News Network For Straight Men & Lesbians

I wonder whether there's a news network out there (pun intended) which specialises in "Cock Affairs".

I'll leave to to guess whether this picture originated from Oz or the USA. I don't know myself.

Primate's Visit

Yet another non-sequitur, I hear you moan (or were you moaning with lust from wanking over the hot naked sailor from the previous post?). What's he on about now? What does the Archbishop of Canterbury's visit to Singapore got to do with this image of a fry-up?

In his sermon at St Andrew's Cathedral today, his Grace distinguished between involvement and commitment with reference to certain breakfast items. By way of comparison, he described the chicken as being "involved" whereas the pig was "committed".

Fry-ups will never be the same again.

Another amusing quote which I head this weekend:

"Failure is success which hasn't happened yet."

This was the response of the US Homeland Security Adviser, Frances Townsend when asked about the status of the US war against terror, in particular, the inability to capture Osama bin Laden after so many years. Not surprisingly this was featured on "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central.

Back Again So Soon?

At the end of January this year, I posted an entry about my encounter with visiting sailors.

How time flies - the sailors are back! Not necessarily the same ones but there were virile-looking young men with buzz-cuts wandering the streets of Orchard Road today. Some warship must have called.

I don't know which one it is but I could find out. I really shouldn't as it would be unlawful. My source of information would be my cousin who is one of the Chief Naval Officer's adjutants. The name of the U.S. warship is probably classified as "Restricted" but would never the less be a contravention of the Official Secrets Act to reveal any details of the ship in question unless that information has been declassified by the appropriate authorities.

As far as I'm aware, it's not been declassified - yet. I'm not going to put my cousin at risk of prosecution and potential imprisonment as there is always the possibility that I could be the presiding Judge Advocate. He's my maternal cousin and consequently, we have different surnames but the rules of judicial conduct would require me to vacate the Bench for such a hearing - "recuse" is such an ugly word.

There is a good chance that there will be sailors prowling the corridors of the all-boy spas during their shore leave and much as I would enjoy another encounter, I already have weekend plans for Friday and Saturday evenings, one of which includes C and seeing as we'd already arranged to meet online on Friday evening, I intend to keep my promise.

There'll be other sailor boys but in the meantime, here's the full collection of which the pictures from the earlier post were only a part. Also, this time, he's not been digitally castrated - his manhood preserved in all its glory for your delectation.

EPL Whispers

Might these two be a likely pairing? I seriously hope not, despite the rumours going around. As a Liverpool supporter, I would hate to see Michael put on MUFC colours. It will feel like a betrayal. Lots of other Liverpool supporters will probably feel the same way, even though he now plays for that Geordie team which currently lies in 13th position in the 20-team EPL.

The BBC reported only a few hours ago that in addition to Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool (Yaay!) are all interested in buying him, possibly for as little as £9 million.

Mr Benitez, please buy Michael. We want him back at the Kop. Mr Shepherd, you can bugger off. We want Michael back.

By the way, we'd like to buy Steven Taylor too.

For those of you who don't know who Steven is, he's the handsome lad in the picture below.

I Like Peaches

From "About A Boy & His Briefs" whose blogger apparently can't remember where he got it:

MEN
are like peaches
on trees. the best ones
are at the top of the tree.
The boys don't want to reach
for the good ones because they
are afraid of falling and getting hurt.
Instead, they get the rotten peaches
from the ground that aren't as good,
but easy. So the peaches up top think
something is wrong with them, when in
reality they are amazing. They just
have to wait for the right boy to
come along, the one who's
brave enough to
climb all
the way
to the top
of the tree.

The original fruit was "apple" but I don't like apples so I substituted it with "peach". I initially thought about using something more generic like "fruit" but this being in the context of gay men, I thought the word to be derogatory.

I would hate being referred to in that way, just as much as I hate gay men being described as "queens". Those words are an affront to our collective masculinity, except for gay men who enjoy cross-dressing in which case, "queen" is rather appropriate. However, for those of us who embrace our masculinity and that of our gay brothers (perhaps we'd simply like to embrace our gay brothers), it's not appropriate.

Call me "fag", "shirt-lifter", "bender", I don't care. Call me "queen" and I may do something which you will certainly regret. Yes, that's how strongly I feel about being called "queen".

