THEGAYUK

Search results for: “ ”

  • Locker Room 101: Pride Month Edition

    Locker Room 101: Pride Month Edition

    So it’s June, we’re halfway through the year and it is indeed the most sacred month across the globe, for the LGBTQ community. Yes, it is indeed Pride Month! No matter how you’re choosing to celebrate this month, we at TheGayUK want you looking and feeling your best.

    So whether you’re hitting a circuit party, relaxing by the pool or marching in a parade. We’re at hand with our pick of the hottest underwear, swimwear, and activewear around. To get you in the mood and celebrate with pride!

    1. JJ. Malibu: JJ Pocket Tank Top – BLUE ($18.95 USD)\

    First on our special Pride Month list, is the JJ Pocket Tank Top from JJ. Malibu. Experts in cute and sexy activewear, this brand bring their A-Game when it comes to Pride. The tank is made out of a premium cotton and polyester blend, that’s intended to keep you dry and fresh all day long. Featuring a contrasting navy pocket and pineapple embellishment. It’s also a cheeky conversation starter, pineapples are important in a man’s diet after all…

    Available at: https://jjmalibu.com/

    2. AQUA Swimwear: Southern Cross (£26.73)

    Second on our list, is one for the Aussies. Let’s face it, who doesn’t love a cute Aussie guy in a speedo? For all the Aussie ex-pats or just lovers of sexy swimwear. The Southern Cross trunks from AQUA Swimwear, lets you show your national pride and booty at the same time. Made from high-quality Italian fabrics, these sexy swimmers are guaranteed to hold their shape for years to come. Oh, and did we mention they’re stain resistant! You know in case of any accidental spillages…

    Available at: https://aquaswimwear.com.au/

    Use Code: “GayUK” for 20% off sitewide.

    3. Modus Vivendi: Mix & Match Zipper Short (£55.63)

    Staying strong on the swimwear front for number 3, we have the Mix & Match Zipper Shorts by Modus Vivendi. Definitely a must have, to add a pop of colour to your pride outfit, these shorts are quick-drying and breathable. Allowing you to celebrate into the early hours, whilst staying fresh. If you’re feeling a bit more cheeky as the day goes on, pull the zips up on either leg. Just be careful though, you might end up showing a little too much pride!

    Available at: https://e-modusvivendi.com/

    4. Andrew Christian: Pride Mesh Brief

    (£19.56)

    Would it even be a Pride Month list without mentioning Andrew Christian? The global phenomenon has brought their pride game once again. Never one to disappoint, this year’s Pride Mesh Brief is no exception. Cute, sexy and breathable with a mesh fabric and elasticated pride waistband. You can’t really go wrong with this one. Keep them as a surprise for that special man in your life or strip down and shake your booty at a circuit party. Either way, they will show your um… pride off well!

    Available at: https://www.andrewchristian.com/

    5. Modus Vivendi: Vegan Low Cut Brief (£26.49)

    Now I know this may seem an odd one to include but being Pride Month, I really thought this deserved a shoutout. Personally, I’m not one that has ever understood the whole leather fetish. Despite being partial to a leather jacket. After having my friend Emil visit last year though, I did start wondering about how Vegans could fit into the fetish scene. It’s kind of a moral minefield for them. On the one hand, they are vegan but on the other, they have a fetish that implies they contradict their vegan beliefs. So how do they get around that?

    Well, Modus Vivendi has given an answer. Their new vegan range, simulates the look and feel of leather gear but without harming any animals. I think it’s pretty great they thought about this and gave our vegan brothers an option. Allowing them to fulfill their fetish, whilst staying true to their moral beliefs. Plus did we mention, that they look pretty damn hot!

    Available at: https://e-modusvivendi.com/

  • FILM REVIEW | Gloria Bell

    FILM REVIEW | Gloria Bell

    ★★★★★ | Gloria Bell

    Julianne Moore is simply fabulous as a middle-aged woman going through the motions in the new film Gloria Bell.

    Moore, who excels in every role she plays, is particularly good here in a film that is a remake of the 2013 film Gloria. With the same director, Sebastian Lelio, this Gloria is more nuanced and, with Moore as it’s lead (Paulina Garcia played Gloria in the original film, and won lots of awards), takes this version to another level.

    Gloria is a 53-year old divorced woman living in Los Angeles. She’s an insurance broker with two adult children, one son who just had a baby with a wife who has gone away to ‘find herself’, and a daughter who is getting ready to move to Sweden to be with her boyfriend.

