THEGAYUK

Category: News

  • The UK’s biggest Pride flag used to celebrate the UK’s key workers

    The UK’s biggest Pride flag used to celebrate the UK’s key workers

    The iconic rainbow flag has become the symbol of hope once again, this time it’s in the battle against coronavirus.

    One Pride team from Cornwall Pride have found a way to utilize their very own rainbow flag, the biggest in the UK in an amazing tribute to all key workers in the UK.

    Ensuring social distancing, the team from Cornwall Pride including artist, Pat Fete, used Cornwall’s biggest canvas, Towan Beach, and the UK’s biggest pride flag, to write a special message to all key workers across the UK.

    Matthew Kenworthy Gomes, from Cornwall Pride, told THEGAYUK, “It is our way to show support from Cornwall Pride as we have an amazing rainbow flag and its one of the largest in the UK. So sharing it right now, saying “thank you” as a community rainbow is the most important thing we can do. To bring people together with an image of hope and love.

    “With support from Team Newquay and the local Police Diversity Team to share it in solidarity with NHS and all key workers. Again to truly say a HUGE thank you to everyone for everything’.

    Perfect way to say ‘thank you’

    Jon Goodman, from Team Newquay, said, “This is a perfect way for Newquay to say “Thank You” ….a rainbow on a beach!

    “I was asked to help put it together and this is something you just can’t say no too, my daughter is a keyworker and I have friends that are carers and work in the NHS, I and all are full of pride for them all.”

    The whole project took a little over 2 hours and four people all following social distancing and washing hands when changing equipment. Two for the flag, one artist, one photographer.

  • Man jailed after drugging, sexually assaulting and stealing from another man

    Man jailed after drugging, sexually assaulting and stealing from another man

    A man is facing over eight years of jail time after pleading guilty to drugging, sexually assaulting and stealing from another man in London.

    Romanian national, Carol Simon, 46, has been jailed for 8 months and 5 months after being pleading guilty to sexual assault, administering a substance with intent to overpower to allow sexual activity, possession of class C drugs and theft following an incident in Marble Arch.

    On 24 March 2019, Simon was loitering outside The City of Quebec pub on Old Quebec Street in Westminster, London when he approached the victim and asked to share a taxi home. 

    The man, in his 50s, accepted and once they arrived at the victim’s home, Simon invited himself in for a drink where he then administered the drug, sexually assaulted the victim and stole his wallet, watch and phone.

    The victim reported the incident to police who began an investigation. Detectives were able to trace Simon as the suspect through a DNA match. 

    He was arrested on 4 April 2019 at the same venue where he targeted the victim. On arrest, officers found a small bottle with liquid inside that Simon claimed were eye drops. However, the substance was tested and was in fact Diazepam.

    According to the Met, Simon was charged the following day.

    Detective Constable Sophie McLoughlin led the investigation. She said, “The victim has been incredibly brave throughout this ordeal and it is because of his courage that Simon is behind bars where he belongs.

    “Simon had clearly set out that night to harm someone for his cowardly gain, his actions were completely evil and he will never know the trauma he has caused.

    “We encourage anyone who has been a victim of sexual assault to come forward and speak to us, we will support you.”

  • Gay marriage linked to COVID-19, according to religious leader, Pat Robertson

    Gay marriage linked to COVID-19, according to religious leader, Pat Robertson

    Pat Robertson has doubled down on his anti-gay teachings by linking the current coronavirus pandemic with gay marriage and abortion.

    When asked whether the world could ever be forgiven for its “sins” like abortion and gay marriage Robertson was keen to stress that we won’t be forgiven because mankind has broken its covenant with God. Actually we’ve apparently “violated his covenant”.

    Because… of course he did.

    Using his TV platform, “The 700 Club” Pat was joined by his co-host, Terry Meeuwsen who read out a viewer’s question: “Pat, last week you were talking about COVID-19. You quoted Chronicles 7:14. How can God heal our land and forgive the sins when abortion and same-sex marriage are laws and many people are anti-Israel. Doesn’t this prevent his healing and forgiveness?”

    To which Robertson replied,

    “You know, I think you put your finger on something very important. You know the Bible says — they turn from their wicked ways. They didn’t get forgiven. They will turn from their wicked ways. And part of what we’ve done is turn.

    “We are not turning when we have done terrible things. We have broken the covenant that God made with mankind.

    “We have violated his covenant. We have taken the life of the innocent, slaughtered them by the tens of millions. Children made in the image of God. And we have abused the poor.

    I mean, we’ve allowed this terrible plague to spread throughout our society. And it’s a small wonder God would hold us guilty. But the answer is, you know, you confess your sins and forsake them. Then he heals the land. It’s not before. You are right”.

    In 2013 Robertson was nominated as Bigot Of The Year by the LGBT+ charity Stonewall.