If I could propose a new euphemism for a gay men - "oberons". This is derived from the name of the fairy king in a Midsummer Night's Dream. On the one hand, it acknowledges the gay nature of the man (the "fairy" reference) but in no way detracts from his masculinity (the "king" reference). I could live with that.

Missing My Boy Chris

American Idol just isn't the same without Chris Richardson.

I share the judges' overall sentiments that the singing tonight was generally unremarkable except for Jordin's first song. Much as I'd hate to admit it, I think Simon Cowell was right when he said that Blake was vulnerable to elimination, not only because of his singing (he over-did the beat boxing this evening) but also for his in explicable predilection for argyll-patterned jumpers.

My pick for the final 2 (assuming Blake goes home tomorrow night):

1. Jordin Sparks
2. Melinda Doolitle

If I had to choose between them, I think Jordin will be the 2007 American Idol.

By way of a parting shot, here's a reminder of His Cuteness, Chris Richardson:

Step Aside, Mohs

Just as the Mohs Scale measures the comparative hardness of various minerals, Pfizer has now come up with a scale to measure penile hardness in order to determine the extent of erectile dysfunction.

In descending order of hardness:

Reuters reported as follows:

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gentlemen please, rate yourselves: are you a cucumber or a banana in bed?

Singapore's Society for Men's Health and a pharmaceutical firm [later identified as Pfizer] are proposing a four-point scale for erectile dysfunction, allowing men to rate their own hardness with four categories: cucumber, unpeeled banana, peeled banana and tofu (bean curd).

"Men should aim for this," UK sex therapist Victoria Lehmann told a news conference, holding a cucumber.

The scale does not involve any scientific measurement -- patients would merely be asked to assess their own levels of hardness -- and has not been accepted by any medical authorities.

Presumably, men suffering from erectile dysfunction being treated with Viagra can achieve this hardness - size not guaranteed!

P.S. [Sunday, 13th May 2007]: The more observant readers among you may have noticed that the picture of the peeled banana which I originally posted has now been replaced. Thanks and kisses to J for the image of the current peeled banana - much more appropriate for this post.

One Step Closer

Yes, I'll admit to some sophistry. For those of you who are expecting a blog entry about the very handsome Heinz Winckler, I'm sorry to disappoint. While I do have this album (perhaps you might have already noticed that my choice of music is sometimes - alright, often - dictated by my libido), this post is not about Heinz but about

More specifically, it's about how I'm now one step closer to making the transition to Shell.

I had another call today. Shell's now come through with the terms of their offer. Let's just say that it's a very tempting offer. There's definitely more dosh than I'm getting now (a 40% increase) and other perks which come with working for an oil major. Not that the current job doesn't have any. Different ones, I suppose but the downside is that I'll have to take a reduction in my annual holiday from 25 to 15.

Shell aren't going to give me the terms in writing and I'll only see the terms after I've indicated my interest to accept - which I have. The next step is that they'll fix a date for me to sign on the dotted line (but not before I've had a chance to review the terms) and for me to do the pre-employment medical. After I get the medical sign-off, I'll resign from my present job. I think it will come as a surprise to my boss but I'm past caring as I don't appreciate being under-valued. I don't know whether my boss will try to change my mind but if he does, I'll tell him it's too late as by that time, I'll already have made a commitment to Shell. At that point, I'll find out how determined Jardines are to keep me, or not, as the case may be. Either way, it won't matter. I don't intend to change my mind unless Jardines can match Shell's offer, not just in terms of the money but also in terms of the other non-financial things that I'm not happy with in relation to being undervalued. If these can be resolved to my satisfaction, I'll think about staying but not otherwise.

Chinese Washbasins Mach II

Last week I was doing the usual trawl through the Getty Images website for pictures of cute guys when I came across this:

Apparently the city of Chongqing in Sichuan decided to install some novel washbasins. I can see how these would appeal to straight guys. Novel as these washbasins are, they can still be improved by adding one of these to each sink:

City officials should think about charging for the use of these improved, Fleshlight enabled sinks. Lube will cost extra.

