Those who went before

 In all sorts of situations and environments we revere people who went before us, maybe we think of them as trailblazers, or role models, either way their existence shows us that we are not alone and, that it is possible to follow the path before us. Whether we are thinking about politics, sport, faith, or indeed being LGBT+ As this is LGBT History Month I think that's the area I'm going yo concentrate on.

Not looking entirely comfortable
perched on that back tyre

Even though we see and hear all sorts of attacks on trans people here in the UK. From journalists, from activists, and now from main stream politicians seeking to deflect attention from their own failures, we still celebrate those who went before. Even on the BBC website on their list of nine historical LGBT people they include 4 trans women, including Croydon's own Robert Cowell. I have written about Roberta Cowell before here so I'll not repeat myself.

Of course I am grateful to those pioneers who went first, who showed us the way, what is possible, and possibly now more than ever I'm grateful to Roberta Cowell as I'm about to follow her example. At the weekend I signed up to do a small motor sport championship, so this year I will be competing in the All Circuit Sprint Championship. I know it's not exactly Formula 1 but it is something I've had a long term urge to do and now the opportunity has presented itself it seems silly not to grab it with both hands.

Despite the lack of female drivers at the very top of the sport motor sport is one of the few sports where men and women compete with each other on equal terms. I'm not sure how competitive I will be, but at least I will be competing on exactly the same basis as everybody else.