I have been swamped by messages from well-wishers about my recent very brief and public love affair with Bristol tourist Johnny.
I’ve been moved by how much the gay community loves a love story. Whether it is two boys or two girls, when it’s obvious they’re in love, it seems the whole world smiles.
Do we need to see more gay love in the public eye? Or is it just that we are drawn to any form of happiness?
We held hands in the Sydney Opera House, kissed on top of the Harbour Bridge, snuggled on a towel at Bondi beach. Maybe there were others watching us, but I didn’t care. Maybe that’s what we need to do.
Extreme forms of public affection can cross the line (no one really wants to see two people go at it at a table in a restaurant), but maybe we need to look at giving the people we love more public affection. Holding a hand or kissing someone you fancy shouldn’t have to be hidden behind closed doors.
I say bring on my gay love stories. The heartbreak at the end is terrible, but if they’re moving to the other side of the world, you quickly become best friends with Skype and the amazing iPhone app, Whatsapp, which lets you message for free.
If you are going to fall in love with a tourist, the UK is a good place to start. The timing isn’t that bad. Johnny goes to bed around the same time I get up to go to the gym, he wakes up for work around the same time I get ready for work, upside down and around and around but it does work.
It’s amazing how much support comes through. It is refreshing and wonderful how many have jumped to support two boys in love. We sometimes underestimate our community and how fabulous we are.
I will stop boring you with my Johnny story for now, well, until I head over in June to visit him. Don’t worry, I will be back — though I can promise anything in 2012. Oops, did I let that slip?