Gay versions could also be installed and fitted with Fleshlights with the arse attachment. Alternatively, there could also be something like a Boca de Veritas with the Fleshlight mouth attachment like so:

I accept that something like the Boca Veritas will only appeal to the most extreme of fetishists in which case substitute it with a 3D representation of this or perhaps some other equally erection-inducing face of your choice:

Tobey, James & Christoper

I saw Spiderman 3 on Saturday evening. Quite enjoyable in "switch your brain off for a few hours" sort of way. The plot was generally quite predictable although it was sad that James Franco's Young Goblin character was killed off at the end.

I can see how there is a potential for Spiderman 4 with how this film ended but it will remain to be seen whether Tobey Maguire will be asked to reprise his role as Spiderman, if a fourth film in the series is made.

It was also unfortunate that the trailer for the new Fantastic Four film was shown before the actual screening of Spiderman 3 as it looked a lot more interesting, especially since it features the Silver Surfer. Of course, the fact that the Fantastic Four films feature Chris Evans and Ioan Gruffdd also make for a more compelling watch, especially Chris Evans.

That's not to say I don't find Tobey, James and Topher attractive. I most certainly do and in a way, Thomas Haden Church is also attractive but perhaps not as attractive as Tobey, James and Topher. If I had to choose one of them, I'd choose James Franco over Tobey and Topher. It might have something to do with his resemblance to Hayden Christensen whom I also fancy.

I prefer Topher in this film than his Eric Forman persona in "That 70s Show" and it's not because of his blond hair. I think it's because he seems more grown-up in the film whereas in the television series, I can't help but think of him as a schoolboy and it's "illegal" to think of him in that way even though he's legal in terms of his actual age.

If you want to see the trailer for the new Fantastic Four film - check it out at the film's official website.

To round off this entry, I've included some pictures of Tobey Maguire, James Franco and Topher Grace, none of which come from the latest Spiderman film. I've not been able to find any shirtless pictures of James Franco or Topher Grace but if I do, I'll edit this entry to include those pictures.

Distractions At Work

While at work last week, I was searching the internet for some information and came across a very amusing Wikipedia entry of various double-entendres.

For your amusement, I present below an extract from the Wikipedia entry. My colleagues were probably wandering why I was giggling hysterically for no apparent reason.

• "He [Diawarea] brings out an extra six to twelve inches and it's a fantastic tackle." (Scott Minto, BBC)
• "If he opens his legs, he'll be hard to handle." (Graham Taylor)
• "Ardiles strokes the ball like it was a part of his anatomy." (Jimmy Magee, RTÉ)
• "Neil Harvey, standing at leg slip with his legs wide apart, waiting for a tickle." (Brian Johnston, BBC)
• "Botham struggled to get his leg over there." (Jonathan Agnew, BBC)
• "Rutherford's asking the umpire how many balls he's got left... he's got two." (Bryan Waddle, Radio New Zealand)
• "This is Gregoriava from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning and it was amazing." (Pat Glenn, Weightlifting Commentator)
• "I was saying the other day, how often the most vulnerable area for goalies is between their legs..." (Andy Gray, Sky Sports)
• "The Czech Republic are coming from behind in more than one way now." (John Motson, BBC in 27th minute of World Cup 2006 game against Italy.)
• "And Michael Schumacher just stood on his seat and pulled out something special." (Martin Brundle, ITV)
• "Gary Neville says that Porto are a bunch of girls who go down too easily." (Peter Schmeichel)
• "This is really a lovely horse, I once rode her mother." (Ted Walsh)
• "The bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey." (Brian Johnston, BBC Radio 4, Test Match Special)^[7] (possibly apocryphal)^[1][8]
• "Arsene Wenger's lips are firmly sealed on Sir Alex Ferguson" Sky News
• "Reverend John, who is living with an openly gay partner, is no doubt feeling rather sore today", Paul Handley, Radio 5 Live

(Oops) I Did It Again

Perhaps you are thinking - what is this non-sequitur? What, if anything might this baroque fop have to do with the fallen princess of pop?

As far as I'm aware, there is no connection between Britney and Domenico. It's all to do with what happened on Saturday.

Some years ago, I took part in a Scarlatti marathon at the Bath International Music Festival. That involved the performance of all 555 sonatas over 2 weekends. I did it again this weekend but for a charitable cause. It was something organised jointly by the students of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music plus various volunteers such as myself. This time it was done over a single weekend, starting Friday evening and will end this evening. My "slot" was yesterday afternoon and my allocated sonati were
Kk 301 to Kk 310.

