As we approach the end of 2023, instead of going towards 2024 we appear to be going backwards as a society. And there doesn’t seem to be any way out of it!
The Gbeebies (Not) News channel has sacked two of their presenters, with another suspended awaiting a decision. Due to their misogynistic section on the show. And rightly so!
Granted, their other bigotry opinions and actions, such as blacking up himself and his kids, a drunken and poor attempt to burn the LGBT+ pride flag or protesting at a non-existent drag event, are seen as perfectly acceptable!
But this behaviour is deemed acceptable when we have a government that is run by its own bigot factory!
Cruella Braverman, who has previously been called out by Holocaust survivor, Joan, for her nazi language, now states that discrimation for being gay or a woman, is not enough for asylum!
Cruella has just confirmed that she’d happily let LGBT+ and women get murdered, rather than help them. Turns out Joan isn’t wrong with her opinion is she?
And while this may have happened in October, the Tories’ “leader” went on sage and was a transphobic prick!
On top of that, the fucktard is also expected to scrap the conversion therapy ban, which was one of the mandate election pledges, that has been watered down each time a new leader was picked!
Then we have the opposition leader, who is really a Red Tory, Kier Starmer, who appears to be against his party’s stance when it comes to LGBT+ rights.
With shite like this happening, are we surprised that hate crime towards one of the smallest and most marginalised parts of society is on the rise. The blood is on their hands!
Again, for those at the back of the room, while the main target is towards trans, this was never just a trans issue (it never has been). This has always been an LGBT+ issue!
Okay, the rant is over! Let’s get to something a little more happier!
What’s On
The Neighbours Experience
To promote Neighbours re-launching, and a thank you to fans, The Neighbours Experience landed in London for the weekend. So I had to go!
Talking Points
Lytham
It was a quiet weekend and also a glorious September day.
So, instead of staying at home wasting the day away, we popped into the car and headed to Lytham.
I’ve never been before, but the husby explained its where the old people go. I’m not sure how to take that!
I’m hoping he meant to live because it was full of young daddies!
We started at the little windmill and decided to walk to the pier at St Anne’s.
It was then, that the husby learnt, that mistakes were made. Walking to the pier takes a lot longer than cycling! Who knew?
The sun had brought the families out of the house. And the gays, as we met a few from Manchester on our stroll!
I even got to walk down the pier and play on the arcade games. And win a small dinosaur Lego-esque set!
For an impromptu day out, it was just a nice chilled day. However, as we walked back to the car, it was my time to realise that mistakes were made.
I was totally sunburnt!
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Two years ago, we went to see Jamie, so it was time to see it again.
To be fair, we felt forced because if we didn’t go we would been beaten up by KY Kelly, who was performing in it.
Honestly, it’s a great show, so I couldn’t wait to see it again and see how this production and cast fair to the previous one.
Cast
Overall, I would say the cast was stronger than the last one, and that is an achievement in itself.
Ivano Truco, who plays Jamie is absolutely brilliant. Their voice was able to tackle the wide range of Jamie’s songs.
Miss Hodge, played by Hayley Tameddon, was great too.
These two in this production were the ones that stood out for me.
Obviously, I can’t not mention KY Kelly. It’s weird seeing a drag queen you’ve watched countless times, performing on a stage as someone else.
KY owned her role. It was like she had sex on a desk before. It was so realistic.
I know that this is something that Anthony (KY) has trained for, so its great to see them bringing the two things they love together.
London
Doing a trip to London and back in a day is probably not the wisest thing that we did, but still, a good time was had!
I won’t go over the main reason that we visited London, as I already discussed that in its own blog.
Travelling
I think there is something to be said, that when it’s cheaper to fly to London than it is to get the train, then the system is broken!
The point of public transport is to cut down on unnecessary car travel. This isn’t possible with a trip to London!
We didn’t want to travel to London in a car, due to congestion charges. However, we were also not willing to fork out the £230 for train tickets either!
In the end, we decided to do a mix of both.
We drove to Welwyn Garden City and got the train to London from there. A total cost of £86 return for the whole journey!
TBF, it wasn’t that bad a journey either. It was longer than getting a train direct from Manchester. This was a lot cheaper!
Just want to thank Gemma & Chris for allowing us to borrow their driveway. Gutted that we missed you, but hopefully, we get a well-deserved catch up soon.
Sight-seeing
After the Neighbours Experience, we decided to do a little sightseeing. So we headed towards the Thames and would decide where to go from there.
As we were walking past the Gherkin, and getting closer to where we wanted to go, we saw The Monument and decided to climb the 311 steps to the top!
The views from the top were worth it though, especially of the Tower Bridge.
It was while we were up the Monument that we decided the route to go.
I have never walked over the Tower Bridge. I may have crossed the bridge in a taxi when I was 12, but that is the only time. So that was the plan.
So as we crossed London Bridge, we arrived just in time to see Tower Bridge opening to allow a boat through. How have I never seen this before?
We walked down the side of the Thames and stopped off for some food at Vapiano. Surprisingly, taking into how close it was to the Thmas and Tower Bridge, it wasn’t expensive. And the food was good too!
There is something about crossing the Tower Bridge. It’s one of the country’s most iconic bridges, and you see it in such a different way.
If we were not on a time limit, I would have loved to have done the sightseeing tour and gone to the top…and re-enacted the Spiderman and Mysterio fight scene!
Instead, we decided to head back to the train station via a pit stop at the Tower of London. Again somewhere else I haven’t been!
Overall
By the end of the day, my feet were throbbing, but it was worth it.
I wouldn’t advise the one-day thing all the time, as it is a long ass day!
However, this was a special occasion and was probably one of the most memorable trips to that London Town.
It didn’t break the bank either. Taking into account travel, food and drink, as well as the tourist stuff, we spent around £250.
Just a little more than what the train tickets would’ve cost!
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