VtCZQLEBkgorj63XiPlJzvet2T0dhAN2Sasx5S_sTsVI4RNXZgW3pHjasJkjGXMXdDoDxxQP1IASE6-4Mjf8uYfuM2XsPqM-r5N/w400-h300/DSCN6163.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Does anyone remember the 1984 movie <i>Falling in Love</i>? (Probably not as it bombed.) Meryl Streep and Robert de Niro bump into each other at Rizzoli's in New York. Well, here's the original, which is my favourite bookshop anywhere. </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbiT_nVupRle1Z-EQ9tuIfssaYBgPIOYof0R-YucFXNe-_JfRx4dO3NpzDE_G9YQ8b7LHDcnuq_4mlxf7Xj11RCXy0XqKKauU3gOupdN2wlXLvnwmGR-Kr8cmv58mccxGplxNJ1bNU2xlAZsUoFk1ZaNphx8V7uIUq7eJsakr7TJAKi4dedlZYqK2X49y/s4160/DSCN6113.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbiT_nVupRle1Z-EQ9tuIfssaYBgPIOYof0R-YucFXNe-_JfRx4dO3NpzDE_G9YQ8b7LHDcnuq_4mlxf7Xj11RCXy0XqKKauU3gOupdN2wlXLvnwmGR-Kr8cmv58mccxGplxNJ1bNU2xlAZsUoFk1ZaNphx8V7uIUq7eJsakr7TJAKi4dedlZYqK2X49y/w400-h300/DSCN6113.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Christmas trees and lights in the fashion district.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQDzLhy8cyR5JTJz0Uxd8HXGuK_VJtVWLax8J6SlnvOS7sYPhjqfQY_Xgt3Zvk8xrkg47YGjaSNT4cbsw-1saDrkVGLNflx4tWlOMIy0rTu5OoAI6jOi_yAb86gS5oY4UjPSKlt3U9JzdNfs52tKd4UnpoA6RoutluXnOAa6iGez-m1rXyOp4FRXamwhbD/s4160/DSCN6176.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQDzLhy8cyR5JTJz0Uxd8HXGuK_VJtVWLax8J6SlnvOS7sYPhjqfQY_Xgt3Zvk8xrkg47YGjaSNT4cbsw-1saDrkVGLNflx4tWlOMIy0rTu5OoAI6jOi_yAb86gS5oY4UjPSKlt3U9JzdNfs52tKd4UnpoA6RoutluXnOAa6iGez-m1rXyOp4FRXamwhbD/w300-h400/DSCN6176.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJG-aItf-4_qzBW0h8MUXkopV1U7_IexQegUzOZtSIGzKr3KCu_AceeC1H9Z5608es0ogjFTuAoQsNV4dYw7yDFQ2xlUphOIVRAdFi193s5FJ2kQ4yxJ3oxNEOkIfFy6Dhc6bW2_KP8EnxeGOGCDYQPRpfyFprFSlyLvbh4Q9Lw90pGAOSpewqh2YEtJCf/s4160/DSCN6181.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJG-aItf-4_qzBW0h8MUXkopV1U7_IexQegUzOZtSIGzKr3KCu_AceeC1H9Z5608es0ogjFTuAoQsNV4dYw7yDFQ2xlUphOIVRAdFi193s5FJ2kQ4yxJ3oxNEOkIfFy6Dhc6bW2_KP8EnxeGOGCDYQPRpfyFprFSlyLvbh4Q9Lw90pGAOSpewqh2YEtJCf/w400-h300/DSCN6181.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4dkTnSAC7zfzTU5vum7cWzvkRizViuMDAffR8qw16mk2Vk75xm6u3NLGFk6bw_uhWasc29cETj9a_mysihyphenhyphenwr6AcB9NkaICXp1hJrW4LXCh6ZsAukXNhl3gs1qb_TKA6tD-RJBFfHHBT3vVoz2Eafkcxl8HWsXgO2AE5W0I_EoKWc3Qn6byds1ivCjAgA/s4160/DSCN6184.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4dkTnSAC7zfzTU5vum7cWzvkRizViuMDAffR8qw16mk2Vk75xm6u3NLGFk6bw_uhWasc29cETj9a_mysihyphenhyphenwr6AcB9NkaICXp1hJrW4LXCh6ZsAukXNhl3gs1qb_TKA6tD-RJBFfHHBT3vVoz2Eafkcxl8HWsXgO2AE5W0I_EoKWc3Qn6byds1ivCjAgA/w400-h300/DSCN6184.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The shop windows are full of overpriced bags, rings, skirts, coats and such. But this one made me wonder what was going on. It looks like the cookie monster's dressing table. No makeup on it, though - I guess he ate it all!</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSls25DAOcwcdjxw-saQOMWOtnO2kdGi-Ia7z2Kx5ng4JLAx76vGAayGHb_JnjOAi3EyGvHLWSGJoGh7i9HI9WO1XmC1tVASQ_ZlkWQB7rcJGS-M4yxhj-wIbeNKGvdGA9mdDZStpwznzkHknmKRL7-4Xg1cccw94ObO8xZK0XPbt8m9MsVibByDsVcIn/s4160/DSCN6179.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSls25DAOcwcdjxw-saQOMWOtnO2kdGi-Ia7z2Kx5ng4JLAx76vGAayGHb_JnjOAi3EyGvHLWSGJoGh7i9HI9WO1XmC1tVASQ_ZlkWQB7rcJGS-M4yxhj-wIbeNKGvdGA9mdDZStpwznzkHknmKRL7-4Xg1cccw94ObO8xZK0XPbt8m9MsVibByDsVcIn/w400-h300/DSCN6179.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">For information, a Marni cotton top will cost you around €700 and a short cotton skirt about €500. Insane! I didn't enquire about the furniture.<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The rest of the time was spent in some very nice restaurants with a relative who likes to eat out. I bought him a new 2024 <i>Gambero Rosso</i> Restaurant Guide which he was super enthusiastic about. He also complimented me on my shoes, which are 100% from the female racks in the shoe shop but just not quite obviously feminine. No comment on my girly jeans or tops. People see what they want to see.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I'm pleased to say that despite all the eating, I found I'd gained only 1 kg in weight on my return, so this December's indulgences may not be a disaster after all! Maybe window shopping helps burn the calories.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Good luck with all the Christmas shopping.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-8833749209249740272023-12-08T18:50:00.003+01:002023-12-08T23:21:48.903+01:00Where are the photos, Mrs?<p> <span style="font-size: large;">A comment on my last post asked why I don't have any recent photos. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I've been trying to get my makeup done since November 1st when I returned home from England but every day since then I have been interrupted by builders, technicians, glaziers and foremen doing all sorts of work inside and out, or neighbours wanting to talk about the work. OK, work has to be done sometimes but it's the poor co-ordination that's annoying me. It's never easy getting a group of separate properties to work well together. The autumn storms and rains have also delayed work. The current lack of panels that would normally divide my outdoor space from next door's leaves me with less privacy. So, yes, I'd love to take some new photos but I don't get a moment's peace.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Today is a public holiday and it's the weekend when the Christmas lights get switched on so I'll be out, and then next week I'll be away in Milan. So maybe on Christmas Eve I'll get some time? Who knows. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The world has been incoherent and chaotic for years now and I hardly expect anything to be plannable any more. Frankly, the depressing state of world affairs doesn't leave me with much enthusiasm for anything either. In all the violence and transphobia, though, I continue to see positive support, allyship, encouragement and protection and will continue to post about that even without pictures.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Weight loss</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">In the last week I have lost another 1.7 kg or nearly 4 lb. That brings my total loss since November 1st to 13 lb, with 37 lb to go. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">That at least is good news and I'm pleased with my progress. Next week I'm away so I'll lose some control of my diet so we'll have to see what the scales say when I'm back. Then there's Christmas week when, frankly, people might as well not worry about slimming because there is no way anyone is going to lose weight! I intend to enjoy the indulgence, as always!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Settled in Italy</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I left the United Kingdom five years ago amid the chaos of Brexit, not quite knowing where I would settle but needing to retain European citizenship for work, health and other purposes. Under a law of 1912, anyone who has an ancestor who was an Italian citizen from 1860 (when the modern state of Italy was created) is automatically also an Italian citizen but needs to claim that right. This applies to me and that is what I have been doing here. I have had an <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2022/06/rights-secured.html" target="_blank">Italian passport</a> for the last 18 months, which is one of the most powerful in the world. In fact, since 1st December, I can even go to China visa-free, which I can't on my UK one. I've been wondering whether to bother even renewing my UK passport. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, next week I am going to Milan to confirm that my birth certificate has indeed been created by the court following the petition I sent in April. I hope that will end this <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2023/04/kafkaesque.html" target="_blank">Kafkaesque rigmarole I wrote about in the spring</a> and I can feel settled here. The climate of the riviera has worked wonders for my physical health and it's probably best to stay here for the foreseeable future.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>A dip in the archives</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sorry, Violetta, but here's another photo from the archives in lieu of a current photo that I don't have the privacy to take yet! My last meeting with trans friends in London was just before I left for Italy and here's me at the Lyceum Tavern on the Strand on that occasion, a picture I've not posted before. You can read about our evening <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2018/10/an-evening-with-jo-and-gina.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTPhyphenhyphentQ-9o2ci44NkBPvHHlKd0kU1ieIgcSrq-5RI3g-8hvvM3hd3upLfN-DKX3Na_EoL-E08Pyg4Nd_b5gvnQXQKg603nELMU4OGxlUbWUwxF1ooWpTu1HuszSMsoFoPfVhg3-fiD7Fmy8-S6Yqp93Lb5y27DgmtUm7Vk8yepw77bbXxzQlD7Pa4yXGB/s4160/DSCN0549.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTPhyphenhyphentQ-9o2ci44NkBPvHHlKd0kU1ieIgcSrq-5RI3g-8hvvM3hd3upLfN-DKX3Na_EoL-E08Pyg4Nd_b5gvnQXQKg603nELMU4OGxlUbWUwxF1ooWpTu1HuszSMsoFoPfVhg3-fiD7Fmy8-S6Yqp93Lb5y27DgmtUm7Vk8yepw77bbXxzQlD7Pa4yXGB/w300-h400/DSCN0549.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-53897292078218702022023-12-02T10:20:00.007+01:002023-12-02T13:12:31.036+01:00Influential allies<p> <span style="font-size: large;">For every transphobe, there are a dozen allies.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I was about to sit down and pen this post last night when all the lights went out. There was a blackout of the whole area and while it lasted it was actually quite nice to have dinner by candlelight and see other homes with just a similar flicker in their windows. Strangely, at the same time, the fire brigade came to put out a small fire that had broken out in the telephone exchange opposite. And when I got to my laptop it had somehow got zapped, presumably in some pre-blackout surge and wouldn't work properly. Thankfully, it seems OK now. What a weird evening!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">In a world where crazed men like Putin make promoting the international LGBT "movement" (as he calls it) very illegal, with penalties similar to those for murder for people and organisations supporting LGBT rights, you do wonder what we are coming to. But then Putin is rather obviously on the wrong side of history. And there's little doubt that many governments are trying to focus public disaffection about high living costs and other failings onto people other than themselves, such as refugees or minorities like us. For every act of hate, though, I continually see endless open support for LGBT people from influential quarters. All this year I have been able to report on art exhibitions, media promotions and news that shows trans people in a positive light or how they are mistreated and shouldn't be.