As some of you will know, I've essentially "retired" from playing music in public after I completed my term as Organ Scholar at university. I briefly came out of retirement 2 years ago at my cousin's request to be the organist for her wedding but have until this weekend, returned to retirement. I was persuaded to do this by some old school friends on the basis that it would be a good laugh and at the same time raise money for various charitable causes.

The run up to Saturday was anything but a laugh. I spent many hours practising on a piano for a harpsichord performance which was less than ideal. I only managed to get some practice time on a harphsichord during the middle of this week but fortunately, I didn't need to make too many corrections.

Saturday itself was a very relaxed affair, which became even more so when I got my 10 sonati out of the way. After that, my friends and I went out to dinner followed by a screening of Spideman 3. More about my thoughts on the film in a separate blog entry.

I don't know how much was eventually raised for the various charities. Will find out next week.

Every time I come of retirement, I swear to myself it will be the last time but I never learn my lesson. As far as I know, there's not going to be any family weddings in the foreseeable future so I shouldn't be asked again, any time soon. It'd be difficult to say no seeing as I'd agreed to do one a few years ago and I don't want my cousins to think that I love some of them more than I do the others.

Jon Bon Jovi - 45?!

Tonight's American Idol featured the songs of Jon Bon Jovi (who turned 45 on 2nd March - belated happy returns Jon!) and it wasn't until tonight that I was reminded of how attractive Jon is. You know how it is - so many men, so little time......

In case you're wondering, I didn't mean that to refer to the number of men I've been. All I meant to say was that there are so many nice-looking men around that it's hard to keep track of every one of them.

He certainly doesn't look 45. He could easily pass for someone in his 30s. What can I say, some of us have good genes. If all rock musicians looked like that, I'd probably have lots more rock albums in my collection.

I think you'll probably agree that this picture would have been a lot better if he ditched the sheet.

Are They Really That Different?

The picture on the left is a pair of swimshorts from Lands' End and the pair on the right is from Vilebrequin. Apart from the white tie on the Vilbrequin shorts, there seems to be very little to choose from between the two except for the price. The Lands' End swimshorts cost US$20 whereas the Vilbrequin shorts cost US$170 (indicative price from the Vilebrequin US online store). I need to have a serious re-think about whether I really need a pair of Vilbrequin swimshorts or whether I can have something similar from Lands' End at a far better price without probably no difference in quality, the only difference is that one has a label identifying itself as a "Vilebrequin" and the other as "Lands' End". I don't see why I won't be able to sleep peacefully at night without a pair of Vilebrequin swimshorts and with an extra US$150 in my bank account.

My Days Are Numbered

FROM TO

Three months, to be precise.

No, I'm not dying or anything like that. Three months will be all I have left at Jardines, should I decide to take up Shell's job offer.

Up until now, the only people who know about this, apart from myself are the people at Shell and my friend JES who works for Potens in London. If you check out the link to Potens, the connection with what he does and the energy industry will become clear.

I've had a couple of meetings with Shell and after the second, I had a gut feeling that they were interested. What gave it away was that they had slipped into a pattern of speech where they assumed I was one of them and had to correct themselves when they realised their assumption was premature.

I didn't hear from them for about 2 weeks after the last meeting and I was wondering whether I had read the signs wrongly. In the interim, they did call to let me know that no decision had been taken and with hindsight, they probably wouldn't have called if they weren't interested.

Yesterday I received a call from Shell saying that they were going to make me an offer and would get back to me with the formalities, etc later this week or early next week. It might be premature to say that my days at JLT are numbered seeing as I don't have anything in writing from Shell yet.

The question is whether I want to take the job with Shell. It will depend on what the terms of the offer are and whether I can use this as a leverage to improve my position at JLT. I will be asking Shell for time to consider their offer and depending on how much time I have, will use it to see what I can get out of JLT. I should now within the next 2 weeks how much I'm valued by JLT, or not , as the case may be. If the latter, there's no reason why I should stay.

Rather than counting unhatched chickens, I think I'll wait until I get a formal offer from Shell and there will be more blog entries on this in the coming weeks.

