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  • Judge Rinder’s show could be heading to the USA

    Judge Rinder Vs Judge Judy – who will be victorious?

    Is Judge Rinder going to the USA?

    It seems as though out and proud Robert Rinder, AKA Judge Rinder could be making his way to the USA as TV execs stateside are eyeing up his show’s success here in the UK.

    Speaking to The Sun Robert revealed that talks about putting Judge Rinder on US televisions are advanced and its overall success could all depend on which network the show lands on.

    He said,

    “The show is in advanced talks to go to America. The difficulty with American television is it’s pot luck.

    “We have a good relationship with a very famous production company but it depends what channel you’re on,”

    The UK judge, however, will have to do some considerable catch up in order to beat US TV’s most successful courtroom shows. With just over 400 episodes, Judge Rinder is going to have to play some serious catch up to Judge Judy’s show which has run for a staggering 21 series with over 5900 episodes and Divorce Court which has over 5700 episodes.

     

  • WATCH | Gay man fighting cancer for a year, get surprise of his life at Pride In London

    This weekend, 21-year-old Dean Eastmond, got the surprise of his life when a video message was broadcast in front of thousands in Trafalgar Square.

    Who is Dean Eastmond, gay man fighting cancer,

     

    At this Saturday’s Pride in London (8th July 2017) Dean Eastmond, a 21-year-old LGBT advocate and journalist, living with cancer, was surprised with a special video from family and friends, which was beamed across Trafalgar Square to an audience of thousands.

    Dean, was diagnosed with cancer last year. 12 months on he’s still fighting the disease, as treatment so far has proved unsuccessful.

    To help raise awareness of Dean’s work in shifting stigma of LGBT people with cancer, social change company, Shape History, teamed up with Pride in London, to surprise Dean with the emotional video.

    Dean Eastmond, following his surprise, said:

    “I was so overwhelmed and shocked! When the drag queen on stage mentioned a 21 year old with cancer, my initial reaction was “oh wow, there’s someone here like me”. It took a while for it to click on that she was talking about me! The video has really shown me how important my friends are to me and (apparently) how important I am to them! I have no idea how they kept it as quiet as they did, but it was a beautiful last moment until I re-start chemotherapy.”

    Mike Buonaiuto, Executive Director of Shape History said:

    “When we first heard Dean’s story we were truly touched and inspired by what he has been working on in spite of going through treatment for cancer.”

    “He’s campaigned and stopped discrimination faced by LGBT people living with cancer wanting to freeze their sperm, he has launched a successful queer culture magazine across the UK for young people, and has written about his struggles going through cancer –  inspiring thousands online in the process.”

    “When his treatment was unsuccessful we decided as a team we had to do something – and spread Dean’s message to thousands more people in Trafalgar Square on Saturday – surprising Dean in the process. It’s our hope more people will find his work and be inspired.”

  • ADVICE | I had sex a couple of years ago and now I keep on getting ill. Do I have HIV?

    A reader tells the doctor that he’s been feeling unwell 3 years after having a sexual encounter with two guys. Doctor Nitin Shori Medical Director of Pharmacy2U.co.uk answers his concerns.

    I always feel ill do I have HIV

    Dear Doctor

    I had sex with 2 guys about 3.5 years ago. Different times just once each both times with latex condom. I have looked up HIV symptoms and I am freaking out. At some point (I can’t remember how close to these events) I had a bad case of tonsillitis with tiredness and fever and I also suffer from seborrheic dermatitis, which is at least 3 years old (although a shampoo called Nizoral controls it).

    How likely is it that I got HIV from these encounters? I have taken a test recently but the wait is damaging my mental health. I can’t eat or sleep and I see symptoms in everything, especially as I get more tired. I even felt I had aids related dementia as my alertness deteriorated.

    Alex, Plymouth

     

    Dear Alex

    HIV is mainly transmitted through unprotected sex (without a condom) and the sharing of contaminated injecting equipment (eg. needles to inject drugs with).

    As you used protection, there is a low risk that you could have contracted HIV from the sex you had. However, you have done the correct thing and got yourself tested. If you have unprotected sex or think you could have been exposed to HIV through penetrative or oral sex, or drug use, it is always worth getting checked out.

    Although there is no cure for HIV, new treatments mean those with the disease can live long, normal and healthy lives.

