I am not sorry to see the back of 2022. It has been a difficult year for many. And a difficult year for LBGTQ+ people around the world. The world cup in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal, happened without much criticism of the regime, certainly not in the country itself. We had LGBTQ+ advocates ditching their principles to take a reported £150M payout to be a brand ambassador for Qatar. We also had another pundit take Qatari money to commentate in the country despite disagreeing with their stance on homosexuality.
Being an LGBTQ+ advocate is for life, not just a photo shoot.
Needless to say, I was greatly disappointed. Home news did raise the issues in Qatar, but once the tournament started, it all seemed to melt away.
In other countries, women are protesting for their rights. In a different country, the freedom of women and girls to be educated is being made illegal.
Then there is the war in Ukraine and the increased repression of homosexuality in Russia.
2022 tells us we still have so far to go, and we shouldn’t become complacent. We must be continually vigilant to ensure our freedoms and the freedoms of others are not taken away through apathy.
2023 will begin with many challenges. I can only hope it ends with the world as a safer place for all, wherever you live.
After a long period of inactivity, I have come back to Screeve with new energy. I am pleased with the reaction to my series “Conversations with my Brother”. The series will end soon, but I love writing about Max and Min. They are a pair of special brothers. I am now working on a follow-up novella to “Becoming Kes”, which I have titled “Discovering Kes”. Kes is also special to me. He felt like an outsider in the real world and only felt wanted and loved inside the fictional town of Cockaigne. I very much relate to how he feels. I have always felt like an outsider, and only within Screeve have I found a home. A home of my dreams, wishes and fantasies.
Illness may force me to take extended breaks at times, but there is no knowing when mental illness will strike. It is also partly due to the lockdown during the pandemic that awareness of mental illness has been heightened, and we are discussing it much more. We even discuss it in my workplace.
I would like to thank all the readers of Screeve. Whether you like the stories or not, I appreciate that you have taken the time to read them, vote on them and comment on them. I can only hope that my stories enrich your lives, make you consider different points of view and, on occasion, excite you.
You mean more to me than you could ever realise. Thank you.
