Batten down the hatches, all hands on your AussieBums, and anchors – prudes advised to stay on dry land – aweigh.
CREDIT: Above The Stag
Gareth, Max and Fat Pam set sail for a new adventure on the Mediterranean awash with a couple of love interests in close-quarters. This is up-and-coming Playwright Martin Blackburn’s second production – an all-at-sea sequel to Aright Bitches! – and in Blackburn’s previous style: pummelled with more innuendos than a Navy Officer in the engine room after six months at sea.
Buoyant party-buoy Gareth (Ethan Chapples) is holibobing with new squeeze Drew (Chris Clynes), and giving monogamy a stern-go onboard a queer cruise with two thousand homo-hotties – will either walk the plank of infidelity? Nothing’s ever plain-sailing on this ship.
Max has embarked on a new career as a cabin boy with a firm eye in every porthole and a love/hate taste for his surroundings. Pam (Hannah Vesty) has harpooned the Moby of all Dicks and flaunts new French fiancé Patrice (Simon Burr) from port to starboard causing a splash with the whole crew’s rudders. Straight guy aboard a gay cruise – what could possibly come adrift?
Blackburn clearly knows how to quill a boat-rocking quip, but on this voyage, some of the jokes were washed ashore unnoticed, mainly due to the delivery.
Come aboard this vessel for cock-capers, tampon-tomfoolery and to catch a glimpse of Pam wet wiping her lady bits. This is a camp factor 50 with the potent UVAs radiating from Vesty and Chapples – giving you the Jolly Rogers and the January blues the heave-ho.
Bitches Ahoy is at Above The Stag Theatre until 26th February
Despite turning 65 (we can’t actually believe that) tomorrow, Peter Tatchell has vowed not to retire and to keep fighting the fight.
CREDIT: Monty McKinnen
In a statement the legendary gay and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said,
“I turn 65 on 25 January. This year I celebrate 50 years of human rights activism. Retirement hasn’t entered my head. There is still so much to do. The brain and eye damage from bashings by Mugabe’s thugs and Moscow neo-Nazis is minor and doesn’t stop me. I carry on. My plan is to keep going for another 30 years”.
It seems as though he’s got the fighting spirit and revealed that his grandfather died aged 97 and was active right up until his early 90s. Peter quipped, “I’ve got his fighting spirit and hopefully his genes. So, with a bit of luck, I’ll match or surpass his longevity.”
Peter, who says he’s been violently assaulted over 300 times in his fight for equality has had three arson attacks on his home, over 50 bottles and bricks thrown through his windows and even had a bullet posted through his letterbox.
Talking about his involvement in protest Peter revealed,
“Despite engaging in over 3,000 direct action and civil disobedience protests, and being arrested 200 times, I have only one standing conviction: for the Canterbury Cathedral protest in 1998, which was against the then Archbishop of Canterbury’s support for homophobic discrimination in law. I was convicted under the Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act 1860, formerly part of the Brawling Act 1551.”
Peter is keen to point out that he hasn’t done it all himself and paid tribute to a number of people who have been instrumental in helping him on his crusade.
“Whatever contribution I have made, has never been by me alone. It has always been working with others and thanks to their help. I pay tribute, and express my sincere appreciation, to everyone who has campaigned with me since 1967, when I first began.
“I remember with great admiration and affection the trail-blazing activism for peace, freedom and equality by Pat Arrowsmith, Bruce Kent, Pragna Patel, Allan Horsfall, April Ashley, Simon Nkoli, Anthony Grey, Jackie Forster, Griff Vaughan Williams and Carmel Budiardjo, to name just a few.
Happy Birthday Peter. And Thank you on behalf of us all!
ROAD TRIP!!! It’s the ultimate call to action that remains one of the best ways to explore a country when travelling. For some reason, the thought of piling into a beat up rental car armed with a sat nav and a bag full of snacks has yet to lose its universal appeal.
CREDIT: Google Maps
One of the most popular road trips is the historic drive up California’s Route 1, aka the Pacific Coast Highway. Google it and you’ll instantly be presented with a barrage of stunning images of America’s most popular coastline. The twisting and cliff-hugging route 655 miles long and could be driven in one or two days, but where’s the fun in that? You could easily stretch it out to five days if you wanted to. With countless places to stop for both beautiful vistas and idyllic little US towns, you may as well make the most of your airfare and take your time.