    If you are anxious about the wait for your results, speak to your GP, who will be able to offer support and advice

    To help prevent HIV, always use a condom when having sex and never share needles or other injecting equipment (spoons, swabs or syringes).

    Stress can cause you to forget things or become tired quickly, so your symptoms could be a reaction to your wait for your results. If your tiredness and forgetfulness continues, speak to your GP who will be able to arrange some simple tests for conditions such as anaemia or a vitamin deficiency.

    Pharmacy2U Online Doctor

     

  • PETER TATCHELL | Is the LGBT community being screwed over by city council?

    Has LGBT Pride lost its way? This is a question more and more people were asking in the run up to Saturday’s Pride London parade.

    What began in 1972 as a protest for LGBT rights has now become an overly commercialised, bureaucratic and rule-bound event; which too often reflects the wishes of the city authorities, not the LGBT community.

    The admirable organisers, Pride in London, are being forced to operate with onerous controls and draconian costs. These have been imposed by the Mayor of London, Westminster Council and the Metropolitan Police, who have dictated conditions that mean a mere 26,500 people will be permitted to march on Saturday This is a fraction of the numbers who’d march if it was a free and open event.

    “LGBT organisations have to apply in three months advance,

    pay a fee and get wristbands for all their participants.

    The parade feels increasingly regimented, commodified and straight-jacketed”

    Nowadays, LGBT organisations have to apply in three months advance, pay a fee and get wristbands for all their participants. The parade feels increasingly regimented, commodified and straight-jacketed.

    The city authorities are also enforcing punitive costs for road closures, pavement barriers, policing and security. They cite safety concerns and the disruptive impact on West End businesses if the parade was allowed to be bigger. Commerce comes first, it seems. Pride must not interfere with making money.

    These excuses are nonsense. There are large political marches in central London, such as last Saturday’s anti-austerity demonstration. They are stung for none of the costs forced on Pride and have no safety problems. Equally, no similar restrictions are placed on the numbers at the Notting Hill Carnival, which is many times larger than Pride.

    The way Westminster Council treats LGBT Pride has a whiff of homophobia. It has a long history of perceived anti-gay bias. Some years ago it banned gay venues from flying the rainbow flag.

    Gay club owners have previously told me the council was unsupportive and seemed intent on degaying and sanitising Soho. Manbar felt victimised by Westminster and was forced out of business in 2015.

    Westminster is, of course, run by the Tories – a party that has done a ‘cash for power’ deal with the homophobic DUP in the north of Ireland. I don’t trust them.

    The dedicated, tireless Pride committee is held over a barrel. They might be permitted to increase the numbers on the parade but only if they stump up loads more cash to the council and police. Westminster council seems to think that the democratic right of the LGBT community to use its streets should come at a price. It even demands compensation for the suspension of parking bays!

    Royal Parks is no better. They won’t allow Pride to use Hyde Park. We are being screwed.

    Compared to 20 years ago, Pride has been dumbed down. For many people, it is now mostly a gigantic street party. Big corporations see it as a PR opportunity to fete LGBT consumers with their flashy floats. The ideals of LGBT equality are barely visible. Last year I counted only ten parade groups with a LGBT human rights message.

    It is sometimes claimed that Pride London is the biggest in the world. Not true. London is one of the smaller Prides in major European cities; being eclipsed in size by Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam and Madrid. Sao Paulo attracts three million people!

    In contrast, Pride London has 26,500 marchers and 80,000 spectators on the parade route. Trafalgar Square, the location of the end-of-parade rally, holds 20,000 people and the Soho streets that host satellite events, around 90,000. Many of these numbers are the same people at different locations. This suggests about 200,000 people in total at Pride; certainly not the one million claimed by the Mayor of London.

    This is smaller than earlier Prides in London. In 1997, over 100,000 people marched in the parade. It took nearly five hours to pass through Parliament Square. Close to 300,000 people attended the post-march festival on Clapham Common.

    Pride is, of course, more than the parade. There are 100-plus events over the Pride fortnight, ranging from concerts to films, sports, exhibitions and talks.

    Pride is staged by an amazing unpaid, all-volunteer team. Some corporate sponsorship is necessary. The parade and festival has to be funded. But are the corporates now too dominant?

    If Pride has gone adrift, we are all partly to blame for not being more involved with the organising committee and not standing up to the city authorities. Perhaps it’s time to revert to the LGBT liberation ethos of the first UK Pride in 1972? I was one of the organisers back then. I’ve marched in every Pride London parade since. This will be my 46th.

