The latest Tom Hanks film, is a cracker. Set in the cold war period of 1957/8 it features the background of the negotiations to exchange Francis Gary Powers a downed U2 pilot and student Frederic Pryor for a Russian spy Col Rudolf Abel who was caught by the US while acting as a dead letter intermediary.

Bettina Rheims best photograph of a transgender sex worker from the 1980s in Paris. Quite an interesting piece especially as it suggests that most of them are now probably dead, presumably from horrible diseases. It struck a chord with me because I transitioned about the same time. Things are so different now.

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/dec/03/bettina-...

Oh, and it happens to be my birthday, today.

Angharad

From BBC3 looks like some of it at least is filmed in the US. Some young transwomen strut their stuff on the beach and so on. Why do they all have such deep voices?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p038dwjj

Fraid so. As we draw near to the next completed century with Bike ie 2800, I feel a need to ask the readership if they'd like me to continue writing regular episodes as usual, or not. This is assuming Auntie Erin is happy for me to fill up her servers as before. Remember, Bike is only available at BC - that's Big Closet not British Cycling, so take advantage of its exclusivity, get involved and write a comment (but keep them clean).

In other words, let me know what you think, assuming you can after reading Bike.

Angharad.

Got sidetracked with other things, hopefully will try harder tomorrow.

Angharad

I love short stories, reading them and writing them. They have a very varied spectrum in terms of type and genre, as much as any other form of writing or story. They might describe an entire event, or the impact on just one individual. They can reflect just a moment in time from a lifetime of events, which is my favourite sort to write. They don't have a build up just an event, or an encounter and they're over - gone; leaving us to work out what happened before and after, which may or may not be what the writer intended.

The number of children gender identity problems referred to the Tavistock Clinic in London is increasing. Interestingly, more girls than boys. It's also thought the wider availability of information and the effect of celebrity changers might be responsible for this phenomenon.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/05/children-seek...

I found this on the Guardian website which I must have missed earlier, might have been on holiday. If the conclusions are correct, then it's a frightening prospect especially for transgender people from black or other ethnic minorities. I have blogged about it before but it's still happening and needs to be brought to public awareness. Thanks to the Guardian for that.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/11/lgbt-murders-...