IMHO, Graham Norton is intensely annoying and ought to be kicked to death.

How can you say that? What have you against cuddly personalities?

That's a bit much, isn't it?

I'd have said:

"Graham Norton is quite annoying and ought to be kicked to death."

No... leave him alone...

He's at the Oxford Street HMV on the 10th Nov at around midday signing his new video of old clips.
Let's all go! Bill Oddie will be there (probably).

He's been involved with some awful shows on TV, but oddly enough, I don't have any objections to him as such.

Aah, there's far worse out there. Now, Anne Robinson.... (not just for *** ******* ****, either).

Say hi to Graham from me. (We were on the same radio show once).

I'm sure he remembers you.

Janet I think contact with you in life may be the key to success. I often get the impression you are like the Daili Lama of comedy.

IMHO in the camp comedian stakes, Graham Norton knocks spots off Julian Clary.

Literally.

With Anonymous on the GN v Julian Clary thing.

How talentless is JC? One joke. Anal sex. (At this point I know I take the risk of being accused of hypocrisy re Whatever happened to Suiii thread).

GN is almost Kenneth Williams-like on Just a Minute. Listen to how long he makes those words. Simple tactic, but v effective.

Can I ask a question not really related to this? No, oh well.

What exactly is the *promotion* of homosexuality in schools?
Don't exactly promote sexuality either way do they?

>Can I ask a question not really related to this? No, oh well.
>
>What exactly is the *promotion* of homosexuality in schools?
>Don't exactly promote sexuality either way do they?



You ask a very good question, RHC. One of the reasons the Local Government Act 1988's Section 28 is so bad is that it is ambiguous.

"Promotion" is not defined. No prosecutions have ever been brought under the act, so it has not been tested in a court. No definition exists.

Therefore, local education authorities, individual schools and individual teachers have had to interpret it themselves, with varying policies thus developing.

At worst, this means that homosexuality cannot be mentioned at all for fear of the legal consequences.

This in turn means that young gay men and lesbians can actually be shunned by teachers if they come to them complaining of bullying. The teacher has to make up his or her own rules about the law. To be sympathetic to a child's homosexuality could be interpreted as "promoting" it. Of course it might not. There's no way of telling legally.

The Tories and Brian Souter etc seem to believe that homosexuality is infectious. Young people could be turned gay from simply being told that it exists.

I not only believe, but I KNOW, that one's sexuality is as unchangeable as one's blood group.

OK, some people who are fundamentally heterosexual can have gay experiences and vice versa. Then there are the bisexuals too.
To imagine that a het is going to be mentally scarred for life by having sex with someone of his or her own gender is nonesense.

I was once engaged. Luckily I broke it off. If I had got married and we had children, imagine the mental scarring that would have taken place when I came out. If I never came out imagine the misery I would have gone through. I doubt my wife would have been jolly either.

If, perhaps, we had had sex and sexuality education at school and I had been told about homosexuality properly, the misery that was caused when I broke of our engagement might not have happened. That is multiplied time and time again for all sorts of gay and lesbian people.

I have met hundreds (literally hundreds) of gay men who have been married. They and their partners might have been spared enormous misery if there was decent education in this country and an acceptance of homosexuality as a normal part of life.

Time to get off my soapbox. Now, go back to watching telly.

But if you want any more information, you could ring your local lesbian and gay switchboard. The number is in the book.

Maybe you could try the web too.

Manchester's is www.lgfoundation.org.uk

You should hear the stink right wingers kick up every year at Mardi Gras time.
The fact that it brings in millions of valuable O/S bucks every year shuts up most politicians.

{KS - the Dalai Lama! Gosh ta. In reality I'd say I'm a far more minor deity in an obscure religion }

Am touched by RB's reply, but am not gay as far as can tell, mainly because men seem more attractive to me, whereas am often bored talking to girls, no offence to anyone on site at all, you are all very interesting indeed.
And when I find my own soapbox, you're all gonna know about it.

>Can I ask a question not really related to this? No, oh well.
>
>What exactly is the *promotion* of homosexuality in schools?
>Don't exactly promote sexuality either way do they?

I think the whole "promotion of hoimosexuality in schools " thing can be effectively demolished thus: if sexula "propaganda" actually did influence a young person's sexual orientation there would be no gays or lesvians at all, because everybody is bombarded with HETEROSEXUAL propaganda from birth.

>>Can I ask a question not really related to this? No, oh well.
>>
>>What exactly is the *promotion* of homosexuality in schools?
>>Don't exactly promote sexuality either way do they?
>
>I think the whole "promotion of hoimosexuality in schools " thing can be effectively demolished thus: if sexula "propaganda" actually did influence a young person's sexual orientation there would be no gays or lesvians at all, because everybody is bombarded with HETEROSEXUAL propaganda from birth.
>

Apologies for my atrocious spelling in the last post. Must have typed it too quickly.
>

My pet hate in homophobes (oh so many to choose from) is the "it's not NATURAL" argument.
Assuming homosexuals aren't constructed in a junk shop out of tin and lengths of coaxial cable, of COURSE it's natural. Look, there it is. Happening. In nature.

PS: Graham Norton must be lovely. The very campness of his name at the top of this thread is making everyone talk about gay rights...

>My pet hate in homophobes (oh so many to choose from) is the "it's not NATURAL" argument.

To which I'd respond that nature's crap anyway. I'm diabetic and have to inject myself with a synthetic product four times a day, which isn't very natural, but no one's going to persuade me not to. If it was left to nature, I'd be dead (cheers God!).

The other year at the Midsumma Carnival (Melbourne's gay family fun day) I ran into Jimmy Somerville. I'm not a large person, but he's such a wee lad I almost .knocked him flying.

PS. It's been noted before that I am a drag queen trapped in a woman's body.

Mardi Gras in Sydney: Dama Edna Everage.
Mardi Gras in Manchester: Madge Allsop.

Went this year. They preyed for rain. It didn't rain.

That's at Sydney's, not Manchester's.

Martin Clunes was there. So was Neil Morrisey. Oh look! There isn't a default mis-spelling.

Old Jeremy Hardy routine:

"They say if you have gay teachers the kids will become gay as well. But the only one who'd do that would be the teacher's pet! [Does impression of obsequious figure offering a package of something]: 'Look, I've bought you some amyl nitrate, sir!' "

I laughed. And no, I'm not.

Oh hang on, just saying that is condoning prejudice as well, damn... can you just ignore the last few postings?

I used to have a lesbian duck.

Is that a euphemism?

very helpful, thank you for answering questions you are all so wise and lovely whatever your sexual orientations.
Am suprised at the amount you guys come up with, you must have a lot of free time on your hands. Love for all. free the biscuits.

>I used to have a lesbian duck.

Quack licker?

No it was I have a lesbian, duck!

Although I think people ought to stop this dangerous practice of using lesbians as human missiles.