Welcome back to No Filter! This is the column where I tell you all about the fun and exciting celesbian happenings on Instagram! Let’s party!
Well hello to you too Gigi, I love the shoe!
Okay, so yes, this is very late but COME ON THIS DAMN COUPLE UGH! Again, I am famously too single for this!
Something about… just looking at Tessa Thompson makes my heart literally stop beating in my chest and then I start blushing and feeling faint? Is that… normal?
This profile is part nine of Queerty’s 2020 Out For Good series, recognizing public figures who’ve had the courage to come out and make a difference in the past year, in celebration of National Coming Out Day on October 11.
Name: Pablo Alborán, 31
Bio: The Spanish crooner first burst onto the music scene in 2011 with his self-tiled album, which was certified six-time platinum and earned him three Latin Grammy Awards nominations. His follow-up album Tanto was released a year later and certified platinum ten times over. To date, he has released four studio albums, two live albums, and an EP, all of which have topped the charts.
Coming out: To commemorate Pride month this year, Alborán posted a short video to Instagram announcing to his 5 million followers that he’s gay.
“We need to reconsider our lives, careers, what does and doesn’t make us happy,” he said in the video. “I think that we often forget about the love that unites us and makes us stronger.”
“I’m here to tell you that I am homosexual and it’s okay. Life goes on, everything will remain the same, but I’m going to be a little happier than I already am.”
Finding my flock: After coming out, Alborán not only made international headlines, he attracted new fans and followers from all over the world. Speaking to GQ Spain in September, he said he never expected his three-minute video, which he recorded on the fly, to garner the kind of attention it did.
“I have received a flood of love and stories that I swear I did not imagine,” he said, adding that he’s heard from mothers who used his coming out video to teach their children about LGBTQ people, and fans were inspired by it to share their own truths.
“I’m a normal guy, who laughs at everything, who wants to have fun,” he added. “And now, in addition, I can look at people and say: this is me.”
But that’s only half the story. By coming out, people can look at Alborán and say “He came out. I can too.” That, folks, is finding a flock.
Last week our new normal changed ever so slightly. With the government announcing new guidelines for lock down and new procedures being placed in public places, we decided to venture a little further from the house for some exercise.
We are very lucky to live quite local to the coast, so a drive to our local beach isn’t much more than 25 minutes. We hadn’t planned to visit the beach, but with us passing by on other business, we just couldn’t resist setting our feet down on the sand.
We are an outdoor family, being confined to our home for so many weeks has taken it’s toll on all of us. Both Clara and I have a love of the water, her with her paddle board and myself with my kayak. But due to restrictions, we’ve kept our water sport accessories firmly locked in the shed. Where we would normally launch from is incredibly busy due to the changes and warnings to “stay alert”. So a little paddle in the sea is the closest we are going to get to some time on the water for a while.
The little dude was very happy when we told him we were going to go on to the beach for a little bit. We all removed our shoes and almost felt like the fear had gone, for just those first few seconds our feet felt the sand. But gazing across the beach, it was easy to see how it is not quite normal yet. Shops and cafes remained closed, families sat far apart across the sand and it was incredibly quiet for one of the best beaches in the UK.
Our time on the beach was short. Due to my health issues I am anxious about being out too long at the moment. I don’t want to add to the work our amazing NHS is undertaking at the moment. But we did promise the little dude that we would return at some point. One day our old normal will return and we want to stay safe so we can see it.
On the 16th March my boss made the decision for us to start working from home, due to concerns in the rising numbers of Covid-19. The little dude was still in attendance at school and Clara was still teaching.
Each day we watched the news covering increasing numbers in cases and then deaths in the UK. Schools were eventually closed and we went into lock down and our temporary new normal was created.
It’s been a very odd time, as I imagine it has for everyone else in the world. The corner of our living room has become my office, the dining table has become Clara’s office and our little dude moves between living room and kitchen for his home schooling.
We’ve tried our best to make the time at home fun for our little man. But don’t get me wrong, there have been frustrating moments and arguments.
Our days are a mixture of school work for M, work for both C and I and on top of that we are both studying for additional qualifications. Our aim is to provide a happy space for M to learn what we manage to teach him from his school work, as well as teaching him some life skills and enjoying time in the garden.
Since lock down started we’ve enjoyed a home cinema trip, a stay at home Camp Bestival, lots of trampoline time and the addition of Disney+ to our lives.
A couple of weeks into lock down I suggested ‘Fancy Fridays’, a day we can get dressed up and either watch a new film or have a nice dinner at the kitchen table. It really made a difference to how we all felt by the end of the week, plus it gives us something to look forward to.
We’ve decorated our front window with messages for key workers and a couple of rainbows for the NHS, including a gorgeous knitted one from M’s Nanna.
It all still feels very strange, not seeing friends and family. But we are lucky to have technology that bridges the gap. We’ve played virtual Cards against Humanity with friends, I’ve had a weekly horror film Netflix Party, M has enjoyed games via House Party with school friends and Clara has FaceTimed friends.
We are so thankful for the NHS and everyone that is keeping the country going. This may change us all for ever, but hopefully the history we are helping our little dude create isn’t too scary.