    Gloria willingly attends singles events in the hopes of finding a new man; she’s very attractive and stable, so it should be easy for her to find a quality man.

    She meets Arnold (John Turturro), who appears to be 100% available at the beginning of their relationship but somehow is tied to an umbilical cord to his two adult daughters, and leaves Gloria, literally, in situations she never thought she would find herself in. But nothing else much happens in Gloria Bell. We see her driving around and singing along to the radio, a cat that somehow keeps finding it’s way into her apartment, and an upstairs neighbor who is a bit schizophrenic. But it’s the grace and allure in which Moore plays Gloria that is both mesmerizing and alluring. Moore is very good in these types of small roles (see ‘Still Alice,’ ‘What Maisie Knew,’ and ‘Freeheld’).

    She literally guides us through this film in one of her best ever performances. But it’s at the end of the film, where the camera is squarely focused on Gloria, who is a guest at a wedding. She gets up and dances with herself, a bit sad that she’s alone, but content, and dancing to the tune of Laura Branigans’ 1992 song ‘Gloria.’ It’s an image that lingers with you long after you’ve left the cinema.

    Gloria Bell is now playing in UK cinemas

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Fanny and Stella, Above The Stag

    THEATRE REVIEW | Fanny and Stella, Above The Stag

    ★★★★☆ | Fanny and Stella

    A

    Life Through the Looking-Glass?, Lady Sasha reviews Fanny and Stella, the historic drag exposé at London’s Above the Stag Theatre.

    Has drag always been a drag? Not until now! Frankly, any queen living must be pig-sick of an endless tsunami of Ru Paul wannabees, with drag fiercely embraced as a personal salvation on par with the second coming of Christ! Oh, don’t get your kitty claws and dagger out just now, readers – the last thing you could possibly accuse Lady Sasha of is being anti-trans! My god, you could raise an entire battery-farm of female breasts from the oceans of oestrogen pills I’ve shovelled down, in my ceaseless quest to piss in the collective face of the binary idiocy dividing humanity!

    Still, enough with the rants, but – sexy Satan on a chaise-lounge!- sometimes, a girl just has to justify her out-there, trans-everything status to avoid web crucifixion by media trolls! So – without further ado – let’s excavate the Fanny and Stella back-story, and mercifully, it’s nothing like the fluffy puppy, musical-theatre abortions infesting the West End.

    So, way back in 1870, two cocks in frocks – aka rent-boys en femme- were arrested in drag by a suspicious detective at the Strand Theatre. Shockingly, they were intimately examined at the police station for evidence of anal sex – stained panties and Vaseline, anyone? – then committed for trial.

    But – and it’s a very big butt – here’s where the case becomes surrealistically absurd. Though screamingly obvious the boys publicly dressed in drag to rinse and be treated to prestige events by their tranny-f*cker admirers, the judge – and jury – simply couldn’t conceive that fine, upstanding Englishmen would engage in sodomy with what were seen as pantomime dame entertainers. Why, the mere idea – in the strictest Orwellian sense – was literally unthinkable, a gorgeously naïve, conceptual blindness that we today, quite rightly, should regard as heart-warmingly innocent.

    It’s such a pity, then, that such sexual gullibility wasn’t present at the later, bleakly tragic trial of Oscar Wilde, but for Boulton and Park, the patron saint of homosexuality – the pierced, Ancient Roman martyr Sebastian – smiled on their blessed butt cheeks. In short, they were fully acquitted, and their whole, astounding story- including a townhouse crammed with their besotted fanbase’s gifts of drag and jewellery- is explored in depth in author Neil McKenna’s book Fanny and Stella: The Young Men Who Shocked Victorian England.

    That’s the basis of Glenn Chandler’s Fanny & Stella @ the Stag, a bravura show brilliantly sprinkled with astute, vaudeville ditties. Tobias Charles (Fanny) and Kieran Parrott (Stella) give an incandescent sheen to an infectiously addictive show that hugely benefits from our current, across-the-board, societal embrace of non-diversity culture.

    Forget hackneyed, I Will Survive-style drag clichés and barnstorming; this is drag seamlessly explored as non-binary, gender fluidity, an exhilarating mash-up of male, female and in-between tropes that simply grips from moment one. Fiercely facilitated by producer Peter Bull – who’s constantly championed game-changing drama– this show deserves an immediate, West End transfer! See it now!