    1972 was a carnival march for LGBT human rights. It was political and fun; without all the restrictions, costs and red tape that are strangling Pride today.

    Let’s put liberation back at the heart of Pride; reclaim it as a political march with a party atmosphere. No limits on numbers and no motorised floats. This would dramatically cut costs and bureaucracy, and return Pride to its roots. We can still have a fabulous carnival atmosphere. It worked in 1972. Why not now?

    This is an edited version of an article that was originally published in The Guardian: http://bit.ly/2sPIGjL

    For more information about the Peter Tatchell Foundation and to make a donation: www.PeterTatchellFoundation.org

     

  • VINTAGE CAR REVIEW | Fiat X1/9

    A Champagne Lifestyle for Fiat Money

    VINTAGE CAR REVIEW | Fiat X1/9

    Picture the scene. America sometime in the in the mid 60s. Following many fatal crashes with people being decapitated or thrown out of their cars, the land of the free was talking about banning convertible cars. European companies that imported to the States went into meltdown.

    Open top cars are their money makers.

    The British are doomed.

    The Germans are still selling a lot of drop top Beetles but struggling to sell the expensive 914/4 and 914/6 targa tops.

    The Italians feel unsure.

    Step in Nuccio Bertone and his design house in Grugliasco, Italy. He walks into Fiat with a bold new design. At about the same time a new sports model was being designed in-house at Fiat to complement the soon to be released 128.

    In a backroom at Bertone, a designer named Marcello Gandini has penned a wedge designed 2 seater putting the Fiat 128 engine behind the driver. Nuccio is a persuasive man. His design house is legendary with designing some of the finest cars in the world. Fiat bosses like it. Bertone is to build it. A beautiful marriage is formed and a mid-engined sports car is within easy grasp of the everyday man and woman.

    To be honest the Bertone design isn’t all that new. Mid-engined cars had been around for a number of years for the rich and famous. Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati all offered those people the chance to get close to the ultimate road-going racing car layout. Here, however, was Nuccio with an idea to bring a whole new concept to the masses.

    On its launch in 1972, it was praised for its handling, looks and practicality. It also met the US criteria for open top cars. It was all win win win for Fiat. That strict criterion for open topped cars was soon scrapped. Oh well, what was done was done and without it, we might never have had the X1/9.

    The first cars were fitted with the little 1300cc engine. It liked lots of revving and it was a willing engine alas it lacked the ultimate punch that the looks suggested it should have had. The Fiat 128 coupe could outrun the heavier X1/9 by a few seconds and had a faster top speed too.

    This was addressed in 1978 with the fitment of the Fiat Strada 1500cc engine raising power to 85bhp and the killing off of the coupe. It doesn’t sound a great deal when in 1978 the Golf GTi had 110bhp but the magic of the X1/9 was so alive that the lowly performance figures somehow could match the Golf in many areas including top speed. Up against the new generation of hot hatches, the X1/9 had great handling up its sleeve that helped make up for the lower figures. In some ways, the X1/9 suffers from small man syndrome and gives its best shot in making up for shortfalls in outright figures.

    Even today the looks are the talk of the town. It’s sleek. It has vents in the rear. All panels opened up like a Lamborghini Countach. It has pop-up head lights. The driving position was quite neutral and the seats comfortable and supportive even over long distances. The roof was removable. It was pretty.

    Now there lay the problem. It looked pretty. It soon became known as a hairdressers car and quite unfairly so. Those cute looks and lack of power gave you a sense of security until you overstep the mark. The legendary handling is phenomenal if kept within both yours and the cars limits. The X1/9 will bite you and bite you hard if you take your mind off the road.

    Sports cars were never practical. Boots were small and only squishy bags could be accommodated for those going away for the weekend. Not so in the X1/9. The car possessed a neat trick in its design by having 2 boots. Even with the roof stored in the front, it was still more than enough for more than a weekend. And up until 1982 Fiat even gave 2 matching bags with every car sold. Today they are the ultimate X1/9 accessory to have if you can find them.

    It is an involving car to drive. You can exploit its handling and have fun. In the wet, it needs a lot more care and thought put into the moves. All this happens on skinny 165 section tyres and tyre pressures are essential.

    The example in the pictures is mine. Don’t for one moment think that l am biased and I’ll rave about it being perfect. It isn’t the perfect car by a long shot. It’s called ignition key roulette. It’s temperamental. Sometimes it’ll start on the first turn and sometimes it won’t. You just never know.

