<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Graham J Sharpe]]></title><description><![CDATA[My Site]]></description><link>https://www.grahamjsharpe.uk/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 18 Oct 2026 04:52:21 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.grahamjsharpe.uk/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[I Met Emma Thompson and Made an Idiot of Myself]]></title><description><![CDATA[How a ridiculously embarrassing encounter became my dying friend’s favourite story December 2003 The conservatory is a makeshift construction bravely resisting its third winter. Beyond the rain-spattered glass, the Devon hills roll and fall in green. Yes, I’ve borrowed (and butchered) some lyrics from Wuthering Heights, but when life’s impermanence overwhelms, it helps to conjure up Kate Bush. Eve holds a DVD. ‘I want to ask a favour. Will you take this home and watch it for me?’ The wicker...]]></description><link>https://www.grahamjsharpe.uk/post/i-met-emma-thompson-and-made-an-idiot-of-myself</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aae89deecd75f79cbaeada3</guid><pubDate>Sat, 19 Sep 2026 14:12:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/06eb1a_aa4f677d211342cc972357c24c1c6aa6~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Graham J. Sharpe</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mum, Adapt Or Die (she died)]]></title><description><![CDATA[What happens when a life is held together by appearances, and those appearances begin to slip… This essay was originally published on Substack on Nov 25, 2025  Republished here on Sep 14 2026 Hospital waiting rooms. Endless fun and frivolity. The news arrived during our third lap of the car park.  “You don’t need to come,” my brother said. “It’s too late.” “We’re already here,” I said, wondering why hospitals don’t  reserve spaces for relatives of the suddenly terminal. Since falling thirteen...]]></description><link>https://www.grahamjsharpe.uk/post/mum-adapt-or-die-she-died</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aa7f897cf39f9d324f082d4</guid><pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2026 13:44:59 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/06eb1a_5d229fed0e334209aaf7c7362930b203~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Graham J. Sharpe</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Four Gay Men Go Shopping in Tehran]]></title><description><![CDATA[Ordinary Days in Unlikely Places This essay was originally published on Substack on Jan 24, 2026. Republished here on Sep 14, 2026 I filmed this in Tehran several years ago, when I was working as cabin crew. Those of us who grew up gay in the twentieth century learned to read the room. Hypervigilance was a thoroughly modern skill. Iran being a strict Muslim country, we were aware we might stand out. We anticipated a reaction, not in a cinematic this-could-go-catastrophically-wrong way, but...]]></description><link>https://www.grahamjsharpe.uk/post/four-gay-men-go-shopping-in-tehran</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aa7fcbbf688f98da0f2821f</guid><pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2026 15:11:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/06eb1a_8a2c1729b31e418ab2a06cc2e3286aca~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Graham J. Sharpe</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sea Change in Queer Life Queer Love 3]]></title><description><![CDATA[I’m delighted to share that my short story, Sea Change, has officially landed on shelves, appearing in Queer Life, Queer Love Vol. 3 the latest instalment of Muswell Press’s bold and brilliant LGBTQI+ anthology. Sea Change is lifted straight from the early chapters of my upcoming novel, Fairy Feet, and it follows a teenage boy navigating friendship, desire and grief against the rugged backdrop of the Devon coast. Think salt spray, secrets, and the messy, glorious initiation into desire and...]]></description><link>https://www.grahamjsharpe.uk/post/sea-change-in-queer-life-queer-love-3</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6acf65a490ae97f36214c9e4</guid><pubDate>Sat, 08 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/06eb1a_1678cd9376664c9aa95b766faa28bb67~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Graham J. Sharpe</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>