    *To June 15: abovethestagticketsolve.com/ , 0203-488-2815

  • Gay couple beaten on top of London bus

    Gay couple beaten on top of London bus

    A same-sex couple say they were attacked on the top deck of a London bus, after refusing to kiss for a gang of men.

    Melania Geymonat and her girlfriend Chris say they were attacked in an apparent homophobic attack in North London.

    The Ryanair employee, Melania said that she and her girlfiend were travelling on the top deck of the bus when a group of men began to harass the couple, calling on the two to kiss.

    When the couple refused, the gang allegedly became violent towards the couple, according to The Metro.

    Melania released a picture of the couple the moments after the attack, which shows them covered in blood with numerous facial injuries.

    Melania said, “They wanted us to kiss so they could watch us. I tried to defuse the situation as I’m not a confrontational person, telling them to please leave us alone as Chris wasn’t feeling well.’

    “The next thing I remember was Chris in the middle of them and they were beating her.

    “I didn’t think about it and went in. I was pulling her back and trying to defend her so they started beating me up.

    “I don’t even know if I was knocked unconscious. I felt blood, I was bleeding all over my clothes and all over the floor. ‘We went downstairs and the police were there.”

    Melania said that at least one of the alleged attackers spoke Spanish but the remaining gang all spoke with a British accent.

    Lewd and homophobic comments

    A spokesperson said, “Police are appealing for witnesses and information after two women were assaulted and robbed in a homophobic attack on a bus in Camden. ‘The incident happened at approximately 02:30hrs on Thursday, 30 May after the two women, both aged in their 20s, boarded a N31 bus in West Hampstead.

    “As they sat on the top deck they were approached by a group of four males who began to make lewd and homophobic comments to them.

    “The women were then attacked and punched several times before the males ran off the bus. A phone and bag were stolen during the assault. ‘Both women were taken to hospital for treatment to facial injuries.”

    Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has information is asked to contact police on 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD737/30May. Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111

     

    LGBT couples don’t feel they can hold hands in public

    CREDIT: © oneinchpunch Depositphotos

    THEGAYUK.com recently conducted a flash poll on social media, asking 200 people from the LGBT+ community whether they felt they could hold the hand of their same-sex partner, where opposite-sex partners could and would hold theirs – and the results are staggering.

    Over 80 per cent (85%) of those who answered the poll said that they didn’t feel they could hold their same-sex partner’s hand in public in the UK. Only 15 per cent of those who answered said they would feel comfortable.

    Speaking about the findings, editor of THEGAYUK.com, Jake Hook said, “What this poll shows is very troubling. Despite LGBT+ people having almost equal legal rights in the UK, our community still don’t feel that we’re societally equal.

    “Gay and bisexual men and women should be able to walk down any street in the UK, where their straight counterparts hold hands and feel that they can do the same without ridicule, attack or comment”.

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Brasserie of Light, London

    RESTAURANT REVIEW | Brasserie of Light, London

    ★★★★★ | Brasserie of Light, London

    The second you walk into Brasserie of Light, (the recently opened restaurant in Selfridges) you are wowed. And the wows don’t stop there.
    Located on the east side 1st flr of the building in a space that used to be a loading bay, Brasserie of Light is not just an amazing looking restaurant, the food is also exceptional.

    Bathed in chrome, glass and some glitter, the room is absolutely stunning (think the Delaunay or the Wollesley, and then crank it up by 100%). But what’s most noticeable is the Pegasus in the room, yes, literally. It’s a behemoth piece of art, created by Damien Hirst (to the tune of £6 million). It’s a 24-foot crystal encrusted statue with a 30-foot wingspan that soars over diners – it’s simply stunning.

    Though Brasserie of Light feels a bit cramped and claustrophobic, once you start eating your way through the menu these thoughts quickly disappear.

    The Starters are amazing. Choices such as King Crab with Avocado and Watermelon (£17.95), and the Chicken Dumplings with Truffle and Citrus (£9.50) are unique to any menu, but it was the Sesame Fried Chicken with a delicious Avocado dip and the Popcorn Shrimp that won us over. The chicken, at an amazingly good £8.50 price, comes with about 10 medium size crunchy chicken nuggets with strips of celeriac sprinkled on top. Divine. Also yummy was the popcorn shrimp (about 10 pieces), which was bathed in a creamy but not very spicy sauce, and for an added Instagram ready photo, a leaf-littered with sesames stuck out on the side. These two starters I would absolutely order again.

