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  • 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

  • FILM REVIEW | Vivarium – scary, and all too real!

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    Imagine being trapped, held against your will, in a house and a neighbourhood that is weird and creepy. Actually that’s our reality right now, but take it one step further and imagine that there is simply no escape – and what you have then is Vivarium.

    Vivarium literally means an enclosure, container, or structure adapted or prepared for keeping animals under semi-natural conditions for observation or study or as pets; like an aquarium or a terrarium. In the new scary and disturbing science fiction movie Vivarium, Tom and Gemma (Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots) are being observed, studied, but by whom they, nor we, don’t know.

    Before this, they were just a young ordinary couple looking for a house to buy. Gemma was a teacher, while Tom was a DIY man. But one day they walk into a real estate agents office and meet an odd, clean-cut and crisp robotic salesman named Martin (Jonathan Aris) who is more than happy to show them a house at a development called Yonder.

    Once they get there, everything looks and seems perfect; homes all alike in an environment with round clouds and blue skies, while the house Martin shows them is perfect, almost too perfect. But Martin disappears while Gemma and Tom are looking around the home, and they get into their car and realize there is no escaping the neighbourhood. It’s then that their young idyllic future turns into a nightmare as they are forced to live in the house in which they can’t escape from, where food, and a baby boy, are delivered right to their doorstep, to create one happy family.

    ‘Vivarium’ shows a young couple right at their most vulnerable, put in a situation they simply just can’t escape from. Director and writer (with Garret Shanley) Lorcan Finnegan has a keen eye for detail, and as the mystery builds, so does the nightmare of the whole situation. Without being bloody and violent, Vivarium, is just downright scary, but more chillingly as perhaps because it seems all too real.

    Vivarium is available on the following digital platforms:

    iTunes/Apple TV
    Amazon
    Sky Store
    Virgin
    Google Play
    Rakuten
    BT
    Playstation
    Microsoft
    Curzon Home Cinema
    BFI Player

  • Drag Race’s Blu Hydrangea just reenacted this famous shady takedown from Season 1

    Drag Race’s Blu Hydrangea just reenacted this famous shady takedown from Season 1

    And it’s epic.

    Blu Hydrangea is already known to be one talented and shady queen from her time on season one of Drag Race UK, but her new Tik Tok video takes the shade up another level after she flawlessly reenacts that famous reading from The Vivienne to Divina DeCampo about her red hair and silver dress.

    Blu uses one of the most ferocious takedowns in the entire series where The Vivienne says to Divina,

    “To be 100% honest with yer, now that I’ve seen you here, you are twenty times the drag queen you are in the outside world.

    “Because in the last 10 years I’ve seen Divina in a red wig and a silver dress.

    To which Divina comes back with, “Bullsh*t, a red wig and a silver dress? I don’t think”.

    Blu Hydrangea shows just how epicly savage she can be!

    That entire scene is now reacted in glorious Tik Tok fashion with Blu miming along, applying perfect makeup wearing a red wig and silver dress.

    Epic.

    The shade is strong in this one.

  • Drag Queen Fanny Burns celebrates 20 years on stage with cute throwback photos

    Drag Queen Fanny Burns celebrates 20 years on stage with cute throwback photos

    ” If you can work the clubs, you can work anywhere”

    One of the UK’s favourite Drag Queens, Fanny Burns is celebrating 20 years in the business. The Weston-Super-Mare Pride hostess shared the cutest throwback photos and memories of her as “Matt Lewis” at the tender age of 15 and 17, including how he used to sell CDs for a fiver out the back of his dad’s Fiat Punto!

    Taking to Instagram she said,

    “So pre drag … many moons ago, I spent 4 years on the midlands ‘Club and Pub’ scene under the name ‘Matt Lewis’

    Talking about the throwback pictures on Instagram she added, “On the left was the year 2000 – aged 15, and the right 2002 having just recorded my second CD, which we sold out the back of my dad’s Fiat Punto for a fiver after shows.

    “Hardest Gigs”

    The queen also shared that although the audience wasn’t always the most receptive, the clubs were a “worthwhile stomping ground” adding that if you could “work the clubs, you can work anywhere”.

    She added, “These were some of the HARDEST gigs …. no sat navs, no social media, and a crowd that would make Simon Cowell look like a ‘Kids Party Clown’.

    A hard, but worthwhile, stomping ground. If you can work the clubs, you can work anywhere.

