It’s been three weeks since my last blog post. (I’m sorry if that’s inconvenienced anyone who’s come to rely on at least one post a week from me!) Although I have plenty of blog-posts-in-waiting, I haven’t had a lot of time to do any writing recently, in part because it’s school exam season here in… Continue reading Close reading: Hinsliff on gender
My first Anna-versary
On 20 April last year, I made my way to court, accompanied by a friend. There, in a tiny side room, in the presence of a lawyer, I completed and signed a statutory declaration and swore an oath to the effect that I would from that day forth use Anna as my legal name, on… Continue reading My first Anna-versary
Laying down: the law
Just slipping in a short post between the previous post (which was long) and the next one (which is likely be of ‘normal’ length). Back to linguistics for this one, and its application to copy-editing. I am a copy-editor among other things, but if you find errors, inconsistencies and infelicities in this blog, please just… Continue reading Laying down: the law
Commuting on the Number Line
You almost certainly came across the Number Line at school (even if you didn’t pursue mathematics or the history of underground railways to an advanced level). Let me refresh your memory and take you on a few scenic detours. The Number Line began with the construction of a station at Zero (which at the time… Continue reading Commuting on the Number Line
Half a year of new hormones
It’s been more or less exactly half a year since I switched from testosterone to estradiol as my sex hormone of choice. Thanks to seven injections (so far) of triptorelin acetate, my body’s natural inclination to produce testosterone has been severely curtailed. And courtesy of daily gel applications, my estradiol levels are a little higher… Continue reading Half a year of new hormones
the end of reading
poems have ends stories have ends even epic sagas have ends but I never knew reading could have an end until the reading stopped yes, it was my voice no, not the voice of the last two decades not the storyteller’s voice but the new voice, the raw voice the voice I was striving for… Continue reading the end of reading
Café culture
My last blog post was written almost entirely on the number 24 bus. I began this one sitting on a bench in the freezing cold waiting for a building to open. That seems apt in a way, because I’m thinking about public spaces where we can sit and relax, away from our domestic or work… Continue reading Café culture
Unpost (live)
This blog post (or unpost) is being written on a bus. Although I have 12 embryonic posts in draft at the moment, I’m not inspired to write about any of those topics just now. So instead you’re going to get a stream-of-consciousness, unplanned update on what’s going through my head at the moment. Sorry! Although… Continue reading Unpost (live)
How was Mother’s Day for you?
Yesterday was Mothering Sunday, being the fourth Sunday in Lent, and historically a religious holiday. It’s now the day that we in the UK celebrate ‘Mother’s Day’, our version of the secular American holiday honouring mothers. Up-front confession: I’m terrible at socially enforced commemorations and usually forget to do anything about them; my own mum… Continue reading How was Mother’s Day for you?
Dè na riochdairean a th’ ort?
Ma leughas tu na puist eile air a’ bhlog seo – gach fear dhiubh sa Bheurla thuige seo – chì thu gu bheil ùidh sònraichte agam ann an cùisean trans. Sa chiad phost a sgrìobh mi, thuirt mi gum bithinn airson post sa Ghàidhlig a sgrìobhadh bho àm gu àm cuideachd – ann am pàirt air… Continue reading Dè na riochdairean a th’ ort?
