Day 11 - Rudy

Day 11 of my ‪#‎MusicalAdventCalendar‬ to raise money for Shelter Cymru. Today is yet another 8-bit electro instrumental, but this one includes live Casio keyboard. Old school!

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Day 10 - Merry Gents

Day 10 of my ‪#‎MusicalAdventCalendar‬ to raise money for Shelter Cymru. Today is another 8-bit electro instrumental (there may be a few more of them before the 25th, as they are easier to do that organise singing etc. and I've already chucked the song order out the window!)

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What Shelter Cymru does and why they need our help

Teimlo'n Nadoligaidd

Had a lovely weekend. Spent some time with family, had a few beers, then Chris came down and we watched lots of old films. Finally got round to trimming up, and I'm very happy with how the tree looks.

My queer nativity has a new visitor this year - Father Christmas! I know Father Christmas doesn't normally visit baby Jesus, but it's my nativity so it's totally allowed. Father Christmas visits children who are nice, not naughty - so he's here in my nativity to show that queer kids can be just as nice or naughty as straight ones. I was nice all year, obviously! 

Day 9 - In the bleak midwinter

Day 9 of my ‪#‎MusicalAdventCalendar‬ to raise money for Shelter Cymru. Today is more dodgy singing, but like I said yesterday, it's all for charity!

In the bleak midwinter, specially for my faraway friend Audrey.

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What Shelter Cymru does and why they need our help

Day 8 - Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle

Day 8 of my ‪#‎MusicalAdventCalendar‬ to raise money for Shelter Cymru. Today is a beautiful old French carol, I've tried my best, but neither my singing nor French is really good enough - but it's all for charity, so I don't mind if you laugh! I'm having loads of fun while raising money for a brilliant charity!

Don't worry, there's better singing on the way!

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What Shelter Cymru does and why they need our help

Day 7 - Dance of the sugar plum faiy

Day 7 of my ‪#‎MusicalAdventCalendar‬ to raise money for Shelter Cymru. A silly 8-bit version of Dance of the sugar plum fairy! 

TV advertising in the UK this year seems to be stealing my ideas!

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What Shelter Cymru does and why they need our help

Day 6 - Here's Fat Daddy

Day 6 of my ‪#‎MusicalAdventCalendar‬ to raise money for Shelter Cymru. This one was requested by my lovely colleague Gwenllian, and I know her housemate Haf will love it too (they've got good taste in Christmas songs!)

Today I am duetting with Baltimore's finest, Fat Daddy.

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What Shelter Cymru does and why they need our help

Day 5 - Let it snow

Day 5 of my ‪#‎MusicalAdventCalendar‬ to raise money for Shelter Cymru. This one was requested by my lovely colleague Tess (though she may regret it once she hears my singing!)

The old crooners had some great Christmas songs!

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Day 4 - Linus and Lucy

Day 4 of my ‪#‎MusicalAdventCalendar‬ to raise money for Shelter Cymru. This one was a request, but who doesn't love the Peanuts Christmas Special?

I love the 8-bit sound mixed in with the old piano!

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What Shelter Cymru does and why they need our help

Day 3 - Stille nacht

Day 3 of my ‪#‎MusicalAdventCalendar‬ to raise money for Shelter Cymru. I wanted to make something slow and experimental, but it had to be a slow and beautiful Christmas song: what better than Stille nacht? The sound is sampled from an old music box, then heavily processed and slowed down. I'm very pleased with it.

You may have noticed by now that I'm not doing conventional Christmas songs, well don't worry - I've got Santa Baby and Last Christmas coming up!

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What Shelter Cymru does and why they need our help

Day 2 - We Three Queens

Day 2 of my ‪#‎MusicalAdventCalendar‬ to raise money for Shelter Cymru. After yesterday's wistful housey sound, I wanted the complete opposite for today. Imagine a primary school band playing in a Christmas concert (except, yes, it's me playing the melodica, piano, recorder, glock and bodhran)!

Also, it's called We Three Queens, not kings. Drag queens, wise women, witches... they could have been anyone!

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What Shelter Cymru does and why they need our help

Day 1 - Videte Miraculum

Day 1 of my ‪#‎MusicalAdventCalendar‬ to raise money for Shelter Cymru. Today's track is a Fflwcs version of a very old Thomas Tallis song called Videte Miraculum, behold the miracle! Vocalisations provided by the lovely Tamsin. Angelic, isn't she?

Please donate, I'm on £355 so far, but I know I can get it to more than that for Shelter Cymru. Thanks everyone, Nadolig Llawen x

My donation page
What Shelter Cymru does and why they need our help

The shit I have to deal with every day

Julia Gasper is a complete horror, a stain on humanity, the lowest kind of person ever. Read this post. Then read the comment. This is the fucking shit I have to deal with every day. I'm proud of who I am, not because I'm gay, but because of all I've had to put up with all my fucking life for being gay - what my gay brothers and sisters, and ancestors have had to put up with, and the battles they fought and won so that Chris and I can now buy each other rings and get married.

Imagine being told all your life that there was something wrong with you, wishing and wishing that you could change, hating yourself because there was something so bad inside you that it made your family ashamed, and meant you were going to hell, and were probably a paedophile as well. It makes you feel so desperately horrible that you feel you don't deserve to be in the world. Many many gay people try and make that happen. I did.

So the next time you say "that's so gay" when actually you mean "that's not very good", or the next time you call someone a poof or a dyke, please remember that every day in the UK four gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender young people aged between 12 and 18 take their own life. Because for the whole of their short lives, they have been told that they are sick and wrong and don't deserve to be in the world. That's FOUR every day who succeed. Every day 12 more try, and thankfully fail.

Julia Gasper, you are a terrible, terrible person. I really hope you find a way to stop your hatred.

Thai fisherman's trousers

I made some Thai fisherman's trousers. I can't call them pants, here in the UK pants means underpants! These are actually the second pair I've made, but I don't have any photos of the first ones, and they look a bit pyjama-y anyway. I got the idea for the pattern from here, which is where the photos below come from. Really easy to make, probably an hour from start to finish, and that's including time to turn the house upside down looking for the right colour cotton! I think these grey ones are smart enough to wear to work. Nice shoes and a black top and I think it would look really nice.

An apology

I have had an apology from Shaws the Drapers for how my partner and I were treated.


The text reads:

"Dear Mr Williams,

With reference to your visit to our Wellfield Road shop. I was most disappointed to hear of the treatment you received and can only apologize most sincerely.

We pride ourselves on our customer service and our staff are constantly reviewed on this. We have obviously failed you on this occasion. I have spoken to the members of staff concerned about their attitude and have reminded them that customers are the most important aspect of our business.

We have traded now as a family business for over a hundred years and thankfully we do not get many complaints relating to our staff.

I can only apologize once again and woudl like to take this opportunity to thank you for shopping with us at Shaws the Drapers.

Yours sincerely

Philip Shaw
Manager"

I am very glad that they sent this apology, and yet... no mention respect for their LGBT customers, or that they do not condone homophobia. Oh well, as I said, I am grateful that they did apologise - but sad that in 2013 they needed to.

I am still never going to shop there again.