Validation

 

A friend in London contacted me to say that a mutual friend whom I've not seen since the mid 1980s, who's now fronting a band that is much more successful than I thought, will be playing in Newcastle this weekend and would I like to go. Of course, I said 'yes' and started listening to their music along with my remaining Bubblemate. We were pleasantly surprised at the variety of the sounds. I confess I'd rather dismissed them as "White Reggae" - which is wrong on too many levels including that half of the core band are Rastas!

I contacted him to finalise the freebies and we ended up exchanging a load of messages before actually 'facetiming' with each other.

It was a great reconnection. I'd recently- probably since contact with him actually, been pondering how much I enjoyed that time in my life: I had no money, but I was at work from 10:00 to 23:00 five days a week, i was working with up to three hundred different people per week delivering performance workshops vocal training, audition and interview prep etc etc. I mentioned that it was my happiest and most creative time and he gushed praise at me, telling me how much he appreciated what I'd done and given him etc. I was a little taken aback- but then I do remember that I put him up for a few weeks after he had become homeless (with a broken wrist in a cast I remember). LOL that would not be possible today and I'd probably be investigated if it did.

It was nice to have had this encounter on the same day as the fostering panel which had been delayed for three weeks whilst they calmed themselves about the notion that I might present some sexual threat to lads in my care. It would have been nice for my friend to endorse me by sharing if he was ever insecure or compromised by me in any way- I was openly gay after all. Of course, it was nearly forty years ago (!) But if he remembered that i did positive things for him, he might remember those details too.

It was a good moment to be reminded of some of what I have achieved.

How funny: I just took a call from my Supervising Social Worker to fill in some blanks, tell me that despite THEIR delays there are some young people who NEED immediate support and he asked me if I was up for accepting someone needing respite care whilst their longtime carers take a break. Of course I said 'yes' although my current lodger is a bit of a fly in that oitment. -There is the usual mix up of people arriving with the wrong keys to his new place and then not responding to requests for info etc- which doesn't bode well for the future IMO! I MAY ask him to move into the 'spare' bedroom if the need arises! 

Finally, my SS worker (!) confessed that he has had enough and has got another job. He also intends to take the department to task as he leaves- over the way the 'concern' over my social media acounts were discovered and dealt with, after all; he felt it was a comment on his assessment as much as it was about me. I raised no objections except that I felt they are already afraid of me, so not to make me out to be more frightening.