THEGAYUK

Category: News

  • London’s Manbar Loses Noise Complaint Against Westminster City Council

    Manbar has lost its appeal to keep its regulated entertainment licence, after resident, two floors up made noise complaints.

    In a statement released by Manbar, the popular venue’s management said that it had lost against Westminster City Council with regards to its ‘regulated entertainment license’, however it will remain open with its 3 AM alcohol sales license. This means that Manbar will remain in business, without music, despite the bar’s owners spending £25,000 on noise compliance.

    During the hearing, Westminster City Council served up their witnesses and the 1 tenant, who originally made the noise complaint. He was the the only person living near Manbar to give evidence.

    On day two of the hearing, the Court made a site visit to Manbar to witness both the sound levels within the venue and in the residency, two floors above – at maximum sound level.

    Chris Amos, the bar’s general manager said:
    ‘The bar will be applying for it’s regulated entertainment licence again in the near future with all the stipulations possible to safeguard the venue without causing any noise nuisance. Hopefully the council will grant us back our licence! Also the government recently deregulated entertainment before 11pm each day so we will offering early evening entertainment and currently working out the schedule for this.

    ‘Many thanks for the support through this case, luckily Manbar remains open – so be sure to come by for a drink.’

    Andrew Ralph, Westminster City Council’s Noise and Licensing Manager said in a statement to TheGayUK:

    ‘An independent judge has today ruled that Manbar has a long history of playing music that constitutes a public noise nuisance and disturbs residents. Westminster City Council is duty bound to address any public noise nuisance wherever it is found, whoever is making it – and that is all it has done here. Last year, the council agreed to a compromise – suggested by the owner – that Manbar’s right to play amplified music would be temporarily suspended until the necessary measures have been taken for it to be played at acceptable levels – levels that apply to every other licensee wanting to play music. After a sound-limiter was fitted, the noise level was found by officers to be acceptable. However, within a week, further complaints were received and the levels were once again found to be a statutory nuisance. The Court found that this was because externally amplified music was being played at Manbar.

    The result of the appeal means that Manbar must resolve the problems arising from noise nuisance, as they promised to do. If they are able to do that, Westminster City Council is ready to work with Manbar so that it can once again play amplified music.”

  • Nearly one million UK pets have their own social media

    Research has shown that pet owners across the UK love their pets so much that one million of them have given them their own Twitter or Facebook account.

    Amongst the most popular pets on the net is Sockington the cat, who belongs to American archivist and historian Jason Scott. On Twitter Sockington (@sockington) has amassed over 1.3 million followers, which is more than Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour Party leader Ed Miliband combined.

    The research conducted by GoCompare.com showed that over a million or 7% of us, who have a furry friend have created a profile for our beloved Sweep, Rover or Dory the fish.

    When it comes to Twitter, dogs are the internet’s best friend. Analysing tweets from February 4th to March 6th, Gocompare.com found that more tweets in that time period were about canines than their cat counterparts. During the time frame, there were 1,713,613 tweets referencing cats compared to 2,323,567 tweets about dogs.

    Ben Wilson, pet insurance spokesperson at Gocompare.com, commented:
    ‘The nation seems divided on what people think of pets on social media, as half (51%) of those asked said that they found people who constantly post about their pet on social media irritating, and the vast majority (74%) saying that they find people who create profiles for their pet ‘weird’. But with around four million tweets about cats and dogs each month, it doesn’t look like animal lovers will stop talking about their pets online anytime soon.
    ‘However, what is concerning is the number of pet owners who admitted to not having insurance for their animal. Though nearly one in five (17%) admitted to adoring their pets so much that most of their own social media post revolved around them, and just under one in ten (7%) having even made profiles for their pets, our research found that only half of cat and dog owners actually insured their animal.
    ‘Pet owners without insurance may not be able to afford essential medical treatment if their pet becomes ill or has an accident, so while it’s nice to see so many who want to show their four-legged companions off on social media, the best way to show your love for your animal is to make sure it has the right cover.’

  • Best Selling Author Sue Townsend Dies, Aged 68

    The author, famous for the Adrian Mole Diary series has passed away at the age of 68.

