Foreign readers may not be aware that the archbishop of Canterbury (who's the head of the Church of England here) has been receiving a huge amount of criticism in the UK over the last few days. Given the title of this post and without knowing anything about the situation, most people would probably assume that once again, a religious leader has made some intolerant comments about gay people or sex before marriage or something like that. It matters so much less when it's just one person who's in the wrong. Unfortunately, this time I think that it's the Archbishop of Canterbury who's right, and 99% of the British population (and 100%+ of the media) who are in the wrong :-(.
The "sin" of the archbishop was to suggest tolerance in connection with Muslim Sharia law when he gave the foundation lecture at the Royal Courts of Justice last Thursday. Visit the archbishop's web site for the full text of the lecture, which is highly academic in nature. Unfortunately, this was given slightly sensational coverage by the British media, even from news organisations that I normally respect such as:
BBC news: Sharia law in UK is 'unavoidable'
Telegraph: Rowan Williams says Sharia law unavoidable
Guardian: Archbishop backs sharia law for British Muslims
This news coverage, which is often inaccurate because he did not "back sharia law", has prompted a sometimes hysterical reaction from the much of the British establishment and the population at large. Visit any of the online forums and comment pages that all these news organisations run to see what I mean. I am utterly appalled by the intolerance that is being displayed by so many of my fellow countrymen.
Although I'm not a religious person myself, I DO want to see religious leaders preach tolerance of other religions. It's right for them to suggest that people should try and find ways to accommodate other beliefs, which at the end of the day is all the archbishop of Canterbury was trying to do. In this case, it may well turn out that there are serious incompatibilities between British law and Sharia law, it may well turn out that there is no way round practical problems which would arise from having two different legal systems in one country, but it is NOT right to denounce anyone for suggesting that for peace on earth it might be worth trying. And in case anyone hadn't noticed, tolerance IS completely in tune with the teachings of the great spiritual leaders, including recent ones like Gandhi, and perhaps most importantly here with old ones like Jesus Christ!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
A reader's gym encounter
Last week, a young reader who enjoyed reading my old gym posts sent me an email asking for advice on London gyms. At the end of the email, he'd written about one of his own gym encounters from a few years ago. It's a nice story so I asked him whether he'd mind if I posted it, and later that day he replied to say that I could use the story if I wanted. The story is a little more explicit than what I usually write here, so bearing that in mind, if you want to read the story CLICK HERE [over 18's only]!
A few years ago when I was about 19, I was going to the gym regularly during morning free periods, usually between 10 and 12. With lots of time on my hands I usually stayed and made use of the facilities to their full extent. I noticed another guy, maybe two or three years older than me, who was there most of the times I went but I never really thought much of it.
Sometimes our showers coincided and I could see he was quite serious about the whole gym thing; his body was sleek, like a swimmers (think Ian Thorpe) and his cock always looked a little swollen. He looked a LITTLE like a buffer version of Christian Slater. He also took a long time under the showers, they were REALLY good strong power showers!!! He had never been in the steam room before, and I didn't expect him to be there this time. In fact I didn't expect anyone to be there since there was nobody else in the gym at that hour.
When I walked into the steam room though, dripping with water, pumped from my session and thinking about having just seen him in the shower, all of my muscles (including my favourite one) were a litter bigger. It was quite steamy and I walked straight towards the back, but I had to stop short because he was sitting right in front of where I was headed, his face in line with my navel, almost eye to eye with my old chap. I was taken aback for a moment, but so as not to seem rude I sat down next to him.
He asked how my workout had been, I wasn't expecting that either, and he said he had seen me taking some of the aerobics classes over the last few weeks (true). We made some cheeky chat about standing at the back of the class to get a better view of all the ladies, and then he asked, quite seriously, "So you prefer to be at the back then?" I could see the innuendo but I had no idea what to do with it, so I turned it on it's head "You prefer to be in front?"
It went silent for a while and we both looked down for a bit. I snuck a sly glance at his cock and could see it was definitely making it's presence known. My own little friend reacted instantly (and rather overfriendly) - boing, I was up!
I started to cover it and noticed he was rising quickly too, but what I didn't notice was his hand coming through the air to land gently on my shaft. I jumped, and he took his hand back and apologised. I apologised, he apologised again, then I took his hand and guided it back to my cock.
