bitful

El fio del calighèr al va in giro discòls.

Which, translated from my mother's dialect, roughly translates as 'The cobbler's son goes around barefoot'. Or something like that.
Which is a colourful way of saying that I earn my living ensuring that government websites are compliant with markup validation and accessibility standards, and that they look consistent [...]

I might have missed out on a jar of special Blue Witch honey because of being too shy, but I just could not get myself to ask a complete stranger on the Central Line the other night if he was Diamond Geezer.
You: blue eyes, maroon tie, white shirt with grid pattern, blue waterproof coat. Me: [...]

Picture of the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire cast in their scuba gear in the 60 by 60 foot tank used to film the Second Task.
Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter) edited the picture just a bit in the spirit of Christmas, and will use it as a card to send festive greetings to his [...]

What do you do when a recently acquired acquaintance, on a business trip in London from paris, and that you assumed was 100% homo, tells you he has been seeing a woman for the past six months?
You take him to G.A.Y. on a Monday night, of course - via the Yard, Trash Palace and Barcode!
(Oh [...]

Whenever a plan to go see my mother my dream life (already overpopulated by bizarre details in ordinary times) turns into a series of short movies about being stuck in Italy forever. Missing the flight back, losing my passport, being in a car crash? You name it, I have dreamt it.
As the time for another [...]

So I'd like to stop these rumours that I'm still enjoying the high life in Gran Canaria and reveal that I've been back from holidays for five days already.
It's just that until I finish transfering my holiday expenses into my global cross-referenced kick-ass accounts Excel spreadsheets I can't even start thinking of using a computer [...]

Leaving for a week in Gran Canaria tomorrow.
It will be my first holiday with a bunch of friends. My first ever beach holiday. My first winter holiday in a hot location. My first holiday in a gay resort. My first holiday in Spain. My first holiday with a hotel reservation. My first holiday with travel [...]

For the first time ever, I now wish I could take and send pictures with my mobile.
For the first time ever, this website will be of some sort of usefulness: I need to show the following purchases to Dr B. (who is working away from London) to see if they are appropriate for our 70's [...]

Two minutes left for the USA to cast their vote. Holding my breath. Will evil be allowed to roam free for another term?
Two minutes for me to consider that this kind of evil is among other things also responsible for a climate of fear and disgust of the unknown and of all that is different [...]

Last night I shopped at Asda for the first time.
£13.05 got me:

one grey schoolgirl skirt, size 15-16 years;
5 pairs 15 denier sheer tights;
one light support bra;
one non wired bra;
6 scrunchies;
6 hair grips.

Dr B. has bought wigs in Swindon, all we need now is make up and we are ready our friend D.'s shoolgirls birthday party [...]

The wonders of the English language: next time I get confused whether I need to wake up at 2am to put all the clocks in the flat one hour back or forward, all I need to remember is:
Spring forward
Fall back
(courtesy of Dr B.)
Bloody ingenious.

A word of advice: next time there is a ticketed event at Trade, buy your tickets online. That way you skip the queue around the block and go straight in. Just as lovely avid bitful reader Ryan (hello Ryan!) did, wheezing right past me as I had reached the front of the queue after a [...]