THEGAYUK

Day: 23 March 2015

  • LISTEN | Adam Lambert Shares Teaser For First Album Since 2012

    Glamberts are you ready for Adam’s next album? To celebrate he’s released a teaser.

    The track will feature on Adam’s highly-anticipated new album The Original High, executive produced by Max Martin and Shellback. Hear it in full on April 21st.

    The track which was released this morning on Instagram has already had 15,100 likes. The song’s producer, Max Martin is famed for his catchy songwriting and is credited with some of the biggest pop hits of the decade including hits for Britney Spears and Pink.

  • BOOK REVIEW: The Half Life of Hannah by Nick Alexander

    If your first love came back to offer you everything you ever dreamed of, what would you do?

    ★★★

    Hannah is thirty-eight and the happily married mother of eleven-year-old Luke. Her marriage is reassuringly stable, and after fifteen years she has managed to push the wild dreams of youth from her mind and concentrate on the everyday satisfactions of here and now. The first half of her life hasn’t been as exciting as she had hoped, but then, she reckons, whose has? When she succeeds in convincing husband Cliff to rent a villa in the south of France for a summer vacation with her sister Jill and gay friend Tristan, she’s expecting little more than a pleasant few weeks with her family. But they each have their own baggage – their own secrets – ready to explode on this not-so-relaxing holiday in France. When a phone call at the villa announces the imminent arrival of a ghost from her past, the ambiance is transformed into a raging sea of jealousy as Hannah is forced to question everything she thought she knew and believed. But is she brave enough to take the life-changing decisions her future happiness requires?

     

    Kindle chart-topping author Nick Alexander’s work has crossed from his incisive gay themed novels to this series that is more mainstream and a little frothier. It’s a welcome distraction from the world but isn’t exactly going to cause seismic shifts in your consciousness. It’s a great holiday read, absorbing, slightly silly in parts but fun the read. There’s even a pivotal role played by Grindr; something you don’t often see in mainstream fiction. Good characterization and sound narrative make this a book worth a look at.

     

    “The Half Life of Hannah” is part of a series and the sequel “Other Halves” is available to buy or download too.

     

  • HOME | Spring Drinking, Sweet Sips For Spring

    Ahh.. the sweet smell of Spring… and it’s coming from my cup. Gone are the evenings of the mulled wines and ciders, the hot toddy’s, and as much as we want it to be, Summer isn’t here and it doesn’t seem quite right to be shoving umbrella’s in fruity long drink things with sugared rims…yet. Here are some sips for Spring that I feel match the season perfectly

    It’s also worth mentioning that where reviewed on Amazon these products have scored highly in the 5 star range, as well as the nod from us…

     

    The Wild Geese Irish Honey Liqueur

    The rise of the hive. Bees are extremely popular at the moment. Symbolically a honey bee represents immortality and resurrection, but the benefits of the bee continue to make health news more recently with people taking bee pollen and propolis as health supplements.

    However, A slightly more fun approach on bee product trends comes in the form of The Wild Geese Irish Honey Liqueur. A premium smooth whiskey that is blended with 100% pure natural honey.

    It really is a smoothy this one and I love the honey element adding a touch of sweetness to a drink that would normally make my face screw up rather unattractively.

     

    £25.99 70cl bottle, TheDrinkShop.com

    Licor43

    Spain’s number 1 selling liqueur. And after tasting this, I now know why. A special blend of 43 ingredients, hence it’s name. For me it is similar to Tuaca (a favourite amongst us Brightonians reading this). However, I would now favour Licor43 as there is no after-burn and the main flavour note is vanilla without it being overly sickly sweet.

     

    This is perfect chilled, sipped slow, taken as a shot or why not try adding to Prosecco to create the L43 Royal, perfect for a Spring soiree :

    Ingredients

    • 25ml Licor 43
    • 1tsp rindless marmalade
    • Dash of prosecco

     

    Method

    Mix the Licor 43 and marmalade in the bottom of a champagne flute, top with prosecco and stir.

    Licor 43 is available in selected Asda stores nationwide and from www.drinksupermarket.com with a RRP of £17.50 – £17.99.

  • Kerry Washington Stuns With Gay Ally Acceptance Speech

    The GLAAD Media Awards which “recognise and honour media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives’ were handed out in Hollywood last night.

    Roland Emmerich director of Stonewall received the Stephen F. Kolzak Award from Channing Tatum, highlighting those working to eliminate homophobia within the entertainment industry.

