Who’s who

I thought a few introductions are in order. Here are some of the people and places that may get mentioned from time to time. on my blogs.

 

Me (left)

M from Shanghai and I shared life (in varying degrees) from 1990 to 2002. He’s still very much around.

Mister Rabbit (aka in some past diaries as “The Rabbit”, “Mr R” or even “MX”). We really do have a lot in common and there were some very good times in our friendship and some that were more ambivalent.

He is now an English teacher.  His latest news is moving into his own warren at the end of March 2008. Tutoring too, I see, in the Great S-W.

Thomas is a friend of The Rabbit. He has his own very productive blog.

Jim Belshaw I have met “in the flesh” once. I suspect he has more blogs than I do. The main one is personal and cultural, mostly.

Sirdan is as loyal a friend as anyone could hope for, and a regular reader. Had a life-changing experience — a good one! — in December 2007. Subsequently he has been to London, Paris and Amsterdam…  Now has a car.

Simon H is my oldest friend. The friendship began in some complexity but has weathered three decades!

Lord Malcolm was the most courageous person I have known. He also had a real gut wisdom I greatly respect. He spent most of the past year in St Vincents Hospital or the Hospice and passed away on 1 June 2007. There is a tribute on a sub-page accessible from the pages guide in the side bar.

PK has been a friend for close on twenty years. Eccentric but a heart of gold. I was his flatmate in 1990, and was there when I met M. I hadn’t seen PK for quite a while but he turned up again recently. Apparently he has been sailing.

G and L are the iconic gay couple, together for over twenty years and as perfect a union as you could possibly imagine. G was my superior (very much so!) in 1970, went on to academic fame in our field, and remains active in retirement. L is a physicist, mathematician, computer whiz and thoroughly nice guy. Considerably younger than G, evidence that age difference does not have quite the same force in gay relationships as in heterosexual ones. It is hard to imagine two people so equally balanced. (Yes, I do envy them 😉 but I am so glad they exist.)

The Mufti was my neighbour in 1988-9 and has become a good friend who has helped me in many ways. Even he would admit to eccentricity. In some ways a total Tory, he shares my desire to see the back of John Howard. It is amazing who the Mufti knows: he’s even had afternoon tea with the Queen. He was an Anglican priest but reverted to Islam a couple of years ago. Not a terrorist.

The Empress is the Empress. Everyone knows that. She still holds court at Yum Cha once a month. Confronting serious health issues in recent times. Must catch up with him…

The Red Dragon isn’t really a dragon but is certainly red. Her continued devotion to Stalinism despite all the evidence is quite touching in its way. Great sense of fun and an excellent cook. We’ve known each other since the 1970s. Lives near Wollongong. Not in Sydney as often as she used to be.

The Erotic Poet Laureate of Hay-on-Wye (aka “The Poet”) I have known since he and I were 21. He has appeared in the role of colleague at fairly regular intervals ever since. He has learned that ambition is not enough. Enjoys life now in Victoria. Gone quiet on the Internet.

Antony is the cleverest person with computers I know. Haven’t seen much of him recently.

“Marcel Proust” came my way through the diary and is a very clever man — a lawyer in fact — with considerable compassion and much insight. I may occasionally see him when he is in Sydney, but that has not happened often, though he did take me to the Opera in February 2006…

Artist Andy is a delightful young Aboriginal artist, a friend of Lord Malcolm, though I haven’t seen as much of him since Malcolm passed away.

Sailor Andy is serving in the RAN. Didn’t see him for a long time, but in December 2006 I discovered he had been three times to the Persian Gulf.

Father Ted, Ken Sinclair (right), was a Catholic Priest in Melbourne whom I only met online. He used to keep me up to date on developments in the Catholic Church. He has obviously been a marvellous man with an interesting life. He was also gay, and affirmed this. He passed away on Friday 20 May 2005. See his web site.

South Sydney Uniting Church has become part of my life since July/August 2005. You can see some of my friends there — Vladimir, and now Andrew, Dorothy, and Trevor — by visiting that link. Vladimir is now in Melbourne.