THEGAYUK

Day: 6 July 2018

  • Victim left with a fractured skull after “vicious” homophobic assault at London gay bar

    A victim has been left with a fractured skull after an alleged “vicious” attack at a London gay bar.

    homophobic attack london,
    An alleged homophobic attack happened at one of London’s most popular gay venues.

    A man was left with a fractured skull after an assault at the Eagle bar in Vauxhall. The alleged attack happened in the early hours of 2nd July 2018, when two men and a woman were asked to leave the premises.

    After the small group was ejected they became violent, according to the Met police. Two males, 42 and 30 and a female, 20-year-old, were taken into custody. They were released under investigation.

    According to a police statement, “It would appear that two men and a woman took umbrage to being asked to move from the smoking area, and were then subsequently ejected from the premises after making homophobic comments to staff at the venue”.

    Investigating officer, Detective Constable Phill Govett, from Lambeth, said, “This was a particularly vicious attack which stemmed from a minor incident and involved the use of homophobic language. Hate crime in any form will not be tolerated by police and we will take all possible action to bring perpetrators of these offences to justice.”

    This weekend, the UK’s capital, plays host to one of the countries biggest pride events, Pride In London. The Met have made policing the event a “priority”.

    Chief Superintendent Helen Millichap, Met spokesperson for the event, said, “As with any large event the Met’s priority is public safety and we are working closely with the organisers in the lead up to Pride to develop our policing plan. We want Pride to be a friendly, safe event for everyone to enjoy and to help us we need the public to take the usual precautions by remaining vigilant and reporting anything of concern to police officers or stewards at the event.”

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Smoke And Salt, Brixton, London

    ★★★★☆ | Smoke & Salt, Brixton, London

     Pop Brixton’s critically acclaimed and award-winning Smoke & Salt are now doing brunch, and in true Smoke & Salt style it’s different from any brunch menu you’ve seen before, and this is not just a tagline – it’s the truth!

    Available on both Saturdays and Sundays between 11am-3pm, the new Smoke & Salt brunch menu is a new and exciting addition to the eternally loved London brunch scene.

    Based on the ethos of ‘Modern Dining, Ancient Techniques’, founders and head chefs Aaron Webster and Remi Williams have created a menu of unusual and surprising flavours, perfect for livening up those taste buds on a morning.  The menu has been divided into three sections, which are Lighter, Richer and Sweet.

    Lighter –  ‘Guacaleeky Toast’ – sourdough, homemade avocado-free leek guac, coriander. This is what I had on a recent warm and sunny Sunday afternoon, with the leek tasting, and looking, so much like avocado – it’s surreal! And with the sprinkling of coriander on top it was a dish too good looking and beautiful to eat, but eat I did. I noticed the guy next to me had ordered this same dish, and it looked like he enjoyed it as much as I did! This dish is highly recommended by me, but it’s on the light side (good value for £7.50) – so another dish is in order. So go, and indulge and go Richer – with the ‘Steak and Eggs’ – Bavette steak, crispy new potatoes, two eggs, and sriracha cheese sauce. It is a huge dish so perfect for two to share, with the Bavette (French for Flank Steak) amazingly tender yet moist and flavourful. The potatoes were nicely well-done, and the dish was smothered with a wonderful sriracha cheese sauce – but be forewarned – this dish has jalapeños – so if you don’t like your dish spicy (me and my lunch companion were clearly not expecting for the dish to be spicy as there’s no mention of this on the menu) then ask for no jalapeños – por favor!. But bear in mind that sriracha sauce is a bit on the spicy side, but it’s bearable. At £14.00 a great value because it’s so delicious. However, the piéce de résistance, which is also in the Richer category, was the Imbhams Farm Cornbread. Wow! Amazing dish. It’s so simple – basically, it’s cornbread topped with seasonal fruit compote and butter (on the side). The cornbread is a healthy portion (and cheap at £7.50) but it’s the taste and flavour, with the compote, that makes it so so so good. It’s a bit like jelly on toast but a million times better. I was going to ask for some cornbread to take away but held back – it was that good!