He stroked me so gently. He got on his knees in front of me and slipped his mouth around me. It was like velvet! I am ashamed to say I didn't last very long, but he didn't move, he swallowed it all. No girl has ever swallowed for me before or since, and when he sat up I could see he had unloaded as well.
"First time?" he asked me; I lied and said it was - but it was the best (up until then).
We both showered again, I got a little manly pat on the backside as he left and that was that. Although I never saw him again, I always get hard just remembering it!
I'd be interested to hear from any readers with views on where the best gyms in London are for gay guys interested in activities. Also, do any other reader's have any gym stories of their own that they'd like to share?
A few years ago when I was about 19, I was going to the gym regularly during morning free periods, usually between 10 and 12. With lots of time on my hands I usually stayed and made use of the facilities to their full extent. I noticed another guy, maybe two or three years older than me, who was there most of the times I went but I never really thought much of it.
Sometimes our showers coincided and I could see he was quite serious about the whole gym thing; his body was sleek, like a swimmers (think Ian Thorpe) and his cock always looked a little swollen. He looked a LITTLE like a buffer version of Christian Slater. He also took a long time under the showers, they were REALLY good strong power showers!!! He had never been in the steam room before, and I didn't expect him to be there this time. In fact I didn't expect anyone to be there since there was nobody else in the gym at that hour.
When I walked into the steam room though, dripping with water, pumped from my session and thinking about having just seen him in the shower, all of my muscles (including my favourite one) were a litter bigger. It was quite steamy and I walked straight towards the back, but I had to stop short because he was sitting right in front of where I was headed, his face in line with my navel, almost eye to eye with my old chap. I was taken aback for a moment, but so as not to seem rude I sat down next to him.
He asked how my workout had been, I wasn't expecting that either, and he said he had seen me taking some of the aerobics classes over the last few weeks (true). We made some cheeky chat about standing at the back of the class to get a better view of all the ladies, and then he asked, quite seriously, "So you prefer to be at the back then?" I could see the innuendo but I had no idea what to do with it, so I turned it on it's head "You prefer to be in front?"
It went silent for a while and we both looked down for a bit. I snuck a sly glance at his cock and could see it was definitely making it's presence known. My own little friend reacted instantly (and rather overfriendly) - boing, I was up!
I started to cover it and noticed he was rising quickly too, but what I didn't notice was his hand coming through the air to land gently on my shaft. I jumped, and he took his hand back and apologised. I apologised, he apologised again, then I took his hand and guided it back to my cock.
He stroked me so gently. He got on his knees in front of me and slipped his mouth around me. It was like velvet! I am ashamed to say I didn't last very long, but he didn't move, he swallowed it all. No girl has ever swallowed for me before or since, and when he sat up I could see he had unloaded as well.
"First time?" he asked me; I lied and said it was - but it was the best (up until then).
We both showered again, I got a little manly pat on the backside as he left and that was that. Although I never saw him again, I always get hard just remembering it!
I'd be interested to hear from any readers with views on where the best gyms in London are for gay guys interested in activities. Also, do any other reader's have any gym stories of their own that they'd like to share?
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
My South America 2008 photo gallery
For the last couple of years, I've posted the best photos from my more exotic holidays in single purpose blogs. The first time I did this was with the photos from the holiday to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia with Boyfriend P in summer 2005. Then in late 2006 we went to Argentina. Last month we went back to South America again, mainly to Chile, but visiting Argentina and Brazil briefly too. The photos can now be seen in my South America 2008 blog, but don't worry, it's not too taxing, just a few photos!As usual we had a good time, but for me the best bit of the holiday was the white water rafting on the upper Trancura river near Pucón. But whatever one does, I reckon South America is a pretty good holiday destination :-).
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Email from a woman with a bisexual ex-boyfriend
A couple of weeks ago, I received the following email from a new female reader:
Dear GB
You don't know me - but I saw your blog and thought to write you!!
I recently found out that my ex-boyfriend/lover is "bi-curious." We've talked about it and I made sure to confront/ask him about it in the most sensitive way. We are best friends and I would never want to betray that or hurt him - even though I was hurt and shocked to find out (found out through searching on the web). He said that he's never actually followed through with it...it's just a fantasy for him. I understand him and want to be there for him, but now I'm obsessed. I check the web every other day to see if he's still active. I don't know what to do or how to handle this situation. I love him to death - but not sure how to continue with him. My trust is gone, because he never told me. And I'm not sure he's just curious...but I know he'll never tell me if he's not. Just wondering if you have any advise for me... On how to be there for him but protect myself...
I replied immediately, asking her why she was concerned about an ex-boyfriend, and whether it was him that ended their relationship. She replied within a day to say she was worried about giving any more information, in case the guy in question identified her from reading my blog.
In my follow up email to her, where I tried to allay her fears about divulging more information to me, I pointed out that her situation is very similar to the female reader who sent me an email last October. Indeed, I reckon much of the same advice applies. If she can, I think she should encourage him to investigate his bi-curiosity, because only once he's done that will he be able to make adult decisions about how he wants to live his life.
Whichever one of them it was that caused the split, the most likely underlying reason is that the guy was having doubts about his sexuality. He could have consciously made the decision to split, or perhaps the female reader felt he had become too distant and was maybe hiding something and hence instigated the split. Either way, they're not in a relationship any more so she needs to recognise that. It's nice to stay friends with ex-boyfriends where possible, but she's got her own life to lead.
I never got a response to my last email so I don't think there's much more to say, except that she should be concerned that she's become so obsessed with this guy's situation. My best guess is that she doesn't know many gay or bisexual guys, so for some reason being so close to this one has fascinated her. But if she likes the idea of having gay guys as friends, the internet can help. Apart from contact with gay guys like me through our blogs, the internet can also help straight women make develop real [offline] friendships with gay guys. The best example I have of that is when my one of my gay male friends moved to a new city a couple of years ago. He successfully advertised online as a gay guy who wanted female friends, so perhaps it would work the other way round too!
Do any other readers have any thoughts?
Dear GB
You don't know me - but I saw your blog and thought to write you!!
I recently found out that my ex-boyfriend/lover is "bi-curious." We've talked about it and I made sure to confront/ask him about it in the most sensitive way. We are best friends and I would never want to betray that or hurt him - even though I was hurt and shocked to find out (found out through searching on the web). He said that he's never actually followed through with it...it's just a fantasy for him. I understand him and want to be there for him, but now I'm obsessed. I check the web every other day to see if he's still active. I don't know what to do or how to handle this situation. I love him to death - but not sure how to continue with him. My trust is gone, because he never told me. And I'm not sure he's just curious...but I know he'll never tell me if he's not. Just wondering if you have any advise for me... On how to be there for him but protect myself...
I replied immediately, asking her why she was concerned about an ex-boyfriend, and whether it was him that ended their relationship. She replied within a day to say she was worried about giving any more information, in case the guy in question identified her from reading my blog.
In my follow up email to her, where I tried to allay her fears about divulging more information to me, I pointed out that her situation is very similar to the female reader who sent me an email last October. Indeed, I reckon much of the same advice applies. If she can, I think she should encourage him to investigate his bi-curiosity, because only once he's done that will he be able to make adult decisions about how he wants to live his life.
Whichever one of them it was that caused the split, the most likely underlying reason is that the guy was having doubts about his sexuality. He could have consciously made the decision to split, or perhaps the female reader felt he had become too distant and was maybe hiding something and hence instigated the split. Either way, they're not in a relationship any more so she needs to recognise that. It's nice to stay friends with ex-boyfriends where possible, but she's got her own life to lead.
I never got a response to my last email so I don't think there's much more to say, except that she should be concerned that she's become so obsessed with this guy's situation. My best guess is that she doesn't know many gay or bisexual guys, so for some reason being so close to this one has fascinated her. But if she likes the idea of having gay guys as friends, the internet can help. Apart from contact with gay guys like me through our blogs, the internet can also help straight women make develop real [offline] friendships with gay guys. The best example I have of that is when my one of my gay male friends moved to a new city a couple of years ago. He successfully advertised online as a gay guy who wanted female friends, so perhaps it would work the other way round too!
Do any other readers have any thoughts?
Saturday, February 2, 2008
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