San Diego
CREDIT: pixabay / Public Domain
Starting from the bottom and working your way up tends to be the preferred way to travel, possibly because starting in San Diego gives you the opportunity to relax after what will inevitably be a long and arduous flight from London.
Weather
San Diego is known to have the best weather in the country, and some say even the whole world. San Diego gets over 300 days of sunshine every year, meaning you don’t need to wait until the more costly summer months to get a perfect weather. The average summer temperature is apparently a comfortable 22℃ according to their local tourist board, but I was always baking. Don’t even bother taking jeans, you won’t wear them. Even in the middle of winter, the temperatures won’t drop far below 16℃, so avoid the peak prices and crowds by booking outside of the summer months. You’ll still tan.
Beaches
Here’s a picture of me at the infamous Black’s Nude Beach contemplating life/trying to make out dong from a distance. CREDIT: Nick Baker
There are 33 beaches in San Diego, all of which offer water sports (in the traditional sense) and allow a chance to top up that tan before starting your trip up the coast. Only a few of these beautiful beaches are located within walking distance of the city centre; for the really idyllic ones, you’ll need to rent a car or fork out for an Uber.
The infamous Black’s Beach is San Diego’s premier ‘clothing-optional’ beach, located about three miles north of the popular La Jolla Shores beach. It is one of the largest nude beaches in the US and is frequented by nudists and naturalists from all over Southern California. The beach is situated at the bottom of a steep climb, so prying eyes from the ocean drive won’t be checking out your dick whilst sitting in traffic.
The city itself is a great place to explore for tourists. Balboa Park is home to the famed San Diego zoo, Old Town features plenty of tacky tourists sights of when San Diego was first settled, and the city has a couple of gay/gay-friendly areas. Ok, the whole city is pretty gay-friendly, but the main concentration of LGBT establishments are in the uptown neighbourhood of Hillcrest. Just a few miles north of the city centre it offers a plethora of bars, restaurants, coffee houses, boutiques and unique thrift stores.
Los Angeles
CREDIT: Pixabay / TPSdave
The so-called City of Angels is massive and can be overwhelming if you don’t have a local guide.
Hollywood
CREDIT: pixabay / Unsplash
The first item on most tourists’ agenda will be a tour of the Hollywood hills and a glimpse into the lives of the rich and famous. A word of warning to those who’ve not been to LA before, Hollywood is not as glamourous as you would expect. The hills (both Beverly and Hollywood) are of course gorgeous but don’t expect glam in Hollywood itself. Follow the Walk of Fame long enough and you’ll cross paths with plenty of hookers and homeless drunks. So be prepared. Go on your tour, take the obligatory photos and then get the hell out of there.
West Hollywood (WeHo)
The LA equivalent to our Soho, WeHo is a stretch of the city that reminds you why life’s so much better when you’re gay. The borough of West Hollywood is a cool, quaint and kitschy stretch of neighbourhood that is lined with great cafés, bars, restaurants, shops and clubs.
The Abbey is WeHo’s most (in)famous club which is the perfect place to go day drinking, with hot, topless wannabe actors and models bringing you low-calorie beer. Be warned though, despite their best efforts, the Abbey has become increasingly mainstream. Which means that come nightfall, floods of straight guys in hockey jerseys appear, perving over the crowds of single girls in skimpy dresses. Time to move on to other, more genuinely gay gay clubs.
Hiking
Jpeg
OK, it may seem like a weird topic to include. But going for a Saturday morning hike is something of an LA tradition, and a great way to get exercise and take in some truly amazing views of the city. There are plenty of trails to choose from, I did a relatively easy route in Franklin Canyon Ranch that doesn’t let you see the Hollywood sign, but still gives a pretty good view.
Pacific Coast Highway
The highlight of the road trip is when you finally hit the road and get onto Route 1. That cool ocean breeze is a welcome treat as you bid LA a fond farewell and begin your drive up the Pacific Coast Highway. On your way up to San Francisco, you’ll pass by a few perfect places to stop and either spend the night or simply a few hours taking in the view.