Not "Vile" In The Least

VILEBREQUIN - my latest obessesion. These are swim shorts to be seen in when promenading along the beachfronts of St Tropez, Monaco, Nice and Cannes. I could see myself wearing one of these. They come in all sorts of floral prints as well a range of solid colours but floral prints aren't really my thing although there might be one or two which I could be persuaded to wear or to take off, as the case may be.

I'm thinking of getting a pair of Vilbrequins later this month when the Great Singapore Sale starts. I saw them last weekend at Takashimaya just after I bought a pair of jeans from Gant but declined to buy them as I wanted to see what the prices were online before getting them.

My Pick

He's who I'd like to see win American Idol this year. For a while now, I couldn't decide which of the boys I fancied more Chris or Blake but I've finally it is Chris whom I fancy more.

Being the realist that I am, I have my suspicions that Chris will probably not win. I think the current front-runners are Jordin Sparks and Melinda Doolittle. Between the 2, if my life depended on it, I'd say Jordin would win it. It might have something to do with the fact that she sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" and me being a Liverpool supporter, it struck a chord (pun intended). The remaining 5 are all good singers in their own right and deserve recording contracts. I'd buy any CD which Chris and Blake put out. I've said that about Elliot Yamin as well but it's not been released here yet. I'll definitely get it when it is.

For this week's elimination, I guessing the bottom 3 are going to be Phil, Lekisha and Blake but I wouldn't put money on it. I'd be slightly gutted if Chris was in the bottom 3 but even if he was, I think he'll make it to the next round. If anyone was to go, I suspect it'd be Phil. Needless to say, I'm glad the Creepy One is gone.

The History Boys

I watched the film during the flight home from Perth. From what little I've read about it, I knew that there were homoerotic themes in the film but that was not surprising, seeing as the film was set in an all boys school and having spent most of my formative adolescent years in that sort of environment, I know that having a horde of horny teenage boys in close proximity to each other every day, there needs to be some sort of outlet for the expression of what it is that a sudden surge in testosterone drives teenage boys to do.

Sport was an acceptable outlet for this and there were of course, the persistent rumours that the boys who stayed at the boarding school (I was a day student) engaged in mutual fellatio, not 69ing, as far as I was aware of but taking turns to suck each other off. It was more a sort if doing each other favours.

This of course opens up all sorts of considerations as to whether there is a distinction between same-sex sexual experiences and gay sexual experiences. I'll explore this in a future post but for now, back to the History Boys.

Having watched film on the plane, it seemed rather disjointed and perhaps it was intended to be that way - the viewer is intended piece together various elements of the plot as opposed to having the entire plot play out on screen. Alternatively, it could simply have been that certain parts of the film were censored because of the possibility that minors had access to it. I doubt that Alan Bennett's play would have had any overt male nudity in it and the same might not have been made part of the film for any number of reasons - reading about 17 year-old boys having homosexual experiences with each other is one thing but showing it on screen might well amount to kiddie porn.

This in itself is something of a double standard as the age of consent for gay sex in the England (I don't know the position in Scotland and Northern Ireland but suspect it is the same as in England but would hesitate to make a sweeping statement that this is the position for all the legal jurisdictions in the UK) is 16 and if a boy/man is deemed by the law to be able to consent to having sex with another boy/man at age 16, why would a graphic representation of something which is otherwise lawful per se otherwise malum prohibitum (my Latin is rusty and if I've used the wrong form of the words, I stand corrected) or perhaps in malum in se, depending on your viewpoint. It is beyond controversy that under English law, graphic representations of two males aged 18 years and above having engaged in sexual activity is lawful. Some would consider any form of graphic repsentation of sexual activity malum in se from a moral point of view (ie. all forms of porn are immoral) but my considerations are solely legal.

It is equally beyond controversy that any form of sexual activity between males, both of whom are below the age of 16 years is malum prohibitum, graphic representations included. This leaves us with an illogical lacuna of the position of graphic representations of boys/men between the age of 16 and 18 engaged in homosexual activities.

I'm sure that there will be records of the debates in Hansard as to why the age of consent was reduced to 16 from 18 and perhaps not lower given that in some other jurisdictions, the legal age for girls to be able to consent to sex is 14. I don't hear feminists complaining about discrimination in this instance.

