Ramblings, events and the like, Edition 3

Hello fantastic followers,

Yes I am aware it has been a while since I have blogged, but in my defense it has been a busy few months, I've had Cork Pride, Tegan and Sara, P!nk, Dublin Pride and Melissa Eltheridge, it is tough being a lesbian! If that wasn't busy enough I was also studying and completing my final law exams as well as working on a new dance piece for the Dublin Fringe Festival. In between all of that I got to catch a few screenings at GAZE too and wow. I have also being thinking about the way I want this blog to go. I am so excited it is been read and comments are actually being left! :)  I am thinking this blog will provide a bit of relevant information and hopefully will be a starting point of some discussion around some areas.

Cork Pride:

Cork pride ended up being busy for me as I ended up not only djing in LinC, but also in the parade (on the bus) and at the sports day too. There was a great vibe about the place however I came away thinking that maybe next year we inform people both in our own community as well as the wider Cork community about why we have a pride parade, a lot do not know! I must say a huge thank you to all at LinC who provided me with a space to sell me helped me in the selling of the products. Also helping set up my gear both in LinC and on the Pride bus! A huge thank you to Eamon who got everything together to make it possible for me to DJ on the parade and at the sports afternoon!

Needless to say I made my way to the Savoy on the Sunday of Cork Pride and I have to say the security staff there were awesome! I went on my own, they helped me up the stairs and also with the bathroom, awesome I tell you! I feel I have to say I personally found PRIDE to be a bit isolating also, it is very difficult being on the scene in Cork with a disability on so many levels. Chambers is the only gay bar in Cork city that I know of with full wheelchair access, I feel they ought to be commened. By full wheelchair access I mean access into the premises, a wheelchair accessible toilet and also wheelchair access to the smoking area. I also find a percentage of the Cork LGBT community do not know how to treat people with disabilities, perhaps it's not confined to only people with disabilities. I find in Cork it is very easy to be out on the scene and not to be included in things, as in to be left sitting on your own for the night, moreso when you are physically unable in mingle with people. I can imagine people reading this thinking "it's not like that, not in Cork like" or "it's like that everywhere you go". They have a very valid arguement, it is probably the same in other parts too, however if people are aware of it, it may spark some change within our community.

Catch Up:

Tegan & Sara!

T&S are a Canadian lesbian twin band, their music has featured in the LWord and Grey's Anatomy! Myself and a friend went up to Dublin on the early train so we could make our way to Wicklow Street to their accoustic gig at "Tower Records". It was awesome I got up to the side of thee stage, they sang for about 40 minutes and are getting even better! They were in the Olympia and yet again I got up front, in the actual pitt, what a gig! They sang old and new songs, did an accustic session, told stories and rocked the house out.  They just get better and better, they seem so grounded too.

P!nk!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my god, total and utter hottness. It was quiet funny, my P!nk trip to Dublin that is, I got off the train in Dublin and made my way to the Luas, all quiet normal I hear you say. Hmmmm. There was a dude dressed up as a burger doing a Supermac's promotion, bouncing around the place andf waving at passerbys, and walking into me and Johnny 5, it was so funny being apologised too by a burger! I made my way to Cassidy's hotel in Dublin, checked in, had a bite to eat, then hopped on a bus out to the RDS. There I met my fellow Celtic Tiger Gal, Julie and her mate and we all headed into the RDS, ok, admitily I was a wee bit hyper. We got into our postitions and a woman came zooming over and said 'hi'. It was Maureen, a woman I had been chatting with online for a few years, we finally met, it was fab :). The consort was amazing, she is so hot and talented and awesome and wow and wow and hmmmm did I say wow!?!

Dublin Pride

The following week was Dublin Pride and it was fantastic, I really enjoyed it, even though I spent a lot of it screaming "mind yer legs". Seriously it works, excuse me as no effect at all, but people  in Dublin still actually value their legs. I started the Friday evening sipping cocktails in a bar off O'Connell Street. before making by way to the G and catching up with mates there, after that we all went to the dyke night, it was in the tripod, fantastic venue, security was awesome, so helpful and went beyond the call of duty. 
Saturday I went into the parade with "Running Amach". The vibe was fab, it was bigger then last year and Lydia Foy was Grand Marchel of the Parade (I will write about Lydia Foy in my next edition). After the parade I hung out with mates and then went to the Running Amach accessible dinner hosted by Maureen, who I met at P!nk. The food was yum and the company of the group was fantastic!