    This in mind, 2020 I celebrate 20 years of being an Entertainer, I’m blessed to have made a life out of being on stage

    View this post on Instagram

    So pre drag … many moons ago, i spent 4 years on the midlands ‘Club and Pub’ scene under the name ‘Matt Lewis’ ?? On the left was the year 2000 – aged 15, and and the right 2002 having just recorded my second CD, which we sold out the back of my dads Fiat Punto for a fiver after shows ? These were some of the HARDEST gigs …. no sat navs, no social media, and a crowd that would make Simon Cowell look like a ‘Kids Party Clown’ ? A hard, but worthwhile, stomping ground. If you can work the clubs, you can work anywhere ? This in mind, 2020 i celebrate 20 years of being an Entertainer, im blessed to have made a life out of being on stage❤️ #insta #instagram #flashback #oldpics #olddays #gigging #malevocalist #cd #wmc #clubsandpubs #2000 #lookingback #earntmystripes #entertainment #entertainer

    A post shared by Fanny Burns (@fanny_burns) on

  • DILEMMA | I found my husband’s Grindr profile. Is he gay?

    DILEMMA | I found my husband’s Grindr profile. Is he gay?

    Dear Uncle

    I found my husband’s Grindr profile. I’m just not sure what to do. My husband and I have been together for ten years – we’re both in our mid-30s now. Last week, while he was in the bath – I was looking through his phone for our holiday snaps. He takes such good photography – but I noticed the Grindr app on it.

    I’ve seen Grindr in action before, because some guys at work have showed me the app. I couldn’t help myself and I opened it up – now I wish I hadn’t. He’s been sending pictures of his dick and ass to lots of fellas – and has been getting them back. I haven’t confronted him yet as I’m just not sure what to do.

    Is he gay?

    If he’s bi – I’m not sure I could stay with him – as I don’t want to end up having to share him with other guys. Breaking up at this point just isn’t doable as far as I can see.

    We’ve recently moved into a new house, the mortgage is massive, I couldn’t pay it by myself and I need to live around here because of my work. Any advice would be most appreciated.

    Mandy

    Ⓒ THEGAYUK

    Dear Mandy

    I bet you’re feeling pretty worried and concerned at the moment – and maybe angry too, but I just want you to take a moment and breathe. Before you do anything just take a breather and keep calm.

    At the moment everything is probably tumbling around your head and you’re in danger of jumping to one assumption to another, totally understandable, but here’s the thing, assumptions are the mother of all f**k ups.

    So that you move out of assumption land into hard fact land, you will need to talk to him.

    Before having the talk you should write down everything you want to say and to ask, but you also need to be open to hearing his answers.

    Find the right time to talk

    Find a time which is going to be good for a good long talk between you both. Not at bedtime, not first thing in the morning before you both go out to work. A weekend might even be the best idea.

    There may well be a totally reasonable answer as to why he’s been sharing pics and getting pics sent back to him. Some straight guys love gay men’s attention. Doesn’t mean that they’re gay or bisexual or that they want to move into any type of same-sex relationship.

    What happens if it all ends?

    That said, there’s also the chance that the conversation could lead to an extinction-level event for your relationship. I know that isn’t what anybody wants, but let’s put that on the table too. THEGAYUK recently spoke to some lawyers about next steps, if your husband comes out and you both decide to end the marriage.

    I will say this though, if he does turn out to be bisexual – this doesn’t necessarily mean that he wants to have sex with other men – or for that matter other women. It’s a cliché that many in the bi community are really keen to eradicate. Just because they are in an opposite-sex relationship doesn’t mean that they want to jump into bed with someone of the same-sex. It also doesn’t mean that they’re more likely to cheat on their partner than somebody who is gay or straight.

    Ultimately, your decisions will be formed by the information that you get when you communicate with him. Don’t be rash and whatever you decide sleep on it before making any firm decisions about what to do next.

    Have you got a dilemma you want to share? Click here to ask your question

  • 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.

  • BIG GAY GLOSSARY | Section 377

    BIG GAY GLOSSARY | Section 377

    What is Section 377?

    Section 377 is a British-Colonial Era law which effectively outlaws same-sex, sexual relations between men. It was installed in 41 former British colonises.

    The text of the law reads,

    377. Unnatural offences: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

    Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.

    It is still in place in countries across the world, most notably in Singapore, where activists have tried to have the law dismissed.

    What does Section 377 mean?

    Activists in India were able, in 2018, to have the law struck down, but only after years of campaigning and u-turns from the Government.