    H/t Media Matters

  • Cornwall Pride organisers baked nekkid for charity

    Cornwall Pride organisers baked nekkid for charity

    Husbands Matthew and Nathaniel Kenworthy-Gomes went nude (almost) on a marathon baking session on Facebook live yesterday night to raise money for Cornwall Hospice Care.

    The hunky duo, who are usually behind the scenes preparing to stage Cornwall’s only Pride, garnered thousands of viewers and hundreds of comments and likes from friends and fans who cheered the couple on as they attempted to cook the perfect cake.

    The plan was to go completely nude, but anyone who knows about Facebook’s nudity policy will know the pair would have been knocked off the platform very quickly if they had actually bared butt.

    However there was still plenty on show for thirsty fans of the couple.

    Matthew and Nathaniel, who run Cornwall Pride are trying to raise £1000 for the Cornwall Hospice Care (click here to donate) and currently have raised nearly a third of their target.

    Cornwall-Pride-husbands-raise-money-for-charity

    The husbands swigged multiple glasses of red and white wine during the epic three-hour session and were even joined by Matthew’s mum, who chinked glasses with the pair.

    The hilarious antics are available to catch up with on Facebook. Take a look and get donating, if you can!

    Watch the video here:

  • April’s Acts Of Remembrance by 17-24-30 cancelled, and to go online

    April’s Acts Of Remembrance by 17-24-30 cancelled, and to go online

    The annual Acts Of Remembrance organised by the 17-24-40 National Hate Crime Awareness Week to remember three attacks that terrorised London’s minorities during April 1999, resulting in the nail bombing of the Admiral Duncan pub have been cancelled following the Government’s advice that there are to be no public gatherings of more than two people.

    The nail bomb attack on the Admiral Duncan pub killed three people and injured 70 more.

    Every year the charity organises three events to mark the bombings that took place in Brixton, Brick Lane and in Soho. This year those events have been cancelled and an online event will take place instead.

    The organisation also paid tribute to a volunteer who sadly passed away in March.

    Paul Quigley volunteered for the organisation sadly died in March from complications from COVID-19.

    17-24-30 cancelled all volunteer sessions on the 10th March – before the government ordered the UK into lockdown.

    “One of a kind”

    A spokesperson for 17-24-30 said, “It’s very difficult to find the words we need to express our sadness at losing Paul, he was one of a kind.

    “Paul was a popular guy, a genuine warm-hearted soul who could be quite outspoken at times. He had a gorgeous smile and the ability to make those around him laugh with his witty observations. He will be sorely missed. Our love and condolences go out to his family and friends”.

    Where will the Acts Of Remembrance take place?

    There will be three online Acts of Remembrance to mark the 21st anniversaries of the London Nail Bomb attacks on Brixton, Brick Lane and Soho.

    You can register to join here: Brixton, Brick Lane and Soho.

  • This porn studio has worked out how to continue shooting during the lockdown

    This porn studio has worked out how to continue shooting during the lockdown

    As studios across the UK and the US start to limit the number of new scenes they are able to share with their customers, due to the COVID-19 lockdown one studio is starting to think outside the box when it comes to fresh and new content for its thirsty fans.

    Himeros plans to shoot a couple through the windows of their home as they have sex.

    Yes, you read that right. Using a real-life couple, Himeros founder, Davey Wavey said that the studio was going to be keeping a safe distance from its models – going as far as staying behind glass in order to shoot the scene.

    He said, “We’re in a good position because we have a lot of content already filmed, but we want to keep added to the stockpile of content that we have…”

    “We’re going to have glass between us and the couple, it’s about finding creative ways…”

    He described the idea as very “voyeuristic”.

    Using a real-life couple in his local area, Davey told fans on his podcast, episode 101, that the studio was looking into new and interesting ways to keep production going.

    Davey said that he had reached out to a local gay couple, who jumped at the chance to shoot their first porn for the studio, which has garnered a fanbase for its unique approach in creating porn that is erotic, but distinct from mainstream gay porn.

    The scene is expected to be released later on in 2020.

    Sex workers and adult stars hard hit by lockdown

    Across the globe, sex workers and adult performers have found their work potential decimated as lockdown and physical distancing measures brought in by governments as a means to “flatten the curve” of new COVID-19 infections, mean that they aren’t able to work in the normal way.

    According to Porn blog StraightUpGayPorn, studios like Falcon and Nextdoor have announced that they are cutting the number of scenes they are making available to their subscribers.

    Of course, many porn stars are now working separately from studios on their own sites or via OnlyFans.

  • Porn studios are now limiting the number of new scenes they are releasing

    Porn studios are now limiting the number of new scenes they are releasing

    The COVID-19 pandemic has left no industry untouched as millions of people find themselves out of work or furloughed by their companies, and the adult industry is no different.

