Wednesday, November 04, 2015

Yay!! Ramble!!

Guy Fawkes Night tomorrow. To all who mark this day - have a great one and be careful with the fireworks.

Yes, we will be doing out traditional trip to the firework display, followed by baked potato, (veggie) sausages, and baked beans.

And...

Yes - we have a ramble... Bless you Mel,

    Getting Married...

    In 2006, when Civil Partnerships became legal in UK, my wee girl Suz and I 'formed' a Civil Partnership. Sounds romantic huh? What do you think??

    We just went to the Registry Office with two buddies as witnesses, signed the register and that was it. We felt protected in law and also felt that we finally had a legal status in the eyes of our society....but blushes and flushes of the newly wed? No. As far as Suz and I were concerned we had been married, in our hearts, since the day in 1991 that we exchanged rings.

    What had changed? We were now included on official forms. Single/Married/divorced/Civil partners... please tick all that apply!

    I was legally a 'Sister-in-Law' and a 'Daughter -in-Law'. We described ourselves a Civil Partners but still introduced each other as 'My Partner'. Our pension providers were informed and replied that the change in our status had been noted. We had to re-do our wills, i'e. get our lawyer to print it out again, sign it with new status and pay her £45!

    Families and friends were informed. Cards and flowers arrived in every post. We were so grateful... but we didn’t feel any different... it was just a legal thing.

    So on we went for 9 years, and then the interim measure, Civil Partnerships, that had been created to serve gay couples, changed. We could convert our Civil Partnership and ‘'et Married'... but we didn’t. We didn’t need to buy into that. We were happy as we were. It wouldn't make any difference... or would it??

    I did the research looking to find out what the differences between Civil Partnerships and a Marriage actually meant. In Law there was almost no difference that I could discern, so why bother?

    We chatted about it to our best buddies who had been our witnesses, and for whose Civil partnership we had been witnesses, and we all decided there was little point in converting to a marriage. Why should we buy into the Christian based, heterosexual idyll??

    Then... the thought percolated through our consciousness. How many folks had fought the long and bitter fight to win gay couples the right to marry? Just as the Suffragettes did so long ago to gain women the vote. Who were we to deny that struggle and ignore the victory so hard won for us??

    So, long story short, we decided to go for it. It was after a funny little scene played out in our snug TV room, one cold n bitter October night. I went down on one knee and, jokingly, proposed to Suz. She said 'Yes' and a little bubble popped up over our heads, we both smiled and nodded.

    A phone call to the registry office, an appointment made and the legal paperwork completed within a week. So does it feel different?

    Oh yes... and with little bells on, it feels different!!

    We haven't stopped smiling since; we are now the same as any other married couple in UK. No dissembling... no fudging... no differing status... no strange alternatives on legal forms...

    We are MARRIED!!

    Mel R aka scribingbard52

Congratulations Mel & Suz.

I'll give you the ferret story next week since I've had several requests for it. *g*

Goodnight and may your God/s go with you.

Ze


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