    The main courses only upped the ante. While I wanted, and was looking forward to, the Rib Eye Steak, the Thursday me and my friend went, at 7:45 pm, they had already run out of the Rib Eye – very disappointing. So I opted for the Fillet Steak (7oz at £29). It was tender, moist, perfectly cooked and very delicious. My friend had the Pan-fried Sea Bass Fillet, and at £22.95 it was good value for the money. It was served over tomatoes and black olives and fennel, with a warm tomato chickeree, paste on top. She was thrilled about it! Our sides were also very good. Green Herb Salad with Avocado was just that, and my Sprouting Broccoli with Lemon and olive oil (both £4.50 and both very good), but the Steamed Rice and Red Quina was a bit dry (£3.75). But all in all our choice of mains was perfect. Other items on the menu include a delicious sounding Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potato, Aubergine Baba Ganoush with Coconut Yogurt (£13.95), Glazed Swordfish (£19.75) and Chicken Milanese (£17.50).

    The Desserts were filled with light. My Butterfly Flutterby – iced passion fruit parfait with pistachio meringue and vanilla cream bursting with unique flavours was presented beautifully. My friend had the Chocolate Bubbles which was all about chocolate, chocolate (with vanilla ice cream), served in a bowl with a wafer on top.

    Cocktails were exceptional as well. The Passion Fruit Cosmopolitan, one of three drinks highlighted on the main menu, was in a generous large glass (£9.85), while my Immunity Smoothie – non-alcoholic – is one I highly highly recommend (9 healthy ingredients, including ginger and turmeric). It was just refreshing and very delicious, so delicious that my dining companion also wanted to have one. At the end of the meal, I had the classic Expresso Martini, and it was perfectly chilled and just sublime – pure perfection.

    What left is there to say about Brasserie of Light? The service is very good, the ambience trendy (there is a DJ Thursday – Saturday nights if you like to have your meals in a club-like element), and the food, as mentioned above, is absolutely delicious. Brasserie of Light is the next generation Wollesley, with its signature and unmistakable quality and ambience, classic British menu and internationally inspired dishes, style, flavours and service. The Richard Caring Group has delivered another gem of a brasserie.

    Monday – Friday: 8:00 am – midnight
    Saturday: 9:00 am – midnight
    Sunday: 9:00 am t 11:00 pm

    Selfridges, 400 Oxford St, Marylebone, London W1A 1AB

    Home

  • Ann Widdecombe is cancelled

    Ann Widdecombe is cancelled

    Ann Widdecombe has had her one-woman show cancelled after suggesting that science may have an answer to homosexuality.

    Ann Widdecombe has one less opportunity to spread her thoughts after a theatre company, Selladoor, scrapped an event at a venue in Ilfracombe, Devon, where the right-wing politician was due to host a one-woman show, next March.

    The decision to cancel the show follows on from an interview on Sky News in which Widdecombe suggested that science may “produce an answer” to homosexuality – a comment which has led to a huge backlash against the Brexit Party politician.

    Embed from Getty Images

    David Hutchison, Selladoor’s chief executive – posted on Twitter, “Absolutely disgusted at Ann Widdecombe’s comments.

    “Took no time in immediately cancelling her planned ‘evening with’ event at one of our venues.

    “We will never provide a stage for these vile people.”

     

    During her time in office as the MP for Maidstone and The Weald, Ann Widdecombe voted against every piece of pro-LGBT+ or equalising legislation for the gay community in the UK.

    In 2003 she voted to maintain Section 28 in schools and in 1998 she voted against the law to equalise the age of consent. Between 1998 and 2009 she was involved in 17 votes pertaining to LGBT+ rights – 13 of which she voted against and the other four she was absent from, according to theyworkforyou.com

    Ann Widdecombe’s career as an MP was ended in 2010.

  • Theatre Review | Annie – National Tour

    ★★★☆☆ | Annie – National Tour

    It’s a hard knock life for little orphan Annie. Living in the orphanage which is ruled with an iron fist by the devilish Miss Hannigan, Annie longs for the day when her parents will return to find her.  After escaping from the orphanage and as Christmas approaches, she is chosen to spend two weeks with Mr Warbucks, a billionaire, at his home. But when he offers a large reward for finding Annie’s parents, Miss Hannigan plots to grab the money for herself.

    Craig Revel Horwood is suitably sour faced as the gin-soaked Miss Hannigan, as he entertainingly camps it up a little and is clearly enjoying himself. The ensemble cast of children stay on the right side of twee as they all attack the musical numbers with gusto; whilst Sandy the dog received the biggest reaction from the audience as he trotted across the stage.