I've wandered off the point again. I've been meaning to discuss the History Boys but I keep getting side-tracked. Having only watched it once and possibly not having watched the film uncensored, I think I will need to watch it at least one more time (and possibly read the play as well) in order to write something lucid about the film. For now, let's just say that I found some of the boys in the film very fanciable, namely Samuel Barnett (Posner), Jamie Parker (Scripps) and Stephen Campbell Moore (Mr Irwin). I recall a line in the film where the boys were speculating that Irwin was barely older than they were and reading the various biographies on IMDB, that's not very far from the truth. Stephen Campbell More and Jamie Parker are the same age in real life (both born in 1979) and Samuel Barnett is a year younger. I also found Russell Tovey (Rudge) quite fanciable but I think it was his onscreen personam that I fancied. I have a thing for rugby players and boys in rugby kit. Will explore this more in a future blog entry - I suspect that it has something to do with my sexually formative years while in school.

My Saturday Night In Perth

Saturday night,
I feel the air is getting hot
Like you baby
I'll make you mine
you know I'll take you to the top
I'll drive you crazy
Saturday night, dance,
I like the way you move
Pretty baby
It's party time
and not one minute we can lose
Be my baby

If those of you who are old enough to remember the Whigfield hit "Saturday Night" from the mid-90s, you'll probably be able to guess my age. In a way, the lyrics had a passing prophetic significance as to how last Saturday evening turned out for me.

My Saturday night started, like all other Saturday nights, with Saturday morning. That morning, a group of my colleagues had gone on a group tour to Freo via Houghton Wineries and the Caversham petting zoo which I declined to go on and I stayed on to roam the shops in the city centre. I'd previously roamed the shops in Cannington, Harbour Town and Subiaco since arriving on Thursday afternoon and by Saturday morning, was already quite sore from walking around the shops. However it was a pleasant stroll around the shops on Saturday and I managed to buy a few things, including an Bulgari tie.

I have a thing for Bulgari ties and if I had my way, all ties would be made like the ones by Bulgari. Most ties are lined with a different fabric from the one used on the outside, usually more plain and not as fancy but Bulgari uses the same fabric for the lining as for the outside and consequently, the entire tie is made of a single piece of silk. It's a pleasure to hold in your hands, as much as it is a pleasure to tie around your neck. If only I could wear silk next to my skin every day!

But I digress. The point I was trying to make was all that walking around the shops over the last few days had made me feel quite tired and sore. I was supposed to meet up with C dinner and then drinks at a gay bar afterwards but something came up - family emergency so that was called off. Fortunately I had a Plan B. Work had organised a dinner at the Intercontinental at Burswood (where the casino is) and I went to that. It was an early dinner - things kicked off at 6pm and ended at 8pm. That left me most of Saturday night and I decided to check out the local wildlife in one of the all-boy spas.

I'd done my homework prior to leaving for Perth and I decided to go to Perth Steam Works (the logo for which is featured at the top of this post. PSW isn't the most nicely decorated spa I've been to but it's cleaner than most and provides a suitable environment for the boys who go there to get what they want. I arrived at about 9pm and it was not very busy - strange for a Saturday night. It wasn't long before I'd found some action in the sauna. For a while there was some 3/4 way action going on but by the time I was satisfied, it was only the two of us.

Having been temporarily spent, I showered and decided to chill in the video room for a while until I was ready to go again. There was some crappy film in the video room - Coneheads - I think it was. I sat there for a while, half watching the film and half checking out the towel-clad boys walking about. After a sufficient period of rest, I wandered around the maze, was groped by a few men, gave a couple the glad eye (I'd seen them coming out of a cubicle with a third boy earlier - must have had a threesome) but there wasn't much action going on around as there weren't too many other boys about.

I went back to the sauna to see whether there was an action going on in there but there wasn't any. There was 1 boy sitting there whom I quite liked the look of earlier so I sat next to him (there was a distance of about half a metre between us) and tried to look cool (but not cold) despite the dry heat around us. I would occasionally make eye contact with him and I started to get the feeling that he might be interested in more than just sitting around. When he started touching his crotch, I knew that he was definitely interested and I let him know that I was too.

