I will make no secret in the fact that i am anti-monarchy. Despite all the benefits of having a Queen, why should OUR country be run by somebody in which we had no say in? Who is running my country?

I was having a discussion with my boyfriend today, who is very patriotic, and very pro-monarchy. His arguments were a lot more informed than mine, and i left feeling that i needed to research a lot more into my views to ensure that I wasn't just being young and rebelling against the establishment.

What we did both agree on, however, was that people are so accepting of the status quo, they don't think to question who runs them. Why is your boss your boss? Because you're told that they are. I'm not saying to stop listening to them because you are an independant person, but question whether they're competant. If you would do  a better job, go for it!

Why do your bins only get collected once a fortnight? Most people would grumble about it in their sleep, and yet numbers of people voting for their local councils are falling every year. Find out who your local MP is. Write to them. If they're a jerk, don't vote for them. You have a say in everything that goes on around you.

We are the Disgruntled Britain. We are also The Britain Too Lazy to Do Anything About It. Look around you. Take stock of what you don't like. Take stock of what YOU can change.

This attitude is going to get me in trouble one day.

My personal experience on this one is that they can, providing they don't get too close. I started thinking about this after reading an article in Cosmopolitan (a highly intellectual read, i thoroughly recommend it) from the point of view of a guy. He disagreed, saying that while the girls could always see the guys as just friends, the men couldn't. He explained how girls are just "too wonderful. I can find something attractive in every girl i meet. She would come to me for advice about how her boyfriend was awful, and all i'd be thinking was 'but i want to sleep with you too'! i lost a fair few friends because of it."

I have male friends. Thinking about this, i can name about 5 or 6 guys i'm quite good friends with, and there has never been anything more. And i think thats true, guys and girls can be friends, but never as close as the ones you'd call in the middle of the night, tell anything to, share a bed with at a sleepover. For me, thats strictly for the girls. The men i'm friends with fall into three categories.

1. They tried it on with me once.
2. They are people in my group of friends, we have a flirty relationship.
3. They are people i know, people i chat with, but we will never be that close.

The continuing theme is that they never get too close. A relationship between a girl and a guy can only be completely platonic if its held at arms length. I would never be the same way with my male friends as i would with my female ones. You can't do anything that could be awkward, or lead to them looking at you in a different way. Do you see what i mean? Think about the way you are with your male and female friends.

Guys and girls can sometimes be close friends for a while, but issues then arise. Jealousy on behalf of a partner. Other people thinking its something more. Usually they're right. I have a friend from university, she was best friends with a guy, treated him the same as she did her girlfriends, until she found out he was in love with her, and had been all along.

What do you think? Can friends of the opposite sex ever be as close as friends of the same sex?

Guess i should make a first post...

Like the wind rushing through your hair in spring...that vague sense of promise.

Buzzy xx