The Bear Necessities

Well it is Monday evening. A weekend review would be as follows.

Friday evening was spent just chilling at home with a friend. Saturday followed in much the same vein. I did get some photographs printed and made a wedding album for an aunt. Imagine, she found love for the first time in her sixties, and walked down the aisle, still a virgin. She held on for Mister Right for a very long time. I guess I should learn something from her patience.


Sunday was an awesome day. We had our annual SA Bears christmas gathering. Most of our bear events have a charity angle. We amassed a couple hundred toys and teddy bears to distribute to children who would otherwise get anything this festive season. The food was awesome, and the company superb. Somehow spending several hours in the company of 70 or so bearishly delicious men makes for a great day. 70 bear hugs hello. 70 bear hugs goodbye. A whole heap of bear kisses thrown in. More random bear hugs in the middle. It is just plain good for the soul ;-)

Again I say again. I will blog again

Well world aids day has passed. I got into a heated debate or two. It is astounding in these parts how many people still think aids does not somehow affect them personally. A lot of ignorance and stigma remains.

It has been good to catch up on blogworld and I am hoping I manage to stand my ground here.

In other news I am rather enjoying the dating game. Every once in a while I meet a real gem of a man. lol. Still not sure there is any sign of Mister Right yet.

I mentioned in my last post my recent vacation. Whilst on vacation we took a tour of some of the wine farms in the area. The tour was hosted by Tim from Friends of Dorothy, a company that does tours exclusively for a gay clientele. I thought the poster is worth a gander.

Sadly Toto does not feature in the poster. He is in the brochure though, complete is his leather gear.

As for the wines, some were really special. Came home with far more bottles than I could afford to buy actually. I will spare you images of me having had to much wine. Some of the views were pretty spectacular. This was taken at Dieu Donne wine farm, looking across the Franschoek Valley. (French Corner Valley). About 1 hours drive north of Capetown.


Well thats a wrap for now. I was contemplating an HNT post from my vacation down at the local nudist beach. lol. *grin* Maybe when I am feeling braver.

With much love

Once more with feeling.............

............. it is my hope to return to some form of regular blogging. Thanks Brian F. for the gentle nudge.


Since I last blogged, my first long term relationship with a man has ended. The details don't matter. We are still good friends. We have just recently returned from an incredible vacation together in Capetown, South Africa. Was good to get away for the first time in years. Capetown has the distinction of being South Africas gay capital. A beautiful part of our country. I may relate a tale or two from the tip of Africa in a future blog entry.

In my previous blogging efforts I made frequent reference to fearing a slut phase once I am out. I can honestly say I have done that slut phase in great measure over the last few months. I am hoping to find something more settled now. I will say not all of the phase was bad, not all all of the phase was good.

Last year around October I wrote about attending my first pride parade. I guess you could say I was out, but not yet proud. This year I went again, with a pride that was certain. By local standards any event attracting 15 000 participants is impressive. For a pride march is was downright phenomenal.

My relationship with my children remains very close. They do grow up so quickly.

In an incredible extension of an olive branch , my ex wifes family invited me to attend her sisters wedding. They asked me to be master of ceremonies at the event and even made allowance for the fact I would likely bring a male partner. We have all come a long way since my dark and closeted days.

Next weekend I will be attending the local bear chapters annual christmas lunch and fundraiser. Bear meets are generally a highlight for me.

I will sign off for now with an up to date picture of me taken on vacation. The location was Muizenberg Beach in Capetown.



With much love always
xxx