    For the Sweet category, recommended is the – ‘Spiced Plantain Cake’ – seasonal fruit compote and whipped yoghurt – which we didn’t have but I am sure it is amazing!

    The drinks menu is just as tantalising.  Under ‘Refreshments’, guests can choose Iced Coffee, Grapefruit & Mint Iced Tea (very refreshing and different), Brixton Iced Coffee (with an option to add rum) or a Seasonal Bellini. There are also local lagers available including Smoke & Salt’s very own Modern IPA as well as a selection of red wines, white wines and Prosecco.

    When the sun is shining, the front terrace at Smoke & Salt is the perfect place to bask in the South London sunshine. And when it’s not, Aaron, Remi and General manager Alex, and Sue, keep the brunch-party going inside.

    They also do dinner! Choose from a selection of Fish (Ceviche, Monkfish), Meat (Pig Cheek, Grilled Spring Lamb), or Vegetarian (Spring Vegetables, Farm Cornbread, Asparagus) from their compact menu and with it have one of their many delicious cocktails or wines). Smoke & Salt is a cosy restaurant at very cosy prices.

    Also, on 17th July, Pop Brixton’s Smoke & Salt will be heading over to the stunning East London Liquor Company for a night of delicious food and boozy drinks.

    The menu, based on Smoke & Salt’s culinary ethos of ‘Modern Dining – Ancient Techniques’ will include mouth-watering dishes such as ‘Tomatoes | whey, smoked ricotta, tasted buckwheat’; ‘Grilled Pork Collar | baby beetroot, preserved orange relish’ and ‘Goat’s Curd & Berries | candied fennel, black pepper, sweet cicely’, complete with an East London Liquor Company summer cocktail on arrival.

    Each dish can be paired with a sensational East London Liquor Company tipple, curated by Brand Ambassador Mikey Pendergast and available to purchase on the night.

    The first gin, vodka and whisky distillery in East London in over 100 years, East London Liquor Company is known for their cocktail creations, highlighting their in-house made spirits.

    The dinner is £35pp and places can be booked via Eventbrite

    www.smokeandsalt.com

    The dinner will take place at:

    East London Liquor Company

    Unit GF1, Bow Wharf

    221 Grove Road

    London, E3 5SN

    www.eastlondonliquorcompany.com

    And, if all the above were not enough, Smoke & Salt just recently won the ‘Newcomer Award’ at The Cateys – an annual award presented by The Caterer, and are the most prestigious awards in UK hospitality. Accepting the award were Aaron Webster and Remi Williams, co-founders and chefs of Smoke & Salt.

    Smoke & Salt can always be found at Pop Brixton, minutes away from the Brixton tube station, and it’s open year round. It’s ideal to have brunch there on a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon, and especially festive with England winning their second game of the World Cup that day, but I would think any time, any day, you will find the food, both the lunch and dinner, cooked with care, sourced from local farms. The food is healthy, good-looking, amazingly tasteful, highly affordable, and just plain damn good.

    Tables should be booked in advance via the website http://www.smokeandsalt.com/

    Smoke & Salt,
    49 Brixton Station Road,
    London SW9 8PQ

    HOURS

    Dinner | Monday – Saturday 6pm-10pm
    Brunch | Saturday – Sunday 11am

     

  • Representation matters even in car parks

    Love love love this.

    Up until now if you were looking for a car-parking space and you happened to be an LGBT+ parent your representation was ZERO. Now thanks to Volvo, Westfield has got a wide range of icon representations for all different family types. From Grandparents to single mums to gay dads.

    The trial, conducted in partnership with Westfield London in Shepherds Bush where the new icons can be seen, aligns with the theme of Volvo’s TV advertising programme for the V60 – “The New Family Model”, which launches on 9 July. Over the years, the definition of family has evolved, hence the icons profile different examples of family within society, including same-sex couples, single parents and nuclear families.

    Mike Johnstone, Marketing Strategy Director, Volvo Car UK, said: “The introduction of the new V60 gives us the ideal opportunity to celebrate the modern family in all its guises. As the contemporary iteration of our mid-size family estate, the V60 perfectly reflects our human-centric approach to car design which aims to make its owners’ lives easier and safer.”