    The handling is fun. It has bitten me in the arse when it got a little messy. The cost was a new wheel. The steering is low geared and requires a lot of twirling of the wheel. A quick rack is available and at some point, I will fit one.

    Like all ageing Italians, it needs looking after. The biggest killer is rust. Once rust has set in it can set you onto the road to ruin. The shells have 3 bulkheads that are complex with double and triple skinned areas to increase rigidity in an open top car. Thankfully most body panels are available and there is a good Facebook page and members club out there to help.

    Running faults to date include an oil leak from the fuel pump, carburettor air leaks and coolant leak from ageing hoses. All easy fixes thanks to the mechanicals being basic Fiat 128/Strada and far simpler to repair than a Samsung printer. It’s a great little car for that occasion when the wind in the hair is needed but comes with one major flaw. Just be prepared to correct people when they call it a Triumph TR7!

  • Breaking News: Donal Logue’s transgender daughter found

    Breaking News: Donal Logue’s transgender daughter found

    Popular Gotham actor Donal Logue’s 16-year-old transgender daughter Jade has been found safe and well after being missing for almost 2 weeks.

     

    Embed from Getty Images

    Embed from Getty Images

    Jade, who’s legal name is Arlo, went missing in New York on June 26th. Logue has spent nearly every day of the past two weeks taking to Twitter and Facebook in the search for his daughter, posting numbers to call with any information and begging anyone who knew where Jade was to just let her come home, with no questions asked.

    However, within the last hour, Donal Logue and his representatives have confirmed that Jade has returned home. No reports have been released as to the whereabouts of Jade since she went missing other than she was found nearly 400 miles away in North Carolina. But in a Twitter post, Donal Logue thanked everyone who had been involved in the search for his daughter.

     

  • COMMENT | Can you be Muslim and gay?

    There is a certain taboo within Islam that does not ever get discussed in a positive way.

    You only need to look at recent news in Chechnya to see how gay people are mistreated and abused. Over the past few years there have been increases in attacks on gay people in predominantly Muslim countries, and often people are violently and fatally attacked for their sexuality. Islam paints a picture that it will not accept gay people, and this has been the doctrine of thought for many many years. It is, therefore, a struggle for young gay Muslims, such as myself, to come to terms with our sexuality and faith. I realise the two aspects of my life do not go hand in hand. In fact, the majority of the major religions have no accepting views on homosexuality. From a biological standpoint, I understand this. If everyone was gay then life as we know it would cease to exist. Try as hard as you may two guys cannot reproduce with one another. This lead me to read more about my religion and understand the scriptures that are written in the Quran regarding homosexuality. My hope from this research was to find a way to reconcile the two aspects of my life that were conflicting.

    The Quran relays a story about the people of Sodom and Gomorra. Those that are familiar with Christianity and Judaism will also know of this story. It tells of a place where men were having sex with other men and shunning their wives. God sent the prophet Lot, to these people to show them the error of their ways and persuade them to give up the life of sin. He commented on how lewdness between two men should be punished. The story goes on to state that these people were wiped out as they refused to give up their sinning ways.

    The hadith (which is the sayings and practices of our Prophet Muhammad) states that he cursed effeminate men (Sahih Al-Bukhari, book 72, hadith 774), and that he states that if anyone was committing sodomy (i.e anal sex) that both the giver and receiver should be stoned to death (Al-Trimidhi, book 1, hadith 152). I realise this gives the impression that Islam is a violent and torturous religion, but this is not the case. You have to remember that these teachings and scriptures are thousands of years old and this was a different time. There are also passages that state anal sex is forbidden even if done with a female partner. As a Sunni Muslim, however, I believe in the two major hadiths Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Whilst they do not say you have to kill homosexuals, they are grey on the subject as to whether the punishable act is gay sex or shunning women.

