WHAT IS IT? | DRIVING IT | CLIMB INSIDE | LIVING WITH IT | VERDICT
Citroën’s new C3 Aircross replaces the Picasso MPV and enters the ever-so-confusing mini SUV type party. This model is the Flair S&S Puretech 110 Auto. Being a crowded party the C3 Aircross needs to be good.
With starting prices from around £14,000 with the ‘Touch’ model, here THEGAYUK has the top of the range ‘Flair’ to tinker with.
In January of this year, I was selected as a finalist of the 1st edition of Mister Senior Netherlands – a beauty and personality pageant in the Netherlands. What makes this contest so special is the fact that, for the first time, a competition of this kind is created for men over 30 years old and without any age limit. Personally, I never considered myself particularly beautiful, but I believed that with my life experience, I could add something to the competition. To my satisfaction, the jury responsible for selecting the finalists saw something in me and gave me an opportunity.
In the last two years, in addition to my work as a translator and reviewer of clinical literature, I have had the opportunity to work as an actor and photo/commercial model in the Netherlands and Belgium. I started by receiving offers for smaller projects, but now I’m starting to be invited for more interesting projects. However, I am still in a situation where I must search for work in these fields. My goal is to have employers looking for me instead. For this, I need to make myself known. This is how the idea to participate in the Mister Senior Netherlands contest came to me. I thought it would be an excellent platform to make myself more visible.
However, during this 5-month journey to the final, my goals have gained a new dimension. I have written articles for entities such as Gay Star News in the UK, Hornet in the United States, dezanove in Portugal, among others. I decided to write very personal and honest articles, even if that meant exposing myself to the world. As a result, I have received messages from people from all over the world, who have read my articles and who have, in one way or another, identified with my personal story and the issues I addressed, and who wanted to thank me for raising awareness for these subjects and let me know how they felt impacted.
After an enriching 5-month journey, the Grand Finale of the 1st edition of Mister Senior Netherlands took place on Sunday, June 17th in Barendrecht. Unfortunately, I did not win the big title, but I am happy about the fact that it stays in very capable hands. As for me, I got a spot in the podium as the 3rd runner-up, and I won in the categories Public Choice and Best Talent. I would not be completely honest if I said I was not sad about my position in the podium, but I can honestly say that it gave me equal satisfaction to win in the Public Choice and Best Talent categories. The jury members who evaluated us do not know me and had to base their evaluation merely on what they saw on that stage. The fans, however, followed us along this 5-month journey. Having been chosen by them made me feel really special.
As for the victory in the talent act, I confess that this was the best moment of the night for me. For my talent act, I decided to tell my personal story through a choreography with a very strong message. I am talking about the story of someone who grew up in a small village in Portugal and always felt like an outcast, who always felt afraid of being judged or rejected. Throughout my whole childhood and adolescence, I was bullied just for being different and not conforming to what society expected of me. The bullying I experienced was so traumatic at times, I’m still feeling the effects today. This is the story that I wanted to share.
I presented my choreography shirtless, wrapped in bandages that showed my fragility and my broken parts, referred to in the letter of the song that I chose to accompany the choreography. Those who watched the movie The Greatest Showman will certainly be familiar with the tune “This is Me,” in which you can hear:
“I’m not stranger to the dark
Hide away, they say
‘Cause we don’t want your broken parts
I’ve learned to be ashamed of all my scars
Run away, they say
No one’ll love you as you are”
Written on my half-naked body were words like “fag,” “freak,” and “weak,” showing me weakened by the cruelty of the world, but never defeated. On the contrary, I was fighting this cruelty throughout my choreography, using the world’s cruelty as ways of becoming immune and winning this battle. Because it was such a personal story, I felt each move with an intensity that is difficult for me to describe. After my performance, I was under the impression that it went much better while practising at home than when I presented it to the jury. I thought I had not been able to get my message across in the way I intended. When they announced my name, however, I had proof that my message not only was understood, but it also touched the people who witnessed my performance. I spent so many hours every day working on the preparation of this choreography, and since there was a lot of physical effort, my body was full of bruises and my feet full of blisters (which, in a convenient way, fit the lyrics and message I wanted to convey). It was worth all the bruises!
