I am back home from Rome!

It was so very cold in the Abruzzian mountains (I saw the first snow of the season!), and I arrived there in fine summer clothes. Fortunately we special girls often have an extra pantyhose in our bag *wink*, so had I, and this was a great help not to catch a cold.

In St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican I unexpectedly stood in front of the tomb of Bonnie Prince Charlie, the exiled Jacobite claimant to the thrones of Great Britain and Ireland, and his father. As I have a great liking for Scotland (and I ought to, being rightfully Lady of Glencrannog), this was very touching for me. There you are, Charlie, or better: Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Silvester Severino Maria Stuart, and how convenient you have this feminine "Maria" in your name, as you fled from the butcher Cumberland in women's clothes as "Betty Burke", what brings you so close to us.

In 1766 Charles' father James died. Until his death James had been recognised as King of England, Scotland, and Ireland by the Pope, as "James III and VIII". Charles died in Rome on 31 January 1788. He was first buried in the Cathedral of Frascati, where his brother Henry Benedict Stuart was bishop. At Henry's death in 1807, Charles's remains were moved to the crypt of Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican where they were laid to rest next to those of his brother and father.

And there I stood, in St. Peter's crypt, in front of the black tomb, musing about Culloden and the '45... Bonnie Charlie - will ye no come back again?

I've got news! When I went to my site this evening, I found that I've got news about some new flirt application. "Based on your personality, we have selected 10 matches for you", they wrote.

10 people to flirt with, free delivery to my screen - and I am such a curious t-girl. So let's click and see who matches my personality. Ah, Number 1:

"Somebody
male, null
Sign: null
Height:
Education: null"

I really must say that this flirt offer was rather disappointing. I wonder how they evaluated my personality to make a "null" person match me? Could it be that this application urgently needs some further improvement?

My reply is:

flirt: null

Usually, I do not send letters to a newspaper editor. I read my daily paper, but as a rule I do not communicate with it.

This morning I sent out five e-mails to newspapers which quoted an interview of a Crete mayor on behaviour of young Britons in Greece. I addressed them to The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, International Herald Tribune, New York Times and a German paper. This is what I wrote:

"They scream, they sing, they fall down, they take their clothes off, they cross-dress, they vomit," said Konstantinos Lagoudakis, the mayor of Malia, in an interview quoted by your paper. Apart from the fact that in his phrase cross-dressing just comes before vomitting, I should like to ask this gentleman what is wrong with cross-dressing? Being transgendered is neither rowdy nor an expression of bad manners, but just a gender disposition. We have not chosen to be transgendered, but have a right to live our own life. And usually cross-dressers dress in a most distinguished, fashionable and classy style.
Sincerely yours, Silke Loretta Martin


I do not expect them to publish it, but at least they shall know that we no longer are a shy and silent minority.