Donald remembers times past - his friendships, his employment and what the future might bring.

Musing on the past in this extract, Donald recalls past friendships; keeping in touch with some, letting others fall by the wayside and suspecting that some have already died.

He remembers a trip he made with his three remaining gay friends from National Service days to the site of the Royal Navy Hospital Haslar. Like characters from 'Last of the Summer Wine' and camping it up just like in the old days, they saw that only the main hospital buildings were left and reflected sadly, that one can never really go back and that ultimately everything changes.

Returning to the UK after living in the USA and Canada, Donald got himself a job at BUPA's Bristol head office but was made redundant. Now in his 50s, finding employment wasn't easy, so Donald decided to become an office temp, of which he says the lack of paid holidays and mediocre pay, made it a very unsatisfactory way of making a living, unless one was young.

Eventually he got a job as an audio-typist for a firm of surveyors, which Donald describes as 'horrific', since his colleagues all seemed to be beer-swilling, rugby playing, 'look at the tits on that types'. Loathing the boors and the job, Donald recalls crying at his desk out of sheer aching boredom. However, one day a friend showed him an advert for a post at Arnolfini Arts in Bristol, so Donald applied - and eventually got the job.

Born in Bristol in 1941, Donald was born to working class parents of Irish descent and enjoyed a very unconventional upbringing. Donald attended a Catholic junior school and a commercial secondary school, where he learned he could have sex with workmen in the toilets and earn his bus-fare home.

Happily, his family accepted Donald's unconventional sexuality. When Donald was 16, he and his family moved to Streatham, in South London, where, after working in a bookshop and going on the stage, Donald had to do his National Service.

He wangled a place in the Royal Navy, and after an horrific six weeks of basic training, was posted to the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar, in Gosport, Hampshire. Donald enjoyed many sexual encounters while in the Navy and beyond, but never formed any long-lasting relationships.

On leaving the Navy, Donald worked for a building firm before moving back to Bristol. In 1963, Donald got a job working for a black music radio station in Boston, USA, before moving to Canada, after his work permit ran out. He later moved to Los Angeles and unfortunately became heavily addicted to both alcohol and drugs. He also saw many of his friends and acquaintances succumb to AIDS during the 80s.

Donald eventually returned to Bristol and worked for BUPA. Made redundant after a while, Donald took to temping, while in his fifies, before finding a job at Arnolfini Arts in Bristol.