Tip:
In my humble opinion, having made the trip a couple of times now, you’re far better spending your time and travel budget on this part of the trip, rather than adding extra days to your stay in the bigger cities. Not only are smaller towns WAY more affordable, but they allow you to explore a much more unique element of the States than just another big city. But that’s just me.
Ventura and Malibu
CREDIT: pixabay / denvit
Just a short jaunt from LA are these two perfect pit stops on the coast. Ventura is an ideal spot to do some surfing, or stroll through historic Downtown Ventura and explore the vintage boutiques and second-hand stores, and Malibu is just several miles of gorgeous sandy beaches, piers, luxuriously extravagant weekend homes and super healthy restaurants that remind you just how close Hollywood and LA is.
Santa Barbara Santa Barbara is a personal favourite of mine, providing a welcome respite from big cities and long car rides. With the Santa Ynez Mountains providing a dramatic backdrop, this beach town is populated by Mediterranean-style white stucco buildings with red-tile roofs that reflect the city’s Spanish colonial heritage. For nature lovers, there’s the Santa Barbara Zoo, Botanical Gardens and Lotusland, and for culture lovers, there’s the Lobero Theatre, the Arlington Theatre and Santa Barbara Historical Museum. For booze and bargain lovers, the city’s main street, State Street, is lined with upscale boutiques and restaurants offering local wines and seasonal fare. So why not park the car for the night and partake in some world-renowned Californian wine?
Pismo Beach
Nearby Pismo Beach is another slice of Americana that accidentally turned out to be one of the best nights out of my life (it involved beer served in buckets, George Michael karaoke and an overly-friendly group of bikers… don’t ask). Known to some as the ‘Clam Capital of the World’ I’d only heard of Pismo Beach as Bugs Bunny’s ideal summer destination.
If you want to get the real road trip experience then Pismo Beach is a must. With plenty of restaurants, ATV rentals, wine tasting, fishing, surfing, skydiving, bowling and mineral springs all waiting for you, it’s a great contrast to the sophistication of Santa Barbara.
Big Sur
CREDIT: pixabay / tpsdave
The most beautiful stretch of the highway is also the most challenging. With views like these, it’s hard to keep your eyes on the road (which we thoroughly recommend as there’s a significant drop if you don’t). There are plenty of spots to stop along the way such as Ragged Point, Point Sur State Historic Park, McWay Falls and Pfeiffer Beach.
If you have the time, I’d really recommend taking a few days to relax and enjoy this route, but even if you don’t, the drive itself is beautiful. At one point we found ourselves actually driving through, and then on top of the clouds. It was bizarrely beautiful and one of the most amazing views I’ve ever seen.
Monterey
CREDIT: pixabay / thuyhugens
Monterey is well known for its Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve and the Old Fisherman’s Wharf. But while the town itself isn’t overly exciting, it provides a great pit stop for exploring the scenic ‘17 Mile Drive’ that offers you the opportunity to go whale watching, sailing, kayaking, golfing, and just have a leisurely mooch around cutesie seaside villages, shops and cafes.
Santa Cruz
CREDIT: publicdomainpictures / pixabay
About an hour and a half drive away from San Francisco lies the slice of Americana that is Santa Cruz. The old-school 60s vibe is especially strong along the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, with plenty of vintage goodies to be found and a charming/tacky feel that is an essential part of any great American road trip. The Wharf is a great place to start for restaurants and shops and if you have the time you can go on a whale watching boat or fishing expedition.
San Francisco
CREDIT: pixabay / tpsdave
So here we are, at last, the gay capital of America, and some say the world, San Francisco. Despite what I said earlier about not spending too much time in the big cities, San Francisco is one place where I’d break my own rules. The city is an eclectic mix of tourist sights and hipster spots, with a healthy sprinkling of gays throughout.
Castro
CREDIT: pixabay / agentv
So if San Francisco is gay heaven, then the Castro is the gay … Vatican I guess? The centre of LGBT society and culture is here, and the beautiful California weather (mixed with some beautiful California men) make it the perfect place to start you gay excursions in the city. By day you could spend hours perusing antique shops and frequenting trendy cafés, and by night there are so many gay bars and gay clubs that you won’t know where to start. Badlands, 440 Castro and the coyly named Moby Dick are just a few places to whet your whistle and make the most of your English accent to score free drinks (however in my experience the Americans still prefer a Scottish or an Irish accent, so if you can fake either of those that could work out better for you).