    So the religion is somewhat clear on its status with gay people and homosexuality. Therefore as a Muslim, I cannot be both gay and religious? Well yes and no. Religion is something that people hold dear and people use as guides for their lives. Religion teaches us to be good people and respect others. One can argue that being a good person does not mean you have to be religious and I agree. For me personally, my religion has always been with me, and I understood that before I understood that I was gay. So you may ask how I reconciled it with myself. I went through a particularly religious period of my life. I was praying 5 times a day and not giving into lustful thoughts. However, after a while, I questioned what I was doing. One of the ‘solutions’ to being gay that most scholars say is to not think about it and act on your feelings. Pray more and beg Allah to put you on the right path. Purify your heart and your soul will be cleansed too. Things like this, which sound wishy washy but do work for some people. I tried this, and it didn’t work. I still felt gay feelings, which is natural to me as I was born this way. Heterosexual people reading that ask yourself when you chose to be straight, then ask me when I chose to be gay. If you can’t remember or feel you didn’t have to choose, then neither did I.

    Ergo we were both born the way we were. I can still recall meeting a very religious man when I was 12, who is in the bloodline of the prophet Muhammad and after looking at me for a minute stated that I was ‘different’ to my brothers. Maybe he saw that I was gay? Who knows. But I am different and I am ok with that. So prayer was not helping. I did give it up as my thought was even if I do pray and do everything right, I will still be condemned in Islam for being gay.

    My next factor was my personal happiness. A lot of gay Muslims feel pressure from their families to be married. This is especially prevalent in the Asian communities. I feel the pressure all the time. I could tell my family and be disowned (probably – I have heard of very rare cases when parents have accepted it) or get married to a woman and live a lie. This is the same decision a lot of young gay Muslim men (and women) face. I personally couldn’t do that. It would mean sacrificing my happiness and ruining another person’s life. She would deserve a relationship where she is wanted and have intimacy. Recently I was talking to a guy going through the same thing, and he is due to be married. He was saying how he wanted me to be his bit on the side, and I flat out refused. I am not going to hook up with a married person, regardless if the marriage is a sham or not. He was trying to convince me to do the same as it would hurt my parents if I came out. That is true, but it would hurt more if they found out and I lied, had a wedding and got divorced. I value my happiness, and after giving for so long I wanted to be ‘selfish’ for once and think of myself first. Naturally, I have thought about how it would affect my parents, but my understanding is that parents should always want their kids to be happy, so they may come around.

    So I stood with two choices, be religious and be alone, or be happy and maintain a level of religion I am comfortable with. I chose the second option. This means that I will eventually have a gay relationship, but I also hold the five pillars of Islam to heart. I will fast in Ramadan, I will give charity to the poor and needy, I will believe that there is only one God (Allah), I have performed Hajj (the pilgrimage) and I will pray when I want to. Notice none of these pillars, which are the foundation of the religion, state that I have to marry, and that I cannot be gay and do any of them. But I am a realist and realise the religion will not accept me for my sexuality. I just hope that they will accept me for my good nature and kind actions.

    “I am Muslim. I am gay.

    These are two aspects of a more complex me

    I will still continue to be the best Muslim I can,

    and if being gay leads me to eternal damnation then so be it.”.

    I understand that this post is very contradictory, but in my mind, I have separated the two. I am Muslim. I am gay. These are two aspects of a more complex me. I will still continue to be the best Muslim I can, and if being gay leads me to eternal damnation then so be it. I would much rather live a happy life than lying to everyone. Which to me feels like a bigger sin and it has deceit, possible adultery and soul crushing disappointment. I will continue to hope that my good deeds will be greater than my ‘sin’, but I have accepted that they may not be. It won’t stop me from being a good person however; that will never change.

    This is just my way of dealing with it. I am sure others are confused and may have other thoughts. I would be happy to hear from anyone regarding the issues. Also if I have misinterpreted or misquoted the Quran please forgive me. These were my understanding of the scripture.

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Ping Pong, London

    ★★★★★| Ping Pong

    RESTAURANT REVIEW | Ping Pong, London

    Ping Pong is a restaurant in London where the concept is Dim Sum – food that comes in small bite-sized portions which allow you to eat lots and lots of different types. This is what me and a friend did on a recent Saturday night. We assumed the dishes would be quite small because the prices were quite low – but once the food arrived at our table, we needed a second table to capture the overflow!

    Ordering at Ping Pong is quite simple. You are given a piece of paper with all the dishes and the ones you want just tick the box and give to the waitress and then the food comes out when it’s ready, or as in our case, it pretty much came out all at once. And we ordered 11 dishes. OK, in my own defence the last time I was at Ping Pong I went with 8 other people (this was years ago) and I left the restaurant hungry as everyone had grabbed a piece of this and a piece of that so I didn’t get to eat much food. But this time it was the opposite – we left stuffed!