    A number of gay porn studios have announced that they are cutting down the number of new scenes available to their subscribers – as many have now stopped production altogether until it is safe to continue producing content again.

    Across the globe, sex workers and adult performers have found their work potential decimated as lockdown and physical distancing measures brought in by governments as a means to “flatten the curve” of new COVID-19 infections, mean that they aren’t able to work in the normal way.

    According to Porn blog StraightUpGayPorn, studios like Falcon and Nextdoor have announced that they are cutting the number of scenes they are making available to their subscribers.

    Men.com has said it will only release four updates per week, Sean Cody has said it will only release one scene a week.

    Of course, many porn stars are now working separately from studios on their own sites or via OnlyFans.

    Seancody.com has apparently limited new scenes to once a week. Of course, there’s a huge back catalogue of scenes to watch!

    Last year we spoke to porn star Troy Turner what it was like to run his own porn studio on the OnlyFans’ platform. Read his interview here.

  • Matt Lucas is releasing his hilarious song for FeedNHS

    “Wash your hands, stay indoors, thank you baked potato. Only go to grocery stores, thank you baked potato”

    Matt Lucas is about to release his song, ‘Thank You Baked Potato” with all proceeds going to FeedNHS.

    The song, originally performed by Matt on Shooting Stars, has been rewritten to include key messages about how to avoid spreading and catching COVID-19, urging people to stay at home amid the coronavirus outbreak. It will be released across all digital platforms this Friday.

    Matt shared the new version of the song to his Twitter account last week, garnering over 3 million views in just a few days and creating a huge talking point across the country.

    The video was captioned “A VERY important message” and includes the lyrics: “Wash your hands, stay indoors, thank you baked potato. Only go to grocery stores, thank you baked potato”.

    Matt says, “The Baked Potato Song was something I sung on Shooting Stars 20 years ago and in an idle moment on Tuesday night I rewrote the lyrics and updated them. Baked Potato is always giving good advice and the new advice in the new version of the song is about washing your hands, staying indoors and only going to grocery stores. I urge everyone to go out and buy the single this week and raise vital money for the FeedNHS campaign.”

    FeedNHS is an initiative set up by food chain LEON alongside Matt, actor Damien Lewis and his actress wife Helen McCroy to raise £1 million and get 6,000 meals a day into London hospitals for critical care staff. The campaign will then hopefully roll out across the nation to feed the NHS, with the aim that everyone will get one hot meal a day. 

    https://slinky.to/ThankYouBakedPotato

    The initiative is in partnership with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and UCLH Healthcare NHS Trust. It is a not for profit movement to deliver food to our heroic workers and already Wasabi, Tortilla, Peach Pubs, Rosa Thai, Hop, Pizza Pilgrims, Franco Manca, Farmer J, Tossed, Haché, Abokado, Dishoom and Nusa Kitchen have joined.

    Some of our heroes are already working 20-hour shifts and these hours will only get longer as the crisis worsens. With cafes and eateries all shut there is a real need to get healthy hot food to the hospitals.

    A JustGiving page for FeedNHS has been set up and you can donate here

  • This new pride flag aims to be the most inclusive ever

    This new pride flag aims to be the most inclusive ever

    A brand new Pride Flag has been created with the aim of being even more inclusive than previous versions.

    The flag, which was created by sex-worker rights and PrEP advocate Jason Domino includes a red umbrella symbol which has been used by sex-workers across the globe as a way to remember sex-workers who were victims of abuse and violence.

    In the new design, the red umbrella has been superimposed on top of what is known as the “progressive pride flag” which incorporates the trans flag’s blue, white and pink stripes and a graduated black and brown stripe to represent LGBT+ people of colour.

    Domino says that he collaborated on the flag along with HIV activist Shamal Waraich to “to be more accurate for skin tones of more POC/BAME.”

    Flag carriers reach the Atlantic Ocean Sunday, June 15, 2003, as they finish carrying a 1 1/4-mile-long rainbow flag down Duval Street in Key West, Fla. The mammoth banner was created by Gilbert Baker and commemorated the 25th anniversary of the gay and lesbian icon that Baker, a San Francisco resident, conceived in 1978. The flag required 17,600 linear yards of fabric, weighs more than 5,000 pounds and was a highlight event of the PrideFest Key West celebration. Photo by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau

    The original eight-stripe Pride flag was created in 1978 by artist Gilbert Baker who said that he created the flag as there was “no other international symbol for [the LGBT+ community] than the pink triangle which the Nazis used to identify homosexuals in concentration camps,

    “Even though the pink triangle was and still is a very powerful symbol, it was very much forced upon us”.

    What is the history of the Pride Flag?

    The original flag was an 8 stripe flag, but over time two colours were removed, the Pink and Cyan, to become the 6-flag stripe that is best-known across the globe to represent the LGBT+ community.