Touristy Stuff
I won’t go into too much detail about the infamous city by the bay, as that would take up another 10 pages. The touristy spots could pretty much be seen in a day if you were really efficient and had an active Uber account, but like most cities, it’s far more enjoyable to take your time and really soak up the city. The Golden Gate bridge is a sight that you’ll need to see up close, mainly because most of it will be enshrouded in fog.
The Golden Gate Bridge peaks out of the fog CREDIT: Nick Baker
Fisherman’s Wharf is great for seafood and pointless touristy crap you might want to buy, and Alcatraz Island is an interesting day trip out if you’re wondering how prisoners were incarcerated between 1933 and 1963. Union Square is brilliant for people watching and Lombard street is essential for an “I’ve been to San Francisco” selfie.
There are loads of things to do in San Francisco, so just take your time, get lost and enjoy yourself after your long drive.
Holding the Man is a play by Tommy Murphy (Strangers in Between) that was also made into a film in 2015.
It’s based on Timothy Conigrave’s 1995 memoir, an elegy to his late partner, John Caleo. The pair met as teenagers in 1970s Australia and fell in love, facing parental disapproval, trying to find where they fitted into society and experimenting with their sexuality. Sadly, Conigrave died aged 34 from an AIDS related illness shortly after completing the book. This is more than just a play about the AIDS crisis, though. It’s a tender love story and a reflection on the problems faced by young gay people, which is still pertinent today.
Director Sebastian Polka has taken a clever starting point to staging this play. The play is wide in its scope, covering Tim’s Catholic school upbringing through to his death, looking at his first experiences of the gay scene and gay activism, his career as an actor and the highs and lows of his relationship with John. Polka takes Tim’s acting career as a point from which to present the characters with the stage being a dressing room where Tim conjures up scenes from his life. Tim is played with skill and sensitivity by lean and angular Christopher Hunter along with astonishingly good muscle hunk Paul-Emile Forman as John. The astonishing thing is that this is Forman’s professional debut and he gives an incredibly subtle and nuanced performance. The rest of the characters from Tim’s life are played by four actors who constantly change clothes and accents along with their roles.
It’s an interesting play that is well staged but ultimately the problem lies in the play itself. It’s a major task to try to present twenty-five years of a man’s life in such detail in one play.
The focus on so many events ends up detracting somewhat from the whole effect and leaves it feeling oddly bloodless. The actors barely have space within the dialogue to convey much and the piece occasionally feels superficial and has less emotional depth than it could have.
Police are looking for two men they want to speak to after a man was subjected to a homophobic attack in Oldham, Manchester.
Manchester Police
Police say a 21-year-old victim was subjected to a homophobic verbal and physical attack in Greater Manchester. Police are looking to speak to two men in connection with the incident which happened in Oldham in November 2016.
Officers in Oldham, Greater Manchester, have now released images of two men they wish to speak to in connection with the attack.
At around 6.35pm on Saturday 5 November 2016, police were called to reports of a hate crime that occurred at around 3.20am that morning, outside a club on Yorkshire Street, Oldham Town Centre.
A 21-year-old man was in a club with his partner when an altercation ensued between himself and three other people.
Following this, two men were ejected from the club.
CREDIT: Google Maps
The victim then went outside with his partner for a cigarette, where the altercation that began in the club continued before he was repeatedly punched in the face and had homophobic abuse hurled at him.
A short time later, the victim was walking along Yorkshire Street when a further confrontation ensued.
He was taken to hospital with facial injuries.
One of the men is described as white, aged between 20 and 25-years-old and was wearing a blue t-shirt.
The other man is described as Asian, between 5ft 8in and 5ft 9in and also aged between 20 and 25-years-old. He is of a chubby build and was wearing a shirt.
Police Constable Laura Cheetham of GMP’s Oldham Borough, said,
“We have been carrying out our enquiries for more than two months now but need the public’s help to make further progress.
“I’d encourage anyone who recognises the men in the CCTV images or the description of the men who were in the area at that time, to get in touch with us.