    Ping Pong’s menu is broken down into several categories. From the Nibbles and Sauces menu we had the Edamame with honey garlic sauce – and for a nice size portion at only £3.75 it was excellent. From the Rice dishes, we ordered the Honeyed Chilli Chicken and Mushroom Rice Pot. At only £6.25, it was a nice-sized bowl and included edamame peas with very tender chicken accompanied by the nice soy sauce. I would order this dish again. Then from the Soup and Salad section, we ordered, for only £5.95, the Purple Power Chicken Salad. It’s gluten free, but thankfully not flavour free – it was very very good. The purple part of the salad comes from the inclusion of rice berries – basically purple rice. At only £5.95, it’s a lot of healthiness in the large bowl which included edamame peas and rocket salad, smoked almonds and cashew nuts, and black eyed beans, plus of course the chicken, and mixed with ginger and soy dressing.

    There was more food to come! From the friend and Griddled section, the Potato and Edamame Cake (only £3.25 for 2) did just what it said on the tin, as did the Crispy Duck Spring Rolls (4 for £5.35) – crunchy and stuffed with duck, cucumber with a nice and not hot hoi sin sauce.

    When you go to Ping Pong you must must order items from the Steamed menu. Buns and Dumplings come in all sorts of flavors and types, and we perhaps with our eyes and not our stomachs ordered 5 of them, and they were all very very delicious and all priced between £3.55 to £4.65 and come in threes, but the highlights for me were the beef dumplings (succulent and delicious) and the Char Sui Buns, stuffed with honey barbecued pork – yummy! My dining companion enjoyed his seafood dumplings (stuffed with snow crab, prawn and scallops with carrot pastry) while we both thoroughly enjoyed the Har Gau (prawn and bamboo shot with a very crunchy coating – one of the highlights of the meal). We also ordered the Long Stem Broccoli – superbly cooked and a generous portion at only £3.95.

    Believe it or not, we wanted to taste something from the Signature and Special dishes – so I ordered us the Crispy Aubergine Bao. You’ve been living under a rock if you don’t know what bao is, but this dish came with three very large bao buns and the point is to stuff the contents into the bao. Well, the contents were superb: cooked aubergines with slices and dices of carrot, cabbage, cucumber and tomatoes and massively generous 6 large aubergine slices – and yes we ate the whole thing, almost. It was superb at only £11.50.

    On a lighter note, dessert was fine. My friend had the Iced Blackcurrant Parfait – it was iced – very hard to eat! But the light cream cheese with the blackcurrant coulis and meringue disc was good, while my tiny Mochi – a Japanese rice cake with mango sorbet inside – was hard to eat because the outer casing was hard, but I got there in the end.

    To wash it all down Ping Pong, as expected, serves almost any sort of drink you want. From Margaritas to sweet juicy drinks to long and short cocktails and the Asian Pimms and Lemonade for two (£16.95) which was what we had, lots of refreshing looking drinks to go with your excellent dinner. Red, White, Rosé wines along with oriental beer (and mocktails) and iced teas and lemonades round out the menu.

    All the food we ate (and we ate a LOT of food) came to only, and I say only £74. As we had so many different varieties and types of food, with so many dishes that overflowed onto another table, that was one heck of a deal. We ate beef, chicken, seafood, and lots and lots of other varieties, it was an excellent and superb value for the money. And there were lots of other dishes we didn’t get to try, but on our next visit, I will remind myself to just order what can fit on one table.

    Ping Pong has branches in Southbank, Soho, Westfield Stratford and Shepherd’s Bush, Wembley, St. Katherine’s Docks and Covent Garden

    To book a table and for phone numbers and address to their various locations, please go to:

    Home

  • Britain’s highest ranking LGBT+ politician sends a message before Pride In London

    Conservative politician, Justine Greening the UK’s highest ranking openly LGBT+ MP has reached out to the community before the UK’s biggest Pride tomorrow.

    Minister for Women and Equalities Justine Greening said:

    “I am delighted to support this year’s Pride celebrations, a key moment to show how far LGBT people have come in the fight for equality. It is also a chance to showcase our country’s values of tolerance, acceptance and openness to the rest of the world.