    A family friend of Sue Townsend has announced that the best-selling writer has passed away after a short illness.

    Townsend, who lost her sight in 2001, from issues surrounding diabetes, was one of the UK’s best-selling writers throughout the 80s and 90s, whose books The Queen And I and Rebuilding Coventry and the Adrian Mole series contributed to the imaginations of teenage boys all over the UK. The diaries sold over 8 millions copies.

    Townsend, born in Leicester in 1946, was diagnosed with diabetes in the 80s and underwent a kidney transplant in 2009. In December 2012 she suffered a stroke.

    A number of fellow authors have paid their respects. Speaking to the BBC, Yes Man, Danny Wallace said:

    ‘If ever I saw that she was in a town close to me – and I’d never been to book readings or book signings before – but I always made sure I went to hers.

    ‘She was incredibly sweet to her younger fans and I’ve got all these books at home that she had signed and she would say, “To Daniel, from Sue Townsend aged 43 and three quarters’ or ’45 and a half”.

    ‘So she really understood what people loved about Adrian Mole I think.’

    Husband Colin Broadway and her four children survive Sue Townsend: Sean, Daniel, Victoria and Elizabeth.

  • CEO of Mozilla Steps Down After Anti-Gay Marriage Row

    The CEO of Mozilla, Brendan Eich has stepped down after a week of harsh criticism of his anti-gay marriage controversy.

     Mozilla, the makers of the Firefox web browser made a statement via its company blog announcing the resignation of Eich.
    The statement read:

    “Mozilla prides itself on being held to a different standard and, this past week, we didn’t live up to it,” wrote executive chairwoman Mitchell Baker. “We didn’t act like you’d expect Mozilla to act. We didn’t move fast enough to engage with people once the controversy started. We’re sorry. We must do better.”

    “What’s next for Mozilla’s leadership is still being discussed. We want to be open about where we are in deciding the future of the organization and will have more information next week. However, our mission will always be to make the Web more open so that humanity is stronger, more inclusive and more just: that’s what it means to protect the open Web.”

    Earlier in the week Eich said that he would not step down from the company over his personal beliefs. However, after a firestorm amongst gay rights organisations and a campaign by OKCupid it seems as though the CEO had no choice. The dating service urged users to boycott the browser

    In 2008, Eich made a $1000 donation to the Prop 8 ballot. Prop 8 banned same-sex marriage in California.

  • Art School Stole My Virginity April Fool’s Hoax?

    Anal virginity art student in April Fool’s Joke?

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  • Rupert Everett to investigate sex industry

    Actor and writer Rupert Everett is to present a new programme which investigates the sex industry.

    Prostitutes are often seen as either immoral individuals or exploited victims, but in this authored two-parter, Rupert gets behind the stereotypes and hears the unvarnished truth from both sex workers and their clients. “Prostitutes,” he says, “are the world’s unacknowledged experts on our most intimate desires.”

    Rupert is a passionate defender of the dignity and rights of a group of people who he feels have been unjustly stigmatised for thousands of years. In Love for Sale, Rupert offers an unusually truthful and honest insight into the business, and a funny and sometimes angry attack on the hypocrisy that surrounds the subject. Rupert has a natural connection to the men and women who trade their bodies for a living and gets to the core of what trading means, or does not mean to them.

    In the first programme, Why People Sell Sex, filmed across the UK, France, the Netherlands and Israel, Rupert meets a range of sex workers, from the young rent boy working the backstreets of Tel Aviv, to the single mother in Exeter who loves her work and high class Brazilian escort who charges her clients £700 per hour. Rupert also visits his former home of Paris to meet some of the women who work the Bois de Boulogne, a notorious rendezvous for prostitutes. He tells the moving story of his old friend, whose brutal murder brought home to him the dangers sex workers face.

    Rupert has an insightful perspective on the subject, which has allowed him, with producers Swan Films, to create two very unique films illuminating the honest truth of sex work.

    In the second programme, Why People Buy Sex, Rupert explores the motivations of the men who use prostitutes, talking to self-confessed sex addicts, a married man who enjoys sexual role play with a dominatrix. He also meets a divorced transgender father whose experiences with his ‘straight’ male clients casts a fascinating light on the sexuality of British men and a successful businessman who claims to have spent £150,000 on massage parlour prostitutes in two years. He also meets comedian/actor Russell Brand who talks about his own experiences.