    In 2017 activists in the US city of Philadelphia introduced a “more pride” flag which incorporated a black and brown stripe.

    On Twitter, the new flag has met with positive reaction with people thanking Jason for including sex-workers.

  • Singapore dismisses appeal to decriminalise homosexuality

    Singapore’s High Court has dismissed a legal challenge to end a colonial-era law that criminalises sex between two consenting men, echoing another dismissal that took place in 2014.

    Gay and bi men in Singapore will, for the time being, continue to live as “un-apprehended criminals” under Section 377A after the High Court dismissed a challenge to close out a colonial-era law that outlaws “acts of ‘gross indecency’ between men”, a law that has been imposed since the British colonisation of Singapore.

    Although prosecutions are rare, any man who commits any act of ‘gross indecency’ with another man can be jailed for up to two years. This also extends to any man who abets, procures or attempts to procure such an act.

    Speaking about the decision, Director of the Human Dignity Trust (HDT), Téa Braun said, “In declining to strike out this archaic and discriminatory law, the Court has reaffirmed that all gay men in Singapore are effectively un-apprehended criminals”.

    Although Section 377A only targets gay men, activists in Singapore say that the culture of shame and homophobia it engenders casts a shadow of oppression over the whole lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans LGBT+ community.

    The challenges were mounted by Johnson Ong Ming, a 43-year-old disc jockey and producer; 42-year-old Bryan Choong Chee Hoong, the former executive director of LGBT organisation Oogachaga; and Roy Tan Seng Kee, a 61-year-old retired medical doctor.

    Against a backdrop of similar unsuccessful legal challenges in Singapore, the ruling today is particularly unwelcome, says HDT.

    Gay sex remains illegal in Singaore
    rihaij / Pixabay

    In October 2014, the Singapore Court of Appeal declined to remove the country’s anti-gay law from the statute books and held that LGBT people would have to wait for reform of Section 377A to come through Parliament. 

    Following the historic and regionally significant September 2018 Indian Supreme Court ruling that decriminalised consensual same-sex sexual activity, and increasing levels of acceptance of LGBT people amongst Singaporeans, lawyers and activists were motivated to mount a fresh challenge to the discriminatory law.

    “The ruling will also echo harmfully around Asia”

    “This decision will be extremely disappointing for the plaintiffs and the wider LGBT community in Singapore, who had great hopes that new evidence presented to the Court would make it clear that these draconian laws cannot withstand proper constitutional scrutiny. The ruling will also echo harmfully around Asia, where millions of people are criminalised simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” added Braun.

  • Charity is calling for support to help isolated older LGBT+ people

    Charity is calling for support to help isolated older LGBT+ people

    Opening Doors charity calls for support to help isolated older people from LGBT+ communities during COVID-19 outbreak

    • Opening Doors launches crowdfunding page to help to keep essential telefriending service running to support those most in need
    • Telefriending provides a critical lifeline to those who feel most vulnerable by providing reducing isolation, signposting to urgent services and providing valuable information
    • £15,000 is needed to help train volunteers to reach older LGBTQ+ communities during this crisis.

    Opening Doors London, the biggest UK charity providing support services for the over 50’s LGBT+ communities, has launched an urgent crowdfunding campaign in a bid to secure £15,000 of funding to help train volunteers use their telefriending service to reach those who need care the most and support telephone services.

    The recent COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in the charity having to halt hundreds of face-to-face services to prevent any risk to their older members and volunteer supporters, so there’s a real issue with reaching lonely and socially isolated members of LGBTQ communities, many having no access to digital services.

    As a result, they are asking for donations so that they can train current volunteers in telephone befriending and increase staff capacity to support more of the community, so as many LGBTQ+ people over 50 who are at risk of isolation have someone to speak to if needed.

    One such member of the community benefitting from this is Mike, a retired doctor, who says: “I don’t have anyone else to talk to. I am self-isolating and so I won’t even get to talk to the shopkeeper. It is a great relief to know that I will actually have someone to speak to.” 

    Meghan Herring, Befriending Coordinator at Opening Doors London says, “As the COVID-19 outbreak affects all members of society we are working hard to protect those most a risk of being overlooked – the elderly, lonely and most isolated groups. We urgently need support crowdfunding so we can help train our volunteers in telefriending so they can continue to provide those small services, which make a big difference. 

    Telefriending is a lifeline. Our volunteers check in with clients at least once a week, identifying if they have enough food, determine any possible concerns that need to be escalated but most importantly talk to them about how they are feeling. It is an essential service to help address truly urgent needs during this crisis. Therefore, any donations will be appreciated and will make a huge impact as Opening Doors work to support those who are most isolated.” 

    Donations can be made here: https://www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk/appeal/help-us-reduce-isolation

    To find out more about how you can volunteer visit: https://www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk/Pages/Category/volunteer