“We take reports of hate crimes extremely seriously and I’d like to stress that it will not be tolerated on the streets of Greater Manchester.”
Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 8922 101 quoting reference number 1940 of 05/11/16 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Gary Barlow seemingly blocked X Factor hottie, Sam Callahan after he wished him a happy birthday and tweeted a picture of Gary Barlow in the altogether.
Okay, in the interest of not posting fake news, the photo-shoot was legit and from a saucy magazine photoshoot that Take That did back in the 90s. However and for some reason, for which we’re not sure, Sam decided to post a picture of his own naked magazine shoot as well.
Well, apparently the tweet didn’t go down well with Mr Barlow, who then blocked Sam. Leaving him feeling a little, well, awkward.
Gary Barlow is currently heading up BBC’s reality talent show, Let It Shine, a search for a boyband to play in a musical loosely based on the story of Take That. It goes head to head with ITV’s The Voice on a Saturday night. However, it’s not been doing too good in the ratings. Last weekend it managed just 5.3 million viewers with a peak of 5.7 million.
A young man attempts to trace his roots in the moving and excellent film Lion.
Dev Patel is Saroo Brierley. He’s adopted by Australian couple John and Sue Brierley (David Wenham and Nicole Kidman) and vaguely aware that he had a life in India when he was a very young boy – it’s all just a very distant memory. Now in his 20s, and in college, him and his friends (including girlfriend Lucy – Rooney Mara) have a discussion about their origins, and Saroo tells his classmates that he was adopted and born in India, and probably still has family there, but he hasn’t been there since when he was a little boy. This puts a spark in his head to try to find out where in India he comes from.
There are still a few very vague images in his mind he can recall from his childhood, and especially from when he got separated from his brother (a water tower, a train station). Saroo sets about determined to discover where he’s from and starts to map out India until he can pinpoint an area where he believes he came from.
But this is the not the entire movie. The first half of the film has Saroo as a little boy (played amazingly by Sunny Pawar), who along with his brother Guddu (Abshishek Bharate), are lost, so Guddu goes in search of help, and leaves Saroo on a train platform. Saroo falls asleep, then wakes up a bit disoriented, and calls out for Guddu, but he’s nowhere to be found. Saroo walks around the train station calling out for Guddu, but then ends up falling asleep on a train that accidentally takes him 1,000 miles away to Calcutta, taking him far away from home, far away from Guddu, and far away from his life.
Lion, as mentioned above, is a film with two halves; Saroo as a child and Saroo as a young man. And the first half of the film is simply amazing. It’s all down to Pawar, who as the young Saroo, after losing his big brother Guddu, is lost and confused and scared and aimlessly wandering around looking for food and trying to survive. He knows no one, is totally lost and alone, and is very very frightened. Eventually he is taken in by an orphanage which is where the Brierley’s adopt him and take him to their home in Australia, which is when the second half of the film begins.
Pawar deserves a Supporting Actor nomination or a special child Oscar for his sensitive and heartbreaking portrayal of Saroo (Jacob Tremblay in last year’s award-winning Room didn’t receive either but deserved one). Pawar is excellent. Patel is very good as the grown-up Saroo who is determined to find out where he comes from. Patel here proves that he was not just a one-hit wonder in the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire. Kidman is fine as his adoptive mother, but it’s hard not to look at her on screen and think you’re seeing Nicole Kidman and not the character she is playing. The screenplay, adapted from the book A Long Way Home, written by Saroo Brierley, and adapted by Luke Davies, tells the story in a way that will tug at your hearts more than any other film this year. Director Garth Davis (who has done mostly television shows) directs with such a fine balance of drama and emotion that it’s a perfect film which tells a true story that truly deserved to be told. It’s the best film of the year.
A little known anti-gay law looks like it’s going to get scrapped and it’s known as the last anti-gay law.
Oi Oi Sailor!
The UK’s last anti-gay law is looking like it’ll get scrapped. The law actually allows shipping firms to sack a “seafarer on a merchant navy vessel” for an act of “homosexuality” and it was introduced in 1994 by the Conservative government of the day, led by Prime Minister John Major. It is known as the “last anti-gay law” because it was actually the last anti-gay law to be passed in the UK.