    As a production, this show has a great deal to offer. With a set that has more than a shade of Matilda influence in it, the production values in this touring show are of a high standard. Nikolai Foster’s direction is steady and assured, the musical numbers are bouncy and vibrant with choreography which is light, fun and varied and the costumes, lighting design and props are all great.

    Production values aside, the show itself is a little dated, rather twee, borders on the sickly sweet and loses some momentum during the second act; but remains a solid family show and a great introduction to musical theatre for younger family members. With a songbook which included Tomorrow, You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile and It’s A Hard Knock Life, this production of Annie turned out to be far more fun and much more entertaining than it had any right to be.

    Annie is at Sheffield Theatres until Saturday 8th June 2019 before continuing on its national tour.

  • Trump called Bette Midler “washed up” and Twitter came for him

    Trump called Bette Midler “washed up” and Twitter came for him

    After apologising for posting an incorrect quote often attributed to President Trump, Bette Midler was attacked by the 45th and called “washed up”.

    Bette Midler
    CREDIT: S Buckley | Depositphotos.com

    A few days ago award-winning actor, singer, activist and all-round gay icon, Bette Midler, posted a meme quote of Donald Trump. The quote on the tweet said, “If I were to run, I’d run as a Republican. They are the dumbest group of voters in the country. They believe anything on Fox News. I could lie and they’d still eat it up. I bet my numbers would be terrific.”

    However Donald Trump never actually said those words. Numerous fact-finding websites, including Snopes.com, have proved the quote to be misattributed.

    Bette apologised, saying, “I apologize; this quote turns out to be a fake from way back in ‘15-16. Don’t know how I missed it, but it sounds SO much like him that I believed it was true! ”

    https://twitter.com/BetteMidler/status/1135590981921837056

     

    But her apology did not sit well with Donald who took a swipe at the “Wind Beneath My Wings” singer branding her a “psycho” and “washed up” before adding that she was a “sick scammer”.

    It did not go down to well and attracted over 30,000 comments with just a few hours.

    Donald Trump tweeted, “Washed up psycho was forced to apologize for a statement she attributed to me that turned out to be totally fabricated by her in order to make “your great president” look really bad. She got caught, just like the Fake News Media gets caught. A sick scammer!”

    CREDIT: andykatz / bigstock

    One commentor tore into the president, saying “She’s got more class in her little finger than you have in your whole body, now fck off home n play with your mates in the KKK” while another added, “Don’t you have a job to do, you childish fckwit? Oh, since you’re so quick to judge others on their physical appearance, you looked ridiculous in your tuxedo at the palace – like Mr Creosote in The Meaning of Life. Look it up. Don’t worry. It’s not a book. It’s a movie”.

    Donald Trump is currently in the UK on an official state visit.

  • Marquee Hire

    Hire a wedding marquee
    Antranias / Pixabay

    Get the perfect wedding marquee. Check out our accredited list of marquee suppliers.

     

    NATIONWIDE

    NORTH EAST ENGLAND

    NORTH WEST ENGLAND

    WEST MIDLANDS

    EAST MIDLANDS

    SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

    SOUTH WEST ENGLAND

    SCOTLAND

    NORTH WALES

    SOUTH WALES

     

    Are you a supplier of wedding marquee?  Click here to get accredited and listed.

    [breadcrumb]

  • Stag and Hens Dos

    Plan the perfect Hen or Stag party with our accredited and reputable party organisers.
    kliempictures / Pixabay

    Plan the perfect Hen or Stag party with our accredited and reputable party organisers.

     

    NATIONWIDE

    NORTH EAST ENGLAND

    NORTH WEST ENGLAND

    WEST MIDLANDS

    EAST MIDLANDS

    SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

    SOUTH WEST ENGLAND

    SCOTLAND

    NORTH WALES

    SOUTH WALES

     

    Do you specialist in Stag and Hen dos? Click here to get accredited and listed.

    [breadcrumb]

  • Hair and Grooming

    Look your finest on your big day. Find the perfect hairdresser and grooming expert.

     

    NATIONWIDE

    NORTH EAST ENGLAND

    NORTH WEST ENGLAND

    WEST MIDLANDS

    EAST MIDLANDS

    SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

    SOUTH WEST ENGLAND

    SCOTLAND

    NORTH WALES

    SOUTH WALES

     

    Do you do wedding hair and grooming?  Click here to get accredited and listed.

    [breadcrumb]

More posts