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">This week the monthly health supplement to my daily broadsheet newspaper has a four-page spread on the research into the Y chromosome that suggests its inherent weakness and uncertainty over whether it actually promotes masculinity as previously thought, and on human gender variety being normal and to be expected. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The Pope, leader of a religion that has been an inveterate enemy of ours for centuries, tells his peers to go easy on LGBT people. Maybe he's realising that his church's intrasigence and intolerance are putting people off.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Doctor Who</i>, an amazingly popular and influential Sci-Fi TV show that has been running for sixty years, has a trans character, Rose (played by a trans actress Yasmin Finney), and the show's writer and producer, Russel T Davies, described transphobes thus: "there are some people who are full of absolute hate and venom and destruction and violence and would like to see that sort of thing wiped off the screen entirely... Shame on you and good luck to you in your lonely lives." High-profile actor David Tennant, one of the many who has played the Dr Who character, has been a ferocious trans ally for a long time.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I also enjoyed this article in the UK's <i>Independent</i> newspaper about a trans woman's major influence on the microchip revolution and how she overcame prejudice: <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/iphone-computing-trans-woman-lynn-conway-b2454862.html" target="_blank">Lynn Conway</a>. Well done to her. Now, Lynn, about my laptop going weird on me last night ...</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">These are just the most obvious pro-trans items I have come across this week alone. It's the same every week. I don't despair yet, though I know we have a fight on our hands. Thanks once again to allies and supporters who keep pushing back against the hate, prejudice and ignorance.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Weight loss</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I had hope to lose a bit more weight in November but I made the mistake of eating a chocolate sponge pudding on Thursday and that wrecked my losing streak. Chocolate, the devil of devils! Anyway, in November I lost 9 pounds overall, so I have 41 to lose by May. Still, that's a good loss and I'm not complaining. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>A dip in the archives</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Here's another photo from my old memory card. Did they name the street after me? Or do I just gravitate vainly to where I will be recognised?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Manchester, 2014.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggngO06I7pkESg2ah4qQ8tIlFKGDH_6wdhZzBhZVWPOaFjHYyZBkihHQ7bm8bjeyQazPug6wDORHwt51Y3V_RAwCRYBuary9VL5zO47Dq_HsMeFWxNParASihGoeVDQSgBoixH2qPgXDuj84ksyXYK58OYxwe5MY_QF6-vkP5XTuOzYn63OMmpk4o-7IW6/s1073/Richmond%20Richmond.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1073" data-original-width="634" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggngO06I7pkESg2ah4qQ8tIlFKGDH_6wdhZzBhZVWPOaFjHYyZBkihHQ7bm8bjeyQazPug6wDORHwt51Y3V_RAwCRYBuary9VL5zO47Dq_HsMeFWxNParASihGoeVDQSgBoixH2qPgXDuj84ksyXYK58OYxwe5MY_QF6-vkP5XTuOzYn63OMmpk4o-7IW6/w236-h400/Richmond%20Richmond.jpg" width="236" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span><p></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-73608339961809099242023-11-29T21:18:00.001+01:002023-11-29T21:18:25.386+01:00They<p> <span style="font-size: large;">A modern day follow-on from the previous post... An animal species discovered in 2021 has been given a non-binary scientific name, in honour of a gay activist. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Scientific names for living creatures are Latin and may have an <i>-ae</i> ending if named in honour of women and an <i>-i</i> ending if named after men or groups of people. This animal, <i>Strumigenys ayersthey</i>, has the unique suffix <i>-they</i>, which breaks with this tradition. It is an ant from Ecuador. I'm not putting up a photo of it as it's not very pretty! <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It's been named after US artist and gay activist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Ayers" target="_blank">Jeremy Ayers</a> (who passed away in 2016) so as to honour his LGBT activism and the non-binary community. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Maybe there will be more such uses. Let's hope scientists find something cuddly for the next name.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKht83WFLRC_TYb3Vlzc8otzQEgKpB5YCxVPTsqoSSAN7COUMDNvVgUkXCS2-oKus1Jrky1GDVahx3SSTqCJMbAWT4jUsGUhoD9G7g1SuODtND78W3n9nD64KlURqYFGjVm9TopwsnaN2TqSIeNAr-J5FGymSPiFm3wxp8fbYStU4q9x803cLXqpMnX4th/s510/Gay_Pride_Flag.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="510" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKht83WFLRC_TYb3Vlzc8otzQEgKpB5YCxVPTsqoSSAN7COUMDNvVgUkXCS2-oKus1Jrky1GDVahx3SSTqCJMbAWT4jUsGUhoD9G7g1SuODtND78W3n9nD64KlURqYFGjVm9TopwsnaN2TqSIeNAr-J5FGymSPiFm3wxp8fbYStU4q9x803cLXqpMnX4th/s320/Gay_Pride_Flag.svg.