    The UN has said that the law defies international law

    The law still stands in Malaysia, Singapore (see Section 377A of the Penal Code of Singapore), Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, and Jamaica.

    Section 377 is the model for similar laws that remain in force in Bhutan, Brunei, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa, Malawi, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka (as Article 365 of the Sri Lankan Penal Code), Ghana, The Gambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia

    Can you expand this definition? Use the comments below and your answer could be used to expand or define this glossary entry.

    Check out more definitions in our Big Gay Glossary

  • Here’s why you keep waking up with erections

    Here’s why you keep waking up with erections

    It’s there, first thing… like an overly eager TGI Friday’s server… waiting to take your order, but why do guys get erections first thing in the morning?

    It’s just a part of life, you wake up and your little fella is already up – aching to be unleashed and go forth into the day, but why do we get these erections?

    Here are five reasons you could be waking up with an erection every morning.

    1) They aren’t actually morning erections

    Why do men get morning erections?

    They are actually night-time ones, called Nocturnal Penile Tumescence. The average man, without erectile dysfunction, has around three to five full lob ons during the night according to the NHS website, each one lasting up to 35 minutes.

    2) It’s thought to be caused by the REM (rapid eye movement) part of your sleep.

    CREDIT: Dmytro-Sidelnikov-bigstock

    The part of your brain that releases norepinephrine located in the locus coeruleus is switched off which could result in boners. The REM cycle tends to happen just before you wake up.

    3) Testosterone levels are at their highest in the AM.

    And that can be attached to how randy you feel. Although testosterone doesn’t cause your duvet pole, it could make you think naughty thoughts – which will lead to a stiffy.

    4) Some people think it’s to stop you wetting the bed…

    Peeing with a raging horn is more difficult so it can perhaps, some suggest, prevent bed-wetting, we’re not convinced.

    5) Full bladder

    A full bladder could be the reason you’re waking with a stonker. It can stimulate part of the spinal cord that could bring on a reflex erection.

  • BIG GAY GLOSSARY | Rimming

    BIG GAY GLOSSARY | Rimming

    What does rimming mean?

    Rimming if you’re not in the know is where one person (the rimmer) licks, sucks, kisses, penetrates their partner’s (rimmee) anus with their tongue. It’s also known as analingus.

    It often forms part of the foreplay part of sex and can help the bottom to become more relaxed before anal sex. and isn’t unique to gay or bi men. Anyone with a butt or a tongue can do it.

    There are a lot of people who absolutely love receiving it and giving it, or both, but it’s not for everyone.

    Can you expand this definition? Use the comments below and your answer could be used to expand or define this glossary entry.

    Check out more definitions in our Big Gay Glossary

  • If you’re on PrEP medication can you just stop taking it?

    If you’re on PrEP medication can you just stop taking it?

    If you’re on PrEP but you’ve decided that you’re no longer hooking up with other guys during the COVID-19 lockdown, we answer whether it is safe to just stop taking the meds.

    It’s official, well actually doctor’s orders, you really shouldn’t be having sex with anyone new to you and outside of your current living arrangement during the coronavirus outbreak.

    The medical director of Terrence Higgins Trust, Doctor Michael Brady, warned yesterday that people have to stop hooking up during the Government-mandated Covid-19 lockdown.

    But if you’re currently on a course of PrEP medication and you’ve decided to heed his words, is it safe to just stop taking them?

    Can you just stop taking PrEP?

    According to THT, many people will be choosing not to take PrEP during lockdown, which is okay, providing you don’t have a specific need like you’re having sex with a partner who has a detectable viral load.

    Guidance from THT states, if you’re a gay / bi cis-male “it’s safe to stop taking PrEP as long as you stop after two full days after you last had sex”.

    If you’re a trans woman, a cis-female, trans man or someone who identifies as non-binary it is advised you wait until seven full days, after you last had sex, before stopping PrEP.

    How can I start on PrEP again?

    Is it safe to just stop taking PrEP medication?

    According to THT advice, “When you’re ready to re-start PrEP, cis gay and bisexual men can re-start with a double dose taken two to 24 hours before sex. For everyone else, you need to re-start with a daily dose for seven days before having sex again”.

    Of course, if you’re concerned about your medication and want further guidance, you should speak to your GP or sexual health advisors.

    Need a HIV at home test?

    Where can I get a free HIV test from?

    The Saving Lives charity has given the readers of THEGAYUK.com a free offer – when you use GAYUK20 you can get an HIV Self Test sent to your home. Just click here to order your HIV Self Test Kit today.

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