Equality laws, such as the Equality Act 2010, that have been introduced since 1994 have actually made the law defunct, but it remains on the statute books.
A group of MPs want to make it officially defunct.
Conservative MP John Glen said he wanted the law to be scrapped because being gay has no impact on a person’s ability to doing their job and told MPs that there was no place in society for employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.
He said,
“When it comes to employment, in the merchant navy or anywhere else, what matters is a person’s ability to do the job—not their gender, age, ethnicity, religion or sexuality.
“Many will be surprised—astonished, even—to learn that this anomaly still remains on the statute book. There is no place in our society today for employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.”
There is no provision in the law that exists for heterosexual acts.
Bata-Nominated actor Gorden Kaye has passed away at the age of 75. The star was best known for playing René Artois in the TV comedy ‘Allo ‘Allo!
Kaye, born in 1968, appeared in all episodes of the TV comedy ‘Allo ‘Allo! as well as hundreds of stage performances of the same name. In his 1989 autobiography, he talks about his acting experiences as an overweight, shy and gay man.
Other roles included appearances in Coronation Street, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Till Death Do Us Part and camp classic Are You Being Served?
Of course, he was best known for his role as Rene in the hit sitcom, ‘Allo ‘Allo! which followed the fictional exploits of a cafe owner and his staff (and wife) in German-occupied France during World War Two. The show ran for 84 episodes and a stage version of the show.
The star’s former agency confirmed to the BBC that he died at his care home on Monday morning. He was 75.
THEGAYUK’s former cover star Danyl Johnson has been announced as a contender for the UK entry to Eurovision 2017.
Danyl Johnson, who fronted Issue 24 of THEGAYUK, is the running to become the UK’s entrant to the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest with his song, “Light Up The World”. It’s v v catchy!
Will he be successful in representing the UK in Kyiv?
You can vote for Danyl on the BBC show Eurovision: You Decide on the 27th January at 7:30PM.
It looks as though Tom Daley could be the latest victim of an online leak after he admitted to The Sun that he had cyber sex with another man.
The Olympic hero Tom Daley has admitted that he sent compromising pictures for an online “romp” with another man according to The Sun, after a video emerged of Tom stripping off. Tom told The Sun that it, “will never happen again” after he rekindled his romance with his fiancé, Dustin Lance Black.
According to reports, Tom had chatted with a guy from Liverpool, who has not be named, during a seven-month secret split from his fiance, Dustin Lance Black. The duo are now back together and have set a date for their wedding.
Fans of the loved-up pair had no idea that the couple had even split. It’s now become apparent that they split for a period of time previous to Tom’s Olympic appearance in Rio 2016 and during the production of Dustin’s latest TV project, When We Rise. Despite the split, Tom’s social media was full of pictures of the two looking happy, leading fans to believe that they were still together.
He told The Sun,
“It was the two biggest years of our lives work-wise — it was my Olympic year and Lance was filming his mini-series for ABC called When We Rise, and distance can be hard sometimes.
Tom said that he had confessed the online romp to Dustin and insists that he never physically met anyone in real life and that it was all online.
Speaking to The Sun he said,
“I’m 22 years old, and if you talk to someone through social media it is what it is. It was nothing more than that. We never physically met.
“But in the modern world this is what can happen — things are more accessible online, and distributed, and they spread like wildfire.”
The couple is now back on track and preparing for their wedding.
The person who leaked the pictures could find themselves in criminal trouble after then culture minister Ed Vaizey said image owners of leaked social media would be able to sue anyone who released pictures without the consent of the image owner.
We spoke with lawyer, Phil Gorski at Blacks Solicitors last year who told us,
“Last year there was a new piece of legislation introduced, which actually set out the specific crime of revenge porn. There is a specific charge that can be brought and so the option is there and should probably be taken if the information has been distributed to a large number of people.
“What the legislation says is that where you’ve got photographs and the phrasing is, “… of a private or sexual nature …” That doesn’t mean you have to be showing intimate body parts or anything like that. It can be in a sort of context that’s perceived to be sexual.
“If they are disclosed and it’s done without consent and the purpose of disclosing them was to cause distress or embarrassment, which when you think about it, it would be very difficult to not be the case. Then, there’s a potential crime that’s taken place.”