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Incidentally, on the subject of <i>they</i> pronouns, the museum <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2023/11/reassessing-trans-past.html" target="_blank">mentioned in my last post</a> isn't using "she/her" pronouns, as widely reported, but "they/them". I've added a paragraph to this effect but it does illustrate my point that if respected modern sources can't report today's news accurately, what hope do we have of being certain of the past as presented by poisoned or prejudiced sources.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Weight loss</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Now news of that curious amorphous creature, <i>Blobella susannae</i>. This week I have lost just short of a pound, so we're heading in the right direction still, but I've not lost anything like as much as last week. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I notice that losing weight usually goes in steps, not steadily, and not necessarily for any discernible reason. So big drops are followed by plateaux. This week's a gently sloping plateau. Next week I want a cliff edge!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">So far I've lost 10½ pounds in four weeks. I'm very pleased with that. I'll try to make it 11 by the end of the month. And then lose as much as possible before the dreaded Christmas blowout!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-47683403088326888462023-11-25T18:36:00.002+01:002023-11-28T09:27:45.118+01:00Reassessing the trans past<p> <span style="font-size: large;">A lot of discussion has been whipped up in the press this week after the North Hertfordshire Museum in England decided that Roman Emperor Elabalaus was likely trans and they would refer to this person as 'she'. [See my last paragraph for an update on this, 28/11.]<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I wrote about Elagabalus in 2021 and, to save you clicking a link, here's that biography and my comments:</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #800180;">Born with the name Varius Avitus
Bassianus in Syria around 204 AD, he was related to Rome's ruling
Severan dynasty. He was hereditary priest of Elagabal (one of the local
Baal gods of those regions so often condemned in the Bible) and on being
acclaimed emperor in 218, aged about 14, he brought his cult to Rome
and adopted the typically sonorous imperial name Marcus Aurelius
Antoninus Augustus. He was nicknamed Elagabalus after his god. After a
short reign that provoked scandal, he was assassinated in 222.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #800180;">Roman sources (Herodian, Cassius Dio, Lampridius) suggest he was LGBTQI+ and then some! Dio (<i>Roman History</i>, book 80, chapter 16, section 7) mentions his seeking a surgeon for vaginoplasty and Lampridius (<i>Augustan History</i>, <i>Heliogabalus</i>,
chapter 7, section 2) says he joined the worshippers of the Eastern goddess Cybele in their
frenetic dances and duly castrated himself and bound his penis, as was
required of her priests. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #800180;">These
sources say he wore makeup, women's (or at least feminine) clothes,
dressed up as Venus, slept with lots of men, was the bride in a marriage
to a man, acted the female prostitute in brothels ... <br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #800180;">One
should treat all this with great scepticism. It's intended by the
authors to be disgusting. Very briefly, this arises as it would seem he
treated traditional Roman religion, protocols, culture and customs with
some contempt, or maybe just with teenage and foreign gaucheness, and
the Romans, being a virile culture, slated him with their long-standing
prejudice against Eastern cultures and cults which they regarded as
effeminate. Dio calls him a Sardanapalus, the name of the semi-legendary
king of Assyria who allegedly preferred living in the women's quarters
of the palace and doing women's work when foreign enemies were at the
gates, and who has been used so often in political history as the
epitome of an effeminate failure. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #800180;">So
Elagabalus's alleged transsexualism is not intended as a compliment, or
even a statement of fact. We have little idea of who this young person
really was; his image and reputation have been destroyed by so much
contemporary and later prejudice or offended pride. Politics is a dirty
business at the best of times. Therefore, it is not clear whether
Elagabalus really was a historic transgender person. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I should add that the <i>Augustan History</i> I mentioned is a shockingly bad work, supposedly penned by six authors each writing a handful of imperial biographies, as a sequel to Suetonius's <i>Lives of the Twelve Caesars</i>, which by contrast is a competent and fascinating work by the man who was principal secretary of the imperial correspondence and who therefore had unique access to documents at the very heart of Roman power. No such access for the <i>Augustan History</i> that modern researchers are increasingly concluding (from stylistic similarities and internal clues) was probably written not by six authors but by one person using six pseudonyms for reasons best known to himself. A lot of the <i>Augustan History</i> is known to be fiction, such as the chapter on the "Thirty Tyrants". So such sources as we have are of doubtful value. To be honest, even a more reliable biographer like Suetonius has his faults: his lengthy descriptions of the aging emperor Tiberius's sexual interests - particularly in trans women - almost certainly derive from a poisoned source, possibly the memoirs in exile of Agrippina, mother of Nero, and we all know about him and his mother! These are similar in tone to the <i>Augustan History</i>'s shock prose. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">This portrait bust of Elagabalus in Rome shows a young man with a fluff of beard. We'd call him a teenager, although Romans were deemed to have reached adulthood shortly after puberty. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL8Zgk2LWzkVwUItwBpbI80PhHKt5GggVDYj5kiXStPbV6goccGjR6IXsYssc5SUBabMJGbxGFKSSI7cw34Iz3OcUTfcOL3Ho_xBf5pnNjelyuKJTjDZoUJtLLnRsncGKWr6d1SAhYFGfCsK6ZUxxKLO5XRTnKkhlx3Lsh4feUQLSF1hoNPG9ajkik6GCU/s1603/1024px-Bust_of_Elagabalus_-_Palazzo_Nuovo_-_Musei_Capitolini_-_Rome_2016.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1603" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL8Zgk2LWzkVwUItwBpbI80PhHKt5GggVDYj5kiXStPbV6goccGjR6IXsYssc5SUBabMJGbxGFKSSI7cw34Iz3OcUTfcOL3Ho_xBf5pnNjelyuKJTjDZoUJtLLnRsncGKWr6d1SAhYFGfCsK6ZUxxKLO5XRTnKkhlx3Lsh4feUQLSF1hoNPG9ajkik6GCU/w255-h400/1024px-Bust_of_Elagabalus_-_Palazzo_Nuovo_-_Musei_Capitolini_-_Rome_2016.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">One of the issues around the whole Severan Dynasty (193-238 AD) is that they were the first non-Italian Emperors. The founder of the dynasty, Septimius Severus, came from what is now Libya, Elagabalus from Syria, his successor Alexander from Lebanon. The 3rd Century saw other emperors from all over, from Philip the Arab to several born in what is now Serbia. Naturally, the Romans themselves didn't like being ruled by what had previously been lesser peoples. Couple that feeling of lost hegemony with millennial suspicions about the East, its cultures and its motives and you have a situation ripe for xenophobia of all sorts. That East/West suspicion is still alive today, of course (see the plucky, manly, outnumbered Europeans fight the effeminate, bizarre Xerxes and his weird Persian hordes in <i>300</i> or listen to Western populists rant about "muslims"). </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The past is a different country. We shouldn't apply our modern culture and standards to previous cultures and civilizations. After all, they would have a lot to criticise about our day and place. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">So I wonder if this move by the museum is helpful. It's nice to hear that someone is thinking about trans matters and showing allyship ... but it's doubtful this person was trans, and was not exactly a role model. We're rather trying to get away from the crossdressing eccentric, excessive or serial killer, so beloved of, say, older plays or movies like <i>Caligula, Psycho</i>, <i>Silence of the Lambs,</i> <i>Dressed to Kill</i>... With poor sources and little but negative propaganda to go on, we just don't know if Elagabalus was really trans at all. I'd not go so far as to opt for "she/her" pronouns in this case.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">[Add November 28th 2023: I notice that the museum is not using "she/her" pronouns, in fact, but "they/them" (<a href="https://northhertsmuseum.org/north-hertfordshire-museum/collections/object-details/1882563/" target="_blank">North Herts Museum page</a>), but considers Elagabalus to have been trans. My information when writing this post came from reputable journalistic sources such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/nov/24/was-roman-emperor-elagabalus-really-trans-and-does-it-really-matter" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> newspaper, the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67484645" target="_blank">BBC website</a> and <a href="https://time.com/6338587/u-k-museum-roman-emperor-trans-woman/" target="_blank">Time </a>magazine. This rather illustrates my point, that if quality contemporary sources get the facts wrong, what hope have we with old sources written by people with an agenda? Many thanks to <a href="https://clareflourish.wordpress.com/2023/11/28/elagabalus-transgender/" target="_blank">Clare Flourish</a> for her take on this, and for noting the action the museum itself has taken. Go to the real source, a good journalistic principle that I didn't follow! Clare feels the emperor was trans. I'd say we don't know. As a linguist, I'm not keen on using "they/them" pronouns in the singular, but it seems a reasonable compromise here.]<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p><p></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-87280270341833392472023-11-22T19:02:00.001+01:002023-11-22T19:02:21.329+01:00Spot the trans person, or not<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Last week I said I was being discreet with what was on my washing line so as not to invite comment by builders and the neighbours with whom the works are being done. Sadly, I had to present as male, although these days my clothes are all entirely off the female racks. Indoors I didn't change anything much and my shoe rack with high heels was in view. When people are focused on work or their business they just don't notice your stuff. It takes an idle mind to spot something out of place and comment on it. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I recall the day I felt least conspicuous in my early days of going out in public when my friend Emma and I were in London's Piccadilly Circus, the place that is proverbial for traffic and bustle. This was at six on a Friday evening, and in all that vast noisy throng not a single person noticed the two TGirls being swept along in the crowds. It's that midnight trip to the postbox that, ironically, makes a TGirl stand out, not when everyone's busy with their own thing. So it was the same with my builders and neighbours.