I do not feel like, after the final, the end has come. On the contrary, it is the beginning of a new and exciting era for me. For sure, I will continue to be part of the Mister Senior Netherlands family and be involved in different activities related to the contest.
Although I have not won the big title, my message, my motivation and my goals remain the same. In my opinion, the main duty of a Mister (winner or not) is to contribute to a kinder, more accepting world. Since there has been a huge interest in my story, I believe that right now I have an excellent opportunity – and the duty! – to use my current visibility to contribute to a better world. I thought of several causes to which I could devote myself and it seemed appropriate to devote myself to something that concerns me personally and where much still needs to be done. I decided to devote myself to defending LGBT rights. At this moment, I am still not sure about what is the best course to take. For the time being, I intend to continue to raise awareness to issues affecting the LGBT community. But I would like to contribute with so much more! So, I would like to invite all of your readers who might be reading this article to contact me if they believe I can help with any initiative or project. I remain available and at your service.
In 2003 Key West was the staging ground for the world’s largest Pride flag, which measured 1.25 miles. It ran the length of Duval Street – 14 blocks to be precise. Duval Street is where most of the island’s gay venues are situated.
The flag was created by the original designer Gilbert Baker who spent three months in Key West assembling the flag. It weighed a massive 3 tons and took about 17600 linear yards of fabric. It took 2000 volunteers to raise the flag in 2003.
The flag has, since 2003, had sections displayed at global events, including the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, and Australia’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. They have been shown internationally in Canada, Sweden, Norway, Germany, England and Australia; and domestically in cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Atlanta.
The UK’s biggest pride flag was revealed by Cornwall Pride and was extensively photographed at the world’s first pride tour, which stopped by 11 towns and cities in England’s southernmost county. Here it is being displayed by St. Michael’s Mount in Cornwall.
We’ve never seen so many pretty colours in one drink… plus it’s a drink that comes with edibles, so sensibly you’re lining your stomach before you go to town!
Brilliant
Here’s how to make the Rainbow Road cocktail.
METHOD:
Blend six ice cubes with the 15ml Blue Curaçao. Pour into the bottom of a jam jar style glass that’s been dipped in hundreds and thousands.
Blend the pineapple juice, lemon juice, vodka and bubblegum gomme with six ice cubes and pour gently on top of the Blue Curaçao.
Top with crushed ice and pour over the cranberry juice and Very Cherry Lambrini.
Garnish with fizzy rainbow strips, marshmallows a slice of watermelon and other colourful sweets.
INGREDIENTS:
50ml Lambrini Very Cherry
25ml Vodka
25ml Cranberry juice
15ml Blue Curaçao
15ml Bubblegum gomme
15ml Lemon juice
25ml Pineapple juice
Coloured sweets
At the far reaches of the Keys is Key West, which is where you’ll find most of the Keys’ gay life. There are three main ways in which you can arrive to the extremely gay-friendly Key – by car, plane and boat.
From the latter, you can fly directly into Key West International Airport. Despite its name, you won’t find any direct flights from the UK flying into the airport. There are a number of ways you can make the journey – a standard transatlantic flight (British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, AA and Delta all make these flights) into Miami, Orlando, Ft Lauderdale, Tampa or Atlanta and then getting a connecting flight to Key West International with AA, Delta or Silver Airways.
One of the most impressive ways to arrive is by car, but be warned the journey is quite long from Miami to Key West (about 4 hours, including comfort and food breaks) and there’s no guarantee of parking once you get there. Space is limited in Key West and there are many resident-only parking spaces. Hotels and resorts in Key West tend not to have their own parking.
Along the scenic and historic drive, you’ll cross over 42 bridges that connect the islands. One of the most famous is the Seven Mile Bridge, which connects the Knight’s Key and the Little Duck Key. While on the Seven Mile Bridge you’ll be able to see an original bridge built in 1909 – 1912 which is now restricted to cyclists and pedestrians. This was the bridge that was constructed under the direction of Henry Flagler, whose vision of connecting the Islands with an Overseas Railroad ensured the growth of tourism in the region.
You can also travel by sea. Key West Express operates a high-street ferry from Ft. Myers Beach and Marco Island on the west coast of Florida. It takes three and a half hours.