Soon our towels came off and he started sucking me. The sauna isn't really the best place for getting it off with someone and I suggested that we go to one of the private rooms. I won't go into the details but we spent more than 2 hours together and it was both emotionally and physically satisfying, unlike the previous encounter which was no doubt physically satisfying but quite emotionless. Other than the time I spent with J at Pleasuredrome, I've not come away from an encounter feeling the same way. Afterwards, we went out for a drink at the Brass Monkey where the Manchester United v Boro match was being shown on the obscene screen. I didn't know there were that many ManU supporters in Perth and when Kieran Richardson scored a goal in the opening minutes of the match, a huge cheer went up throughout the bar. As a Liverpool supporter, it was an incredibly annoying to watch.

Up until the time we got to the Brass Monkey, we still hadn't formally introduced ourselves. Which always strikes me as ironic as we'd just been physically intimate in a way that my boyfriend and I used to be (but not to the extent of having unprotected sex - I'd never do that on a first date - I'm not that sort of boy) and it was only when we were on our second drink that he told me his name - J2 (it also starts with J and I don't want to get you confused with J from Pleasuredrome). It turns out that it's his birthday today and he turns 23. He works in the construction industry but want's to give up what seems to be his very well-paid construction job (it's better than the money I got in my first year as a junior lawyer) for nursing. This means going to university (he's applied for and been accepted at Curtin for a nursing degree) for the next 4 years. Financially he'd be better of laying bricks but I think he want's to do something different with his life.

To J2, many happy returns and I hope you find the satisfaction and happines in a nursing career which you don't have in your current job. Our time together was special and I hope we keep in touch.

We said a lingering goodbye in the early hours of Sunday morning as he got ready to board his train to go home to Gosnells. But for the fact that there were transport police at the barrier to the train platform, I'm sure we would have stolen a goodbye-kiss/snog before he boarded the train. Even in Australia, well Perth at least, I'm not sure whether we could have been done for an obscenity offence as two boys snogging in public. I'm sure that during Mardi Gras in Sydney, the police are all cool with this sort of thing, not that I've been to Mardi Gras in Sydney (I suspect that there's more than just kissing going on in public but that's just my imagination) but Perth is a sleepy town compared to Sydney and much as I find men in uniform attractive (and fit, Australian men no less) and somtimes fantasise about them overpowering me and making me their bitch boy, actually getting arrested for having a gay kiss in public is definitely not a good career move.

Distracted In Subiaco

This cute Scottish boy wasn't the reason why I was distracted while having dinner with my colleagues in Subiaco last Thursday night. That said, if he was at dinner with me, I'd be too busy trying to make eye-contact with him to focus on my food or to pay attention to my colleagues.

We were in Perth (Oz, not Scotland) for an extended weekend holiday paid for by work and a group of us took the train to Subiaco to have dinner at Funtastico's. Shortly after we were seated, two boys (in their 20s) were seated next to us at an adjacent table. One was blond, about 6', nice fit body, not too skinny and not overly muscular. He had a very nice profile, from where I was sitting and reminded me of someone I knew from school, MG. Blondie's boyfriend was dark-haired and reasonably nice-looking but I couldn't see much of his physique as he kept his jacket on all evening whereas his boyfriend has his off and was wearing a short t-shirt which was the reason for my being distracted. Every time Blondie leaned over, I'd be able to see the waistband of his pants (Bonds, they were) and it looked like he was wearing a jockstrap. My heart would beat a little faster every time he leaned over. This was probably not their first date though as I saw Blondie helping himself to food from his boyfriend's plate. What can I say? Growing boys need their food.

I don't think my colleagues noticed that I was too distracted. Unfortunately we left Funtastico's before the boys did but not before I had some yummy chocolate fudge cake for dessert. A girl friend of mine from university once said that eating chocolate was better than having a man. I'm not so sure about that, particularly after what happened last Saturday night (more about that in forthcoming blog entry) but the cake was very satisfying. Not orgasmically satisfying though. It was good but not that good.

By way of a postscript, I've checked Myers and David Jones. They don't carry any Bonds jockstraps. I'm inclined to think that Bonds doesn't make jockstraps. Perhaps I was imagining things. I though I saw bare skin beneath Blondie's waistband. Not that it matters. It was only a fleeting encounter (if that) and I don't suppose I'll ever get to ask him about it.