    “It is also a reminder of the work we still have to do to stamp out homophobic bullying and hate crime, which can have such a damaging impact on LGBT people’s lives. That is why we’re working with a range of partners such as Stonewall, Barnardo’s and LGBT Consortium to stamp out anti-LGBT bullying in our schools. We are educating young people about accepting and respecting each other’s individuality with a £3m anti-LGBT bullying programme and we are investing £300,000 as part of the cross-government Hate Crime Action Plan in programmes to tackle hate crime in communities.

    “I hope everyone across the country has a fantastic time celebrating Pride and the progress we’ve made in the fight for equality, as we build a fairer, more equal future for everyone.”

  • Five totally gay things to do this Pride weekend

    So if you’re going to Pride In London this weekend here’s five other things you should totally check out

    Five totally gay things to do this Pride weekend

    Pride in London isn’t just about the massive parade that’s taking place in the centre of London (although that is a hugggge part of it) there are hundreds of other activities to get involved with.

    1) Saucy Soho Tours

    Up until the 8th of July, you can embark on a tour of Soho and discover why it became the home of LGBT+ life. The tour lasts one hour and 15 minutes and costs £16.25. If you can get tickets pop over to Tate Britain and take a look at the incredible Queer British Art 1861-1967 Exhibition.

    2) Gay Theatre

    If you’ve got the time you might want to stop by London’s only LGBT theatre, Above The Stag. The theatre runs a programme of gay content throughout the year. During pride season, ATS is showing He Shoots He Scores. Tickets are available from £20.

    3) Moonlight Screening

    Watch 2017’s Best Picture, Moonlight. The Prince Charles Cinema is showing a screen of Moonlight, presented by Unicorn Nights.

    4) The Scene

    During pride, you have to get yourself to the scene. Now, a word to the wise, Old Compton Street becomes very, very busy – don’t expect too much room to swing a cat (so leave him at home). To find your closest LGBT venue, download our free bar finder app.

    5) UK Black Pride

    Pride in the park takes place in the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens on the Sunday after the Parade. Pride in the Park is a community-style event with all kinds of entertainment. There’ll be a cake baking competition, sports events, dog show, music, spoken word and food and drink. All in a relaxed atmosphere that everyone is welcome to be a part of.

     

     

  • Guess what this company did with 10,000 post it notes

    If you’re anything like us, Post-it notes are a bit of an office rarity – more valuable than gold. This company just did something kinda cool, but has given us serious stationery jealously.

    A giant installation made from 10,000 multi-coloured post-it notes has appeared today (5th July) at the London office of global communications group Engine, to celebrate the launch of its new LGBT+ network and partnership with LGBT+ charity Stonewall.

    The installation, which was created overnight by 10 staff at Engine’s six storey Great Portland Street office, forms a giant rainbow-coloured ‘Love Happens Here’ location pin across two sides of the building. It ties into this year’s Pride in London ‘Love Happens Here’ campaign, created by Engine’s advertising business WCRS, and will remain in place for the Pride in London parade taking place this weekend.

    Founded by staff from across Engine’s 14 different businesses, the new network has been set up to celebrate Engine’s LGBT+ community and champion a safe, inclusive and positive work environment. It is supported and funded by Engine, and will be organising regular events and talks for staff, as well as working closely with the business’s HR and management teams on policy.

    The launch is part of Engine’s wider commitment to nurturing diversity which has seen the group launch a ‘Better With Balance’ gender equality initiative designed to achieve 50/50 male-female representation in senior roles, through policies that include gender-balanced shortlists for all senior roles, sponsorship and compulsory unconscious bias training. Engine also participates in a number of apprenticeship schemes, the Creative Equals programme, Speakers for Schools and provides inclusive work experience placements throughout the organisation.

    As part of the launch of the network, Engine will be hosting speakers from Stonewall and Pride in London. The company will also be celebrating its current staff by sharing personal stories and messages of support via a twitter takeover with #EnginePride.

    Simon Peck, Group Managing Director of Engine UK said:

    “Ensuring Engine is a diverse and inclusive place to work is incredibly important to us.
    “Diverse businesses are not only better places to work, they are more innovative and more successful, which is why I am thrilled to be launching this next development in our diversity commitment.”

    Dominic Arnall, Head of Projects and Programmes at Stonewall said:

    “The Stonewall Diversity Champions programme aims to help organisations ensure they have thriving and active LGBT+ networks and policies at the forefront of diversity and inclusion.

    “We’re delighted to welcome Engine into the programme and we are looking forward to working closely with them in the future as their LGBT+ network grows and grows.”

     

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