The Crocodile Hunter style of writing involves chasing after cool-looking ideas that wander by and tackling them into submission.
I don’t recommend it for the long-term because it’s exhausting, but if there isn’t at least a LITTLE bit of Crocodile Hunter in your writing, I’m probably not going to read it.
Want to add my book “The Shape of Ideas: An Illustrated Exploration of Creativity” to your bookshelf? Order it here, or find it internationally wherever books are sold. If it doesn’t change your life, you can at least use it as a hat!
A WW2 veteran has come out as transgender at the age of 90 and is happy to finally be receiving female hormone treatment.
Patricia Davies says she knew since the age of three that she was a woman but lived in fear of how people would react for decades until doctors changed her medical records to “female” last year.
Even though she had opened up to her late wife about her feelings in 1987, who bought her jewelry and dresses to wear in secret, she remained living as Peter after receiving abuse from people in the street and fearing “electric shock treatment”.
The retired industrial photographer, who served in the army between April 1945-1948, has a distant aunt who once lived to 104 years old so hopes she has “similar genes” to keep her going so she can now enjoy life as a woman.
Patricia, from a village in Leicestershire, said: “It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I was living a lie.”
“I have been keeping quiet. I have slowly started to tell some of my neighbors. Everybody said ‘don’t worry, as long as you’re happy.”
“I’ve known I was transgender since I was three-years-old.”
“I have always been attracted to women but not in a sexual way. I’m not gay. My attraction to women was that I wanted to be like them. I would have liked to be like the pin-ups.”
“I was never totally unhappy. I always made the most of things and looked on the bright side of things. I’ve always had a wicked sense of humor.”
“Because of the general hostility of people I kept quiet. It wasn’t until recently that I felt safe to come out and I felt an overwhelming desire that I wanted to break free. So I came out and I’ve not regretted it.”
Patricia served in the army from April 1945 until April 1948, leaving when she was 21 and getting married only a few months later.
During her time in the armed forces, she served in the Far East, India, East Africa and Palestine.
Patricia said: “You took your life in your hands in the army. I lost a couple of mates and had a close shave myself.”
“I had to keep my mouth shut about being transgender, you couldn’t flaunt that as that would have been a disaster.”
“Transgender wasn’t really known in those days. I would have been classed as homosexual, which would have caused problems in the army. I would have ended up in prison. But I got through it.”
“But it was alright overall and I feel quite proud having served during the war and having done military service, in particular during the trouble in Palestine.”
“Perhaps Hitler got news I had joined in April 1945 and gave up. That’s what I like to think.”
“I feel quite relieved, quite happy. [The best thing about coming out] is being accepted as a woman. That has been something I’ve wanted all of my life.”
“If people don’t like what they see then I don’t care but no one seems to be causing me any trouble. Nobody questions it though. Nobody seems to bat an eyelid, they accept me as I am.”
“I’ve been made most welcome in the societies. I think people will benefit from being educated on this a bit more.”
Here’s to Patricia getting a couple more decades to live her best life.
He comes from a very poor family. His father was an alcoholic who beat him and his mother (he once poured hot tea over her and put her in hospital several times), his brother is a drug addict, he literally built an empire out of nothing.
He credits his mother as his biggest inspiration and often has her cooking in his shows.
When he left his first restaurant he pulled a successful Jerry Maguire
– the entire kitchen staff went with him. That tells you what he’s like to work with.
He was one of the first to give a restaurant to a female chef.
He went to prison (Gordon Behind Bars) and taught inmates to bake and they opened a bakery (Bad Boys Bakery) that is still running. He hired one of them when he got out.
He did documentaries about the cruelty of shark hunting and cocaine. (when he discovered cocaine was used by his staff he didn’t fire anyone but made sure they are offered treatment)
His kids are a treasure.
He is always ALWAYS kind to servers.
When one of his partners (Marcus Wareing) wanted to leave they got into a fight and settled it in court, they no longer speak to each other but this is what Marcus said about him after the fight:
I feel bad that the first association to him for a lot of people is this shouty TV chef when he’s truly a wonderful person.
never forget that the reason he’s “shouty and angry” on his tv show is that he’s yelling at people who ignore the rules of courtesy and food safety and basically feed their customers poison, something which would enrage any good person
idk if y’all americans and that know this, but in Australia instead of snow at christmas we get these lil shiny bugs everywhere and they’re attracted to the christmas lights and we call them christmas beetles
and despite being australian they don’t bite or anything they just crawl around on your hand and it’s such a good and pure feeling and yeah
‘despite being australian’
“We know what your thinking but this does not want to kill you”
I’ll keep reblogging this until people stop defending rape jokes
Not to be “that guy” but everyone who jokes about rape is ugly
Tbh this is the one time I’ll support the “it’s not just men” because everyone needs to cut this tf out
I’d like to caveat this with there being forms of survivor humour that are crucial to processing and healing trauma, particularly between two people who have been through the same kind of shit, so don’t police that if you don’t know what it’s fucking like. And even then, if one person is triggered by it, the other should be sensitive of that. But that’s between survivors, so unless you’re a survivor of rape or sexual assault, you don’t get to joke about that kind of experience.
knitting in the dark 