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">So that's good.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Not so good is the fact that the waterproof goo they put on my terrace still isn't properly dry after a week and they put sticky bootmarks all over the floor indoors. You try washing goo off the floor when it's waterproof! I'm quite cross about that. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, we're ready for winter now. Although, ironically, the bad weather has passed and things are calm and peaceful again.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95tVKJstdeMTMIOfoHuExlql7iHSm2yhiBtwgBjmniaPqW-My6qK1Vq53BvZem1whbdnyUieoC4g-XvoEuH2H_kWiwV70Wn77ERDIiS1hzgHFbs9Zsg92-j7ELZ0N9Z1CmDQn0fryhuic_PV2qnugcRa5kDBCfgaB5liI-0x0q7N01wVQ3EVPRaWjpelL/s4160/DSCN6096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95tVKJstdeMTMIOfoHuExlql7iHSm2yhiBtwgBjmniaPqW-My6qK1Vq53BvZem1whbdnyUieoC4g-XvoEuH2H_kWiwV70Wn77ERDIiS1hzgHFbs9Zsg92-j7ELZ0N9Z1CmDQn0fryhuic_PV2qnugcRa5kDBCfgaB5liI-0x0q7N01wVQ3EVPRaWjpelL/w400-h300/DSCN6096.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I've been shifting my plants back to the terrace now and hope that the lizards, geckos and other creatures who visit my pots will be back. This tiny fellow did come to say hello ... </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjal0ETu0LRJQgdQnRWNiH3HCej9AGhHN4Adfew3i6tgVhAi6KnMqZfIVFhshXKXBdzrc9v9ZniLeN0yyior3QezsrN3xEko5LYowmqhuk3M4m6mJZgq4Thue2U-MyuIQ5fum-XtwJpN8lapwG0Y0As5aU2pGQCZ6JrRdidpxQLscttbFdLB-QGKnS5VuY/s4160/DSCN6098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjal0ETu0LRJQgdQnRWNiH3HCej9AGhHN4Adfew3i6tgVhAi6KnMqZfIVFhshXKXBdzrc9v9ZniLeN0yyior3QezsrN3xEko5LYowmqhuk3M4m6mJZgq4Thue2U-MyuIQ5fum-XtwJpN8lapwG0Y0As5aU2pGQCZ6JrRdidpxQLscttbFdLB-QGKnS5VuY/w400-h300/DSCN6098.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Weight loss </i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">This week I have lost a little over 3 pounds or 1.4 kg, which brings my total weight loss so far this month to just under ten pounds (4.4 kg). I want to lose 50 pounds by next 1st May, so I've got 40 to go. I'm very pleased with my progress so far, a fifth of the way already. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x </span><br /></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-46340258224157534882023-11-20T16:44:00.001+01:002023-11-20T16:46:19.602+01:00Transgender Day of Remembrance 2023<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Well, here we are again. The sort of commemoration that the world shouldn't need. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Today we remember all the trans people whose gender dysphoria cost them their lives, through murder or suicide. Trans people are more likely to encounter a violent, premature death than any other group. The hate and violence are on the rise thanks to the general increase in xenophobia this last decade. That's the subject for a separate essay but today we focus on the victims, hundreds of them. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I wrote previously in this blog about <a href="https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2023/02/candlelight.html" target="_blank">Brianna Ghey</a>, whose murder affected me a lot because of her youth, because she lived quite close to where I live when I'm in Britain, and because she died literally a stone's throw from where my dear friend Kate Collins lay dying (of natural causes, at least). I've just read in my paper in Italy of another teen, just 13, who committed suicide after endless bullying at school for being "effeminate". </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">What to do? For today, let's remember all these poor people. May they rest in peace.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFv_4zGXtP2OitCHPG83tGaSLoK9woQKE_bj5bxHj4STlVHjXKT_hFGA7R1J-nisTRQdciFGcjXaeR3LB2jMHg3H_yDljintjcJkdNNezd5GfkH19gipK2t7i1hrRcJwkZcmv-ZvKbGI-6mKw-Es61tWOI2xMxlZ8XJNcMfqZdeOLQ591eHTUeRejwSXkf/s491/258533151_4671598282902506_4793658812716014567_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="491" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFv_4zGXtP2OitCHPG83tGaSLoK9woQKE_bj5bxHj4STlVHjXKT_hFGA7R1J-nisTRQdciFGcjXaeR3LB2jMHg3H_yDljintjcJkdNNezd5GfkH19gipK2t7i1hrRcJwkZcmv-ZvKbGI-6mKw-Es61tWOI2xMxlZ8XJNcMfqZdeOLQ591eHTUeRejwSXkf/w400-h391/258533151_4671598282902506_4793658812716014567_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> Sue x<br /></span><p></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-38501999394321701132023-11-17T19:42:00.000+01:002023-11-17T19:42:13.708+01:00Trans photo shows, November<p> <span style="font-size: large;">I've previously mentioned quite a large number of art and photographic exhibitions that were held over the summer that are about or by trans people. Here are some more currently on. For all the rage against trans people in some places these days, there seems to be a lot of showcasing of genuine trans lives at the moment.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">1) Outside the Western world I notice what looks to be a beautiful photo exhibition in Beirut, Lebanon, by photographer Mohamad Abdouni who captures the queer culture of the Arab world. Yes, the Arab or muslim world has always had a significant queer culture and the attacks on it are often influenced by Western sociopolitical ideas that came with colonialism and the search for oil rather than by conservative native ones. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">A review of <i>Treat Me Like Your Mother: Trans* Histories from Beirut's Forgotten Past</i> with photos is here: </span><a href="https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/qjvw3w/mohamad-abdouni-interview" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">i-D Magazine</span></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800180; font-size: medium;">"In Lebanese culture" Abdouni says, you always respect the mother. It doesn't always necessarily have the best connotations, but when you're arguing in the face of misogynistic behaviour you can use that: reminding the other person that that person could be their mother."</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The accompanying book synopsis: <a href="https://www.coldcutsonline.com/shop/p/treatme" target="_blank">Cold Cuts</a> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">More of Abdouni's similar previous work can be seen here: </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://photoworks.org.uk/from-little-acorns/mohamad-abdouni/" target="_blank">Photoworks: Doris and Andrea</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.commarts.com/fresh/mohamad-abdouni" target="_blank">Communication Arts</a> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/mohamad-abdouni-photography-film-publication-111218" target="_blank">It's Nice That</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.les-nouveaux-riches.com/interview-mohamad-abdouni/" target="_blank">Les Nouveaux Riches </a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">2) </span><span style="font-size: large;">Nanténé Traoré, trans photographer and writer. His exhibitions of photos of trans people taking hormones are intended to show that trans people are like everyone else, seeking mutual support, chatting together over their hormones, and wanting to live their best lives ... and also to take trans people out of a world of folklore and subversion that might be wrongly attributed to them by others.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://fisheyemagazine.fr/article/nantene-traore-tu-vas-pas-muter-ou-la-douceur-dune-transition/" target="_blank">Fisheye Magazine</a> interview (not for needlephobes) and only in French.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/141656873@N08/" target="_blank">Photographer's Flickr page</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">3) Marcus Branch's <i>Smell Your Flowers</i> solo exhibition at Mission in Arts (MiA) in Philadelphia, USA. Branch is a photographer who intends to "uplift, honor and celebrate Black and Brown members of the trans community" in response to a significant number of trans deaths. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://epgn.com/2023/11/01/philly-photo-exhibit-honors-trans-people-of-color/" target="_blank">Philadelphia Gay News</a> review</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://marcusbranch.com/" target="_blank">Marcus Branch website</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It's fitting to mention this here as we approach transgender day of remembrance.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">4) On a lighter note, I'll end with a link to an exhibition that is not trans-related at all, but Vincent Olinet's wigs as mops used in the publicity for the current exhibition of his work made me laugh. I think some of my old well-worn wigs are probably only fit for mopping now! A second life for used hair. See here: <a href="https://presse.matmut.fr/communique/219302/Nouvelle-exposition-au-Centre-d-Art-Contemporain-de-Matmut-Daniel-Havis-Hors-Decor-Vincent-Olinet?cm=1" target="_blank">Vincent Olinet</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Weight loss</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Only a pound off (half a kg) this week, but still in the right direction. I am following the tried and tested Slimming World healthy eating plan and a spectacular weight loss in the first week is normal before it slows down. Nearly half a stone gone so far.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>A dip in the archives</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">For copyright reasons I haven't copied any of the photos in the exhibitions above<i> </i>(click the links to view selected images from the shows)<i>. </i>So here's me posing for a professional trans photographer, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stellapix" target="_blank">Stella M</a>, back in 2014.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnanHVeiTX2Wd1j9hzpxUgz-XfomK9u4bAfTMVeWfafQhIggb5iUnVyGbC1tuZBnv19HkKb4vOLDBzrKWHA1YKu3u3LZyJn3lfjvxepz4M18jb6J9FK5urm3wMitbawHcolxJ6MYwkV58JURsuw7QOSGE79uLX6ghateW4vhlG5MSEftBCbj0pbTyjiMR/s1152/14563948780_510151a41c_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="864" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnanHVeiTX2Wd1j9hzpxUgz-XfomK9u4bAfTMVeWfafQhIggb5iUnVyGbC1tuZBnv19HkKb4vOLDBzrKWHA1YKu3u3LZyJn3lfjvxepz4M18jb6J9FK5urm3wMitbawHcolxJ6MYwkV58JURsuw7QOSGE79uLX6ghateW4vhlG5MSEftBCbj0pbTyjiMR/w300-h400/14563948780_510151a41c_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<i><br /></i></span><p></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-182477363609341716.post-24915225649554606822023-11-13T19:07:00.002+01:002023-11-13T19:07:36.803+01:00Winter wardrobe preferences<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Discretion time. I have the builders in (not a euphemism, I mean for real). They're working with various residents to repair damage from last week's storm and to complete works that were started four years ago, got interrupted by the pandemic and were then finished hurriedly, leaving bits still to do. Of course, it means that I have to be more discreet with what I hang on my washing line. Not that it's any of their business but it's best not to invite curiosity. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It's getting colder but I am holding off putting on the central heating for as long as possible. It's not so much the high cost of gas these days as the psychological effect of doing so. It confirms the cold season's arrived and spring is a long way away. I tolerate cold very badly, which is why I moved from Northern Europe to Southern Europe (that, and the horrible political situation in Britain where I used to live). </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Though winter does mean, as I often say, that you can break out the smarter fashions. Cold weather requires more clothes and we TGirls are into clothes, especially smart ones. Partly because of the cold, partly for fashion reasons, I love knee-length boots best, even though they make a short girl like me look shorter.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-lzi97WGnqJB3Cy4rrulh6d_9-kNbS2sxYbLBunY55hSX1WtEr-l-YD70OrCd6ZrZAibKgN5BmbZvBaRfZLF3xaxq0If9kZwFrz4c4xAYu_h4UJ27bxITcwzbzkn7VYm97kBVIj-N3GDDy9RDKdvzWRlHfFs8G0r5Ds7xXxFr8A8y1nVEKfpn9G4DOUn/s2443/DSCF4042A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2443" data-original-width="1612" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-lzi97WGnqJB3Cy4rrulh6d_9-kNbS2sxYbLBunY55hSX1WtEr-l-YD70OrCd6ZrZAibKgN5BmbZvBaRfZLF3xaxq0If9kZwFrz4c4xAYu_h4UJ27bxITcwzbzkn7VYm97kBVIj-N3GDDy9RDKdvzWRlHfFs8G0r5Ds7xXxFr8A8y1nVEKfpn9G4DOUn/w264-h400/DSCF4042A.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">A good coat and scarf never go amiss either. These models here show what I mean:<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWmb_5bZU13SpvqJVCWarYx54izIYBF8L_mUf24d24WSMuKgiE2zOOFrjdoP1X6e2Yw4Kh2kwjaLG6RIO6PrtBtyIqzwoc7IGaorT6ZWxsXZdNQK5NkNaCuEYGqyZpplagbw2k-D84xjbdn4Sk7h87jx38FVA5DPY-5z5JnxsqB9iCIF2Kdib4iQIC-V6n/s1832/118648037_3358996944162653_3094368228211624348_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1374" data-original-width="1832" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWmb_5bZU13SpvqJVCWarYx54izIYBF8L_mUf24d24WSMuKgiE2zOOFrjdoP1X6e2Yw4Kh2kwjaLG6RIO6PrtBtyIqzwoc7IGaorT6ZWxsXZdNQK5NkNaCuEYGqyZpplagbw2k-D84xjbdn4Sk7h87jx38FVA5DPY-5z5JnxsqB9iCIF2Kdib4iQIC-V6n/w400-h300/118648037_3358996944162653_3094368228211624348_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I've also got the long winter nighties out. A pink satin one with lace detail has always been my favourite. That was very welcome in bed last night as the temperature dropped.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">OK, I don't like heavier dresses, tops or skirts as much as I like summer ones, and I prefer sheer to opaque tights but, let's face it, when you're a TGirl, wearing any dress or skirt is better than being forced not to. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5RBUyiCNGMgjM17Pb8iMNpcvYKxGgZPaMNWMSG-1tRTlSBipRIzyrLDXCpHEnXlidqcpmKVvjBm9PLORPoY7DJ2vSuLnH3w74vcXqwYGV_dq5W1nisDCAJ_YwPd1ca5wp-Cpj5siXfR6KzuQ8Ne7rQaK4grSOxAgqxtW2TAB413Pz5WFBbEPD992iCOf/s4160/DSCN0244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5RBUyiCNGMgjM17Pb8iMNpcvYKxGgZPaMNWMSG-1tRTlSBipRIzyrLDXCpHEnXlidqcpmKVvjBm9PLORPoY7DJ2vSuLnH3w74vcXqwYGV_dq5W1nisDCAJ_YwPd1ca5wp-Cpj5siXfR6KzuQ8Ne7rQaK4grSOxAgqxtW2TAB413Pz5WFBbEPD992iCOf/w300-h400/DSCN0244.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">As ever, my faithful skinny jeans are on hand for a casual look. I do love leggings but they're not very warm in winter. Be warned that wearing tights under many leggings to warm you up creates elastane overkill and makes your legs very shiny. Maybe you want the disco pants look but it's a bit much for a day shopping in town!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9run8zS3OO7KkQt6udyEkmLtMocjHTmy_YKa3UgwI6UZMvF_TIQQsjc6PhlmR66A3xdSQIUDzW3bjOmDnlYxLu1huz8fkGsaQ_yOzehV7hO9SKHVISn-d7V7kzVNJL0YLQpje5ZPCpLOLw3oxP8dZg9BVvnqHXidAL47_y40_0ZT0iB4UIdzXmo2S5dW/s4160/DSCN0398.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9run8zS3OO7KkQt6udyEkmLtMocjHTmy_YKa3UgwI6UZMvF_TIQQsjc6PhlmR66A3xdSQIUDzW3bjOmDnlYxLu1huz8fkGsaQ_yOzehV7hO9SKHVISn-d7V7kzVNJL0YLQpje5ZPCpLOLw3oxP8dZg9BVvnqHXidAL47_y40_0ZT0iB4UIdzXmo2S5dW/w400-h300/DSCN0398.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My latest pair of knee-high boots on the train<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, photos from home when the builders have gone.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Comments</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">There seem to be new problems with commenting on Blogger. If it doesn't accept your profile, just opt for Anonymous. I restrict comments to those registered on Blogger as this has done a lot to reduce spam, trolls and other undesirables.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Have a good week.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sue x<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Sue Richmondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14881573928883759984noreply@blogger.com3