[kirklancaster]

This is a perfectly true story:

Some years ago, I used to attend a lot of 'all-nighters' and quite a few 'all-dayers' at various Gay Clubs up and down the country (yes, I did 'poppers' and the whole shebang!). As a group, we used to love the music, the people, the pure hedonistic atmosphere, and the fact that we could go out for a drink with an attractive girl on our arms without ending up fighting with jealous sad yobs who constantly tried to cause trouble once they'd had enough alcohol/drugs inside them.

On one particular occasion, we went to Heaven, under the arches in London, and a friend coaxed his reluctant, single male cousin and his single male friend to come along. I'd never met these two guys before but they both were ignorant homophobic yobs who - vainly - tried to cover up their massive inferiority complexes with a 'gangsta' facade. I did not like them, but they both seemed to attach themselves to me and my - then - girlfriend for most of the evening and in deference to my friend who had invited them along, I held my tongue and remained civil even when they both continually moaned about the "crap club" and both made homophobic comments about some of the other revellers.

A few hours in and these cruds - thankfully - disappeared, only for the 'non-cousin' to later reappear alone. He was pissed - both literally, and at the fact that his mate had "got off" with a "*********g stunner, jammy bastard".

A bit later, the cousin turned up even more pissed than his mate, and coupled with 'a really attractive willowy blond' who he believed came from London. He could not keep his hands off her - snogging, mutual groping et al.

What we knew and he didn't, that she was a he - 'Dolly' a pre-op transexual from Leeds - beautiful and convincing as she was.

Two strange things transpired;

At time to leave, the cousin declined to leave with us, said he'd be fine, and disappeared into the night with Dolly.

Two years later the cousin was still living with Dolly in a back-to-back in Harehills, Leeds - no longer an homophobic 'gangster'. We used to see them regularly in various clubs over the next few years, and the last time I saw him was at a CHE (Campaign for Homosexual Equality) event in Sheffield, and he was a completely transformed, friendly, happy man.

I am sincerely glad that this guy escaped from the confines of his own personal 'closet' and found happiness but - to my shame - I must admit that all those years ago, when this homophobic yob reappeared in Heaven with Dolly (who at the time he believed to be female) and was snogging the life out of her, I could not resist a smirk of smug satisfaction at the irony.

Have you ever ever had cause to have smirked in smug satisfaction?