Authors tip: When I travelled to Key West (in April time) we managed to find a parking space relatively close to the hotel we were staying at, The Equator Resort. The spaces are marked. Some have “residential” printed on the ground next to them – others do not. We asked a local whether the space in which we had parked was okay – and he told us, “you’ve won the lottery ticket” – meaning that parking spaces are few and far between. During our stay, we didn’t move the car – but opted to get taxis if we decided to leave the Key. However, it should be noted that Key West is not that big and most of the places of interest like the: Southern Most Point, the legendary Pan Am’s birthplace, the gloriously iconic Tropic Cinema and the poignant Key West Historical Memorial Sculpture Garden.
For more information on the Keys be sure to visit and bookmark the official website.
A straight couple, Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan, have won their legal case, which will allow them to have a Civil Partnership instead of a traditional marriage.
Up until now, the only couples permitted to have CPs were gay and lesbian couples.
It was a law introduced by the Labour government in 2004, before the Conservatives, under David Cameron were able to vote and pass Same-Sex marriage.
Civilly Partnered couples are entitled to many of the protections offered by marriage including, inheritance, tax, pension rights and next of kin arrangements.
Steinfeld and Keidan argued that the Civil Partnership act was unlawful before it was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Speaking about the ruling, leading Human Rights activist, Peter Tatchell said, “This is a victory for love and equality. It was never right to deny opposite-sex couples the option of having a civil partnership. In a democracy, we are all supposed to be equal before the law. It is wonderful news that the Supreme Court has ruled against the government and in favour of equal civil partnerships”.
This ruling overturns a previous judgement made by the Court of Appeal made in February 2017.
Peter Tatchell has supported Rebecca Steinfeld’s and Charles Keidan from the outset of their legal challenge in 2014.
Indeed, he championed the right of opposite-sex couples to have a civil partnership from the moment Tony Blair’s government announced in 2003 that the option would be available to same-sex couples only, condemning it as “blatant discrimination based on sexual orientation.”
Speaking about today’s victory in the Supreme Court, Mr Tatchell said, “The ban on opposite-sex civil partnerships was discrimination and a violation of human rights. It is outrageous that the government was unwilling to legislate equality and that this couple were forced to go to court to get a basic human right – the right to be treated equally in law.
“It was never fair that same-sex couples had two options, civil partnerships and civil marriages, whereas opposite-sex partners had only one option, marriage,” said Mr Tatchell.
In May THEGAYUK.com ran a poll of its readers which found that 62 percent of LGBT+ people who answer believed that Civil Partnerships should be open to all couples, while only eight percent believed that they should remain for just same-sex couples.
Thirty percent believed that Civil Partnerships should be scrapped altogether.
A straight couple, Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan, have won their legal case, which could allow them to have a Civil Partnership instead of a traditional marriage.
Up until now, the only couples permitted to have CPs were gay and lesbian couples.
It was a law introduced by the Labour government in 2004, before the Conservatives, under David Cameron were able to vote and pass Same-Sex marriage.
Civilly Partnered couples are entitled to many of the protections offered by marriage including, inheritance, tax, pension rights and next of kin arrangements.
Steinfeld and Keidan argued that the Civil Partnership act was unlawful before it was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
This ruling overturns a previous judgement made by the Court of Appeal made in February 2017.
In May THEGAYUK.com ran a poll of its readers which found that 62 percent of LGBT+ people who answer believed that Civil Partnerships should be open to all couples, while only eight percent believed that they should remain for just same-sex couples.
Thirty percent believed that Civil Partnerships should be scrapped altogether.
Deaf Direct has produced this video of signs to help everybody speak a little BSL (British Sign Language) this pride season. So if you’ve ever wanted to know how to sign lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, now’s your chance!
William and Simon, who both ID as gay, explain in the video that here in the UK we use BSL – rather than ASL (American Sign Language).
Here they take you through the way in which you can communicate with people who know BSL.
The words they recreate are:
Lesbian
Gay
Bisexual
Transgender
Queer
Straight
Leather
Bear
Drag
Pride Day
Happy Pride Day
Fabulous
So go learn how to say Happy Pride Day you Fabulous Queers