Blog - Chris Creegan

The truth about gross indecency

24/10/2016

In 1978 I had sex with a man for the first time. I was 17 and the encounter took place in a public toilet. Not something to shout about perhaps. But it's a moment I was reminded of by John Nicolson’s Bill to pardon gay and bisexual men historically convicted of sexual offences that are […]

PrEP Not a whiff of homophobia but a stench

03/08/2016

The row over PrEP is a chilling reminder to many of us of a time we thought had passed. In the early 1980s news began to emerge of a ‘gay plague’ sweeping America. In 1982 AIDS claimed its first life in the UK when Terence Higgins died. My late partner Lawrence who died in 1995, […]

After the Named Person judgment

30/07/2016

The debate about the Named Person scheme hasn’t been pretty for a while. But it took a new ugly turn this week. And it’s one that should concern us all. The debate has long been a noisy one, not just loud, but shrill. You could be forgiven for not knowing that the scheme was actually […]

How Long Lost Family reeled me in

23/07/2016

I was sceptical about Long Lost Family. The programme began in 2011 and I missed most of the first two series. I dipped in and out a little because I thought I ought to. I was chair of an adoption agency and I knew that each time the programme went out there was a spike […]

We have changed normal

14/07/2016

We haven’t changed the world but we have changed normal. And Justine Greening’s appointment as Education Secretary today is a remarkable indicator of that progress. Achieved in just one generation.

On writing and endeavour

08/07/2016

‘We could stretch our legs if we'd half a mind But don't disturb us if you hear us trying To instigate the structure of another line or two Cause writing's lighting up And I like life enough to see it through’ From Writing by Bernie Taupin on Elton John, Captain Fantastic and the Dirt Brown […]

Pink embers in the ashes

24/06/2016

Not everyone feels hopeless about today’s European referendum result. Those on the winning side feel hopeful that they have ‘their country back.' We have been told repeatedly that theirs is an outward, globally focused hope. But it feels to me like a brittle, hard hope. A cold, contorted hope which far from looking out at […]

My safe European home

18/06/2016

I should start with a confession. I haven’t pored over coverage of the European Referendum for months. If anything I’ve avoided it. It’s not that I have no interest in the outcome. Quite the reverse. But I’ve no real interest in the debate. Because for the most part, it’s ranged from tedious to downright offensive. […]