    It was, however, actress Kerry Washington who had accepted the Vanguard Award from presenter Ellen DeGeneres, a prize handed to a significant ally of the LGBT community who brought the star-studded audience to their feet with her passionate plea for same-sex rights. “We can’t say that we believe in each other’s fundamental humanity and then turn a blind eye to the reality of each others’ existence and the truth of each other’s hearts. We must be allies. And we must be allies in this business because to be represented is to be humanised. And as long as anyone, anywhere is being made to feel less human, our very definition of humanity is at stake and we are all vulnerable.”

    The Winners List :
    Vanguard Award: Kerry Washington

    Stephen F. Kolzak Award: Roland Emmerich

    Outstanding Film – Wide Release: The Imitation Game (The Weinstein Company)

    Outstanding Drama Series: HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (ABC)

    Outstanding Comedy Series: TRANSPARENT (Amazon Instant Video)

    Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series without a regular LGBT character): “Identity Crisis” DROP DEAD DIVA(Lifetime)

    Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series: THE NORMAL HEART (HBO)

    Outstanding Music Artist: Against Me! Transgender Dysphoria Blues (Xtra Mile Recordings)

    Outstanding Daily Drama: DAYS OF OUR LIVES (NBC)

    Outstanding Comic Book : Rat Queens, written by Kurtis J. Wiebe (Image Comics)

    Outstanding Digital Journalism Article: “31 Days of PrEP” [series] (Advocate.com)

    Outstanding Blog: Autostraddle (autostraddle.com)

  • RECIPE | Black Quinoa with Beetroot & Pistachios

    Serves 2 | Prep 5 mins | Cook 15-20 mins

    Side Dish / Gluten Free / Iron Packed / Digestion Helper

    This is a recipe that manifested out of me suddenly realising I had forgotten an essential ingredient whilst at the shop for the original side dish I had planned! My forgetfulness and inability to stick to a list has often landed me in prime opportunities for a creative quickie in the kitchen. The crunchy quinoa and pistachios are tossed with silky earthy beetroot and fresh parsley. The natural flavours of this dish are essentially earthy & mellow, so this would be best suited with the main part of the meal having a sharp distinctive flavour. Why not try it with Lemon & Garlic Roasted Halloumi.

    BLACK QUINOA – Quinoa is a fantastic source of protein, especially for those that avoid eating meats. Quinoa is classed as a complete protein, meaning that it contains all 10 essential amino acids which you can normally only find within animal product. As well as providing a good supply of dietary fibre, (1 cup of) black quinoa will also supply 20% of your daily intake of folate (a B-vitamin essential for skin, liver, eyes, and hair), and 15% of Iron (red blood cells need this to carry oxygen around in the body). (SOURCE: http://www.livestrong.com/article/497045-benefits-of-black-quinoa/ )

    BEETROOT- Beetroot are high in potassium, magnesium, iron, vitamin A, B6, C, folic acid and anti-oxidants. (SOURCE http://www.webmd.boots.com/healthy-eating/guide/beetroot-benefits ) The nitrates in beetroot help lower blood pressure and may help heart disease. (SOURCE http://www.undergroundhealth.com/12-healthiest-foods-on-earth/ )

    PISTACHIOS – Rich in mono-unsaturated fats like oleic acid make the pistachio nut a good source of anti-oxidants. Pistachio nuts also contain carotenes, vitamin E, polyphenolic anti-oxidant compounds which help remove free-radicals from the body. They are also rich in the essentials for boosting our immune system; copper, manganese, iron, zinc and selenium. (SOURCE: http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/pistachio.html )

    Pistachios also contain potassium which will work alongside the fibre in the quinoa to aid healthy digestion.

    PARSLEY – The vitamin C content is higher than oranges (53% of your recommended daily intake in 30g of fresh parsley). Within the same 30g you will get 553% of your daily intake for vitamin K (healthy bones). It’s packed full of antioxidants, vitamin A, folate, iron. and can help neutralize carcinogens. It’s also great at neutralizing garlic breath! (SOURCE: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=100 )

    Containing a high amount of enzymes, parsley benefits healthy digestive activity .

     

    Ingredients.

    150g black quinoa

    150g beetroot, cooked in natural juices, cubed

    30g pistachios, bashed

    Bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped

    Olive oil

    Pinch of pepper

     

    Method.

     

    1. Cook the quinoa according to packet instructions in simmering water (15-20 mins).
    2. Drain the quinoa and rinse under the cold tap in a sieve.
    3. Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl along with a tablespoon of olive oil. Serve.