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  • FILM REVIEW | Teenage Mutant Nija Turtles: Out Of The Shadows

    FILM REVIEW | Teenage Mutant Nija Turtles: Out Of The Shadows

    TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS – The sequel to the hit family rebooted franchise now in its 30th year about the four amphibians up against Shredder once again and another old favourite bad guy. This is the seventh full length turtle film to date.

    CREDIT: Paramount/YouTube

    Nutshell – The Turtles are still hiding in the sewer from public view acting as vigilantes with their two human and one rat accomplaces. Their nemesis Shredder breaks free of custody, makes it to Dimension X where he meets Krang the ultimate Turtle enemy. He has a device to conquer earth but just needs two more parts and the amphibians out of the way. A breakneck adventure takes them all to the Amazon and back and along the way the Turtle Power team disintegrates and find a way to become human and leave their amphibian lives behind forever.

    Time – 113 mins; Certificate – 12A

    Tagline – ‘Raise Some Shell….Only One Team Can Save Us All’.

    THE GAY UK FACTOR – It’s a family film but the new love interest for April O’Neil is megahunk Stephen Amell playing the ongoing character of Casey Jones. You may know him as Green Arrow from the hit superhero TV series and he is 10 out of 10 in anyones books with an ass built to be rimmed. Hopefully the shirt comes off in the next film.

    Cast – The worlds hottest babe Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Laura Linney, Will Amell and a heavily made-up and barely recognisable Tyler Perry.

    Key Player – The special effects team as you really forget that the four leads are not real and it makes the film truly entertaining. Even more important is the special effects crew producing two of the top five stunt sequences of the year.

    Budget – $135 Million and in this special effects delight it is all up on the screen. Already profited with $150 million and in the top 10 most successful movies of the year and climbing so bring on the next one.

    Best Bit – 0.14 mins; A great action sequence where ‘The Foot’ on souped up motorbikes set about kicking some cop ass to free Shredder from his prison convoy. The Turtles enter the fray and all hell breaks loose. Simply the best stunt scene of the year so far.

    Worst Bit – 0.18 mins; Our first visit off planet to Dimension X which is fine but the problem is Krang himself. As the ultimate bad guy here in a huge robot suit he just looks like Davros with a headcold and easily defeatable. Shredder alone as seen last time around is the perfect foe and there was no need to steroid up the bad team.

    Little Secret – The fan base goes wide – Director Dave Green has been a huge TMNT fan from childhood; he used to dress up as Donatello.
    Kevin Eastman the creator of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” universe all those years ago, appears as a pizza delivery guy.

    Movie Mistake – They get it spot on except for April’s reappearing and disappearing black trousers in the Britney Spears school girl spy tracking scene.

    Further Viewing – Any of the many entries in the Turtle Power cannon, Ghostbusters, Transformers 1-5, Men In Black, Any Marvel or DC superhero film especially the Spidermans.

    Any Good – As with other sequels you will have made up your mind on your interest level when you saw the title alone. If already on board then this is a step up from the last one with some clever ideas and great stunt work, if not then nothing new here to bring you on side.

    Rating – 39/100 (39th out of the last 100 films reviewed with 1 being best and 100 being a damp squib).

    Order it from Amazon

  • Addison Lee showing their pride by turning 30 cars into rainbows

    Will you be stepping into a rainbow taxi this weekend for Pride in London?

    Addison Lee Pride Car 2

    Addison Lee are coming out in support of the gay community by turning 30 of their fleet into rainbow cars.

    The car service is offering a promotional discount code (*PRIDE10) to help revellers get around on the day of the London parade, Saturday 25th June. Addison Lee will also be donating £5 to Pride for every customer that uses that code right until the end of July.

    This, they hope is a visual reminder of the real investment by Addison Lee in its commitment to the vales of tolerance, equality and diversity.

    Addison Lee Pride Car (3)

    Andy Boland, CEO, Addison Lee says,

    “Addison Lee has been proud to serve all Londoners for over 40 years. Pride is a great opportunity for Addison Lee to celebrate that we do more than anyone else in the industry to train drivers about equality and diversity issues.”

    Michael Salter-Church MBE, Chair, Pride in London says,

    “I salute Addison Lee for the journey that it has undertaken as a business. Its equality, diversity and disability training is unmatched within the minicab industry. We are delighted to have Addison Lee as our transport partner, helping volunteers, performers and others to create a successful Pride.”

     

    Addison Lee has worked for the last three years with Stonewall, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender rights charity, to create an inclusive and accepting environment in its vehicles and offices. The company’s determination to ensure that all of its passengers and drivers feel safe and secure has been recognised by Stonewall with the award of Diversity Champion status.

  • Joe McElderry shows off his speedos

    Joe McElderry shows off his speedos

    Joe McElderry continues to defy trolls who said he was getting fat by showing off his incredible body in a series of hot Speedo shots.

    (C) CREDIT: Scott Alder

    Former X Factor, Pop Star To Opera Star and Jump winner, Joe McElderry continues to show trolls who called him fat that he comitted to a rigirous training regime and keeping his body in tip tip condition.

    In 2015, after an appearance on Lorraine, users of social media were quick to criticise the singer for looking as though he had piled on the pounds.

    The singer, who is currently starring in Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat was seen in Weymouth jumping in the sea…with nothing on but a pair of very small swimmers.

    In a reflective moment Joe remarked that he “felt at home with sea air.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BG91vnoPOj2/?taken-by=joemcelderry91&hl=en

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BG916ttPOkU/?taken-by=joemcelderry91&hl=en

     

    This isn’t the first time he’s uploaded pictures of him in the sea, earlier in the year, Joe braved the icy cold sea in April as part of his fitness campaign.

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BGrLfhovOnl/?taken-by=joemcelderry91&