So Dave and I got to Cumbria (UK) with no travel probs in the snow, and yesterday afternoon I took him back to Bassenthwaite, a magical place where our group of stalwart touring acrobats received some sort of divine guidance from – well, we know not who or what. But talk to us they did, and their advice was sound.

There, I revealed to him what is written on the final page of this about-to-be-published book. Or, at least, I intended to. But they told him, and I watched as a look of horror and then relief crossed his face. I could no longer communicate with them – and that, in its way, is entirely the point. He can still ‘hear’ them, albeit not easily: I cannot. ‘For your sake; listen to us, Tony – it’s your life we’re discussing now.’ Those ‘words’, or the sense of them that came into my mind on my previous visit, with Zach, are imprinted on my brain. Dave grabbed me and hugged me close, tears welling up in his eyes which said ‘How could you keep that from me?’. I have no excuse except that I was scared – scared of what might have been and, if they were wrong, what might be yet to come for me. But I have to trust them – because I know I can. And it is the only ‘secret’ I have ever kept from him.

Here’s the ‘magic’ tree circle that holds the key. Don’t ask me how it works or who ‘they’ are – I have no idea. But, daft though it sounds, we all believe in them. Deeply. Our guardian angels that saw us through our near-nightmares surrounding two tours of our acrobatic and circus company. As you can see, for that third and final book, I changed the title of the series on the cover from ‘Dream’ to ‘Nightmare’ – OK, a bit of artistic nonsense I dreamed up for the designer, to go with the photos I provided (Bassenthwaite is on the back cover), but it makes the point. And, as far as the ‘Living the Dream’ trilogy of gay love, acrobatics, and [mis]adventure is concerned, its a wrap!

So. Dave and I continue to have each other and, unless there is something coming up we and the guardians are totally unaware of, we seem set to enjoy our perfect relationship for years to come…

All mine!…

Bedtime kiss (and maybe that’s only the start)…

…and, with a bit of fascinating ‘photoshopping’…

Play hard…

Work (out) hard…

Above all, spend time together reading…(!!)…

…you know what!!…

(OK, here are the first two, just in case you’ve missed the point!)

Remember, the guardian angels obviously think IT’S OK TO BE GAY since they’ve never mentioned that side of things to any of us. So, find your boyfriend, should you feel so inclined, enjoy life shared together and ‘to hell with the rest’.

And, if you really want him all to yourself, chain him to a pipe!…