    Commissioned by Sara Ramsden, Commissioning Editor for Specialist Factual for Channel 4, Love for Sale will be produced by Swan Films, executive produced by Neil Crombie and Joe Evans and directed by Michael Waldman.

    Sara Ramsden says: “Rupert has a unique authorial voice and his opinions range from the theological to the ideological. It’s great to see someone stand up so strongly for the dignity of women living with very difficult choices.

  • Gay bar crawls to start in London

    Visiting the London gay scene for the first time or just fancy a night out with some new friends? Then GBC (Gay Bar Crawls) may be what you’re looking for. A guided tour of Soho streets visiting the best gay bars and clubs on offer.

    With so many venues in the heart of London, all offering different scenes, you may be a bit flummoxed as to where to go first. Well GBC have put together a handy tour starting off in a reserved area of a Soho bar giving time for the group to get to know one another and enjoy a few drinks.
    From here the group then tours Soho learning about the famous sites and visiting a selection of bars and clubs. Of course you’ll need more than just one night to enjoy London’s scene, so the tour is a good start to get you settled into the party.

    The tour costs just £30 per person and includes your fist drink, plus club entry, which on a Saturday night is quite a bargain. The first crawl takes place on May 3rd 2014.
    for full details do visit www.gaybarcrawls.com

  • TV: Our Gay Marriage – The Musical

    The stage has been set, the celebrities are popping their faces in with words of support, the registrars are on hand and Jon Snow is singing his heart out in this big gay musical. Is it a celebration? Or does it another stereotyping slap in the face for gay equality? As always, Twitter tells all. Did you think it’s great TV?

     

    ‘love it, certainly making a statement to all who didn’t support #equalmarriage’

     

    ‘All wedding vows should be a musical from now on’

     

    ‘This is actually really poignant and touching’

     

    ‘Our gay wedding is just gorgeous’

     

    ‘Awesome awesome awesome.’

     

    I Don’t…

     

    ‘This makes Love Actually look like Schindler’s List’

     

    ‘Could of been a great idea… I just think it’s cheapened what saturday 29th was meant to stand for…’

     

    ‘Just further implanting the negative stereotype in homophobes minds. A pointless programme…’

     

    ‘The concept was good but a tad cheesy.’

     

    ‘I’m scared the government will overturn the equal marriage act after seeing Our Gay Wedding: The Musical’

     

    So what did you think?

  • Kate O’Mara Who Starred in Dynasty and Absolutely Fabulous Dies, 74

    Kate O’Mara who starred in super camp US. Soap Dynasty has passed away, aged 74.

    Kate O’Mara’s agent has announced to the press that the Dynasty, Ab Fab and Doctor Who actress has passed away aged 74.

    She played Patsy’s sister in AbFab and Alexis Colby’s sister Cassandra Morrell in Dynasty.

    Her agent Phil Belfield said that she died in Sussex following a short illness.

    Recently another AbFab co-star died, Christopher Malcolm, who played Saffy’s father died aged just 67.

  • One Man’s Gay Marriage Protest In Wakefield

    So, it seems, not everyone is happy about same-sex marriage in the UK… As one lone man shows.

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  • One Man Gay Marriage Protest In Wakefield

    So, it seems, not everyone is happy about same-sex marriage in the UK… As one lone man shows.

    A lone man demonstrated in Wakefield against the new law, which allows same-sex couples to marry.

    The @Wakefield_Yorks twitter account uploaded this picture of the white haired man, who wasn’t wearing this season’s fashion, holding a sign saying: ‘No Same-Sex Marriage’ in front of a lesbian couple who are enjoying a kiss.

    Pretty sad we think.

    Yesterday Peter Tatchell wrote about the long fight for Same-Sex marriage, which all began in 1992.

    Dozens of gay and lesbian couples wed yesterday as the new law came into power.

    The BBC reported that 1 in 5 Britons would be uncomfortable or would refuse a wedding invite to a same-sex couple marriage.