An issue is put to bed, and another big work project is over. At least for the moment. Two big jobs done, which is a relief, and gives me time to think about other things. Invariably, though, rubbish rushes in to fill the mental gap. Like wondering why, on only 2nd December, I’ve already heard four Christmas songs and two carols on the radio. We’ll be bored of them by Christmas.

And how a columnist in the Evening Standard got away with writing the dreadful cliched phrase:

And before I get accused of being a homophone, some of my best friends really are gay.

This appeared in tonight’s paper, just after she rants on about a gay MP who posted pictures of himself on Gaydar, a site she claims is:

…also known as “Dicksville”, due to the picures of penises displayed on it for perusal by men seeking sex.

The thrust of the argument seems to be that because the MP is a gay rights campaigner he shouldn’t have been using sites like Gaydar where it is so easy to get sex because it dents his credibility. Surely, though, some of her ‘best friends [who] really are gay’ could have told her that for many gay men it’s a daily activity.

She then goes on to cite the fact that she was William Hague’s spin doctor during the ‘endless rows over Section 28′ (the bill that outlawed the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools) which left me wondering what Hague’s stance had actually been.

A quick hunt on the terms “William Hague” and “Section 28″ in Google turns up this as the first hit:

Conservative leader William Hague has underlined his support for the controversial Section 28 ban on promoting homosexuality. Mr Hague is opposed to the government’s plans to repeal the ban, saying it was guilty of contempt for parents and tax-payers. (Source: BBC News)

…and the second site it hits says this:

William Hague has come under fierce criticism from within his own party over the decision to sack MP Shaun Woodward from the front bench over his position on gay rights. Mr Woodward was dismissed as the party’s London spokesman on Thursday after refusing to back the party against Labour’s plans to allow local authorities to promote homosexuality. (Source: Operation Black Vote)

That’s not to say his spin doctors felt the same way, but claiming you were involved with the man who said this when you (should) know that most gay men would not support Section 28 rather flies in the face of an argument in the previous paragraph that you are not homophobic - at least in the eyes of a gay man.

I read the whole column several times but every time I got to the end I was left with the feeling that it read like a space filler, written because the page needed a set number of words on it.

That’s a shame, as I am sure some very good things could have been said, and indeed they were. She pointed out how the same tired old cliches get wheeled out every time this topic comes up for debate - that gay people are ‘depraved’ or ‘a danger to our kids’ - but sadly it’s that one she used herself about the fact that ’some of [her] best friends really are gay’ - that pulled the whole piece apart.

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