That night I ended up meeting a buddy from Cork and spending time in the Back Lounge and the Dragon. Now I feel I have to mention the Dragon. I was there on Easter Sunday and had not been there since. Security at the door remembered me, remembered I walk up the steps and remembered how to lift Johnny 5 in a particular way. They were so nice and even helped me later on in the night to access the wheelchair loo. Anyway I went home on the Sunday and prepared myself to hit London Baby on the Monday!

London:

Monday morning I got my sterling, my friends called and we hit the airport! It was great, the staff assisted me onto the plane after a delay in boarding, the flight was nice and the assistance the other side at Gatwick was spot on! We got the train from the airport to Victoria station then took a ten minute walk to our hotel. Gee it was poky! Monday night I went for an amazing Indian meal, yum, seriously yum! After that we made our way into a gay cafe bar, now that was interesting, considering there was only two of us, the batmobele, a tube station and no lifts! When we eventualy got there, we sat outside as it was so warm, it was actually like being in Spain. On the Tuesday my friend and I hit Oxford Street! After improving the economic state of London and dropping our purchases back to the room, the three of us made our way to Sheperd's Bush! We met up with six others who flew over from Cork, had a bite to eat and went to see "sheer briliance" take to the stage! Melissa Etheridge played to 2,000 people and left me speechless. Even as I am writing this blog (2 months later) there are no words, WOW! She sang for near two hours, hits from years gone gone by and tracks from her new fantastic album, "Fearless Love". She spoke about being a cancer suvivour along with her break up with Tammy, she made the guitar talk, wow. 

Now I couldn't possibly write this blog without mentioning the Civil Partnership Bill and the debates in both houses of the Oireachtas it generated.The Civil Partnership Bill, providing legal recognition for same-sex couples in Ireland was signed into law by our President Mary McAleese July just gone.  The Act will extend marriage-like rights to gay and lesbian couples in relation to property, social welfare, succession, maintenance, pensions and tax. The Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern described it as "one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation to be enacted since independence." The legislation will be known as The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010. The first civil registrations for same-sex couples are likely to take place early next year. The legislation was widely supported in both the Dáil and Seanad. According to Green Party's Justice spokesman Trevor Sargent, "This Act is a significant step forward and a stepping stone towards greater equality in our society".   I however am not so excited, yes it is great that we have rights and presummibly now will be protected under other Acts such as the Domestic Violence Act and the Family Home Protection Act also, however the question still remains, what about the children of same sex couples? Under the Act, same-sex couples will be able to avail of benefits in a wide range of areas such as property, social welfare, succession, maintenance, pensions and tax. It allows for ceremonies to take place in civil registry offices or other approved settings. The Act will recognise civil partnerships, or their equivalents, from other countries. Thes Act will also provide a limited redress scheme where a cohabitant is left economically dependent - this will be done through a presumptive scheme- cohabitants will not have to register their relationships but will automatically be covered once a qualifying period of time has passed. The redress scheme will apply to relationships of at least 5 years. However as far as I can see there are some questions unanswered,  like what other partnerships/marriages will be recognised under the Act?

 Dublin Fringe Festival

Yet again Croi Glan performed at the Fringe Festival with a new piece, "This Is",  choreographed by Adam Benjamin. The brand new piece was performed by five dancers, Mary Nugent (aka DJ Proud Mary), Dawn Mulloy, Tom Pritchard, James O'Shea and Tara Brandel. The performences went well and we were reveiewed in the Irish Times.

USA

On Tuesday September 28th I left for the USA, Chicago to be exact. and since then I have been dancing, contact improv style. It is a type of contempory dance where you really use your body. There was a festifal last week called Glacier where dancers and non dancers met for a week and did contact. It was awesome, I met amazing people and made some really good friends. After being in Wilard for 6y days and eating veggie food we made our way to minneapolis where we visited a few different places and exchanged some skills. The first place was utterly amazing, it was called interact, a place for people with physical, mental, emotional and intelectual disabilities whose only focus was art, be it dance, drama, visual art or whatever.  Then we visited a performing arts company and a young dance compand before heading back to Madison. Get this, I am sitting in a queer cafe in Madison called EVP drinking an Italian Soda with a shot of Vannila and the very cute woman working here gave it to me on the house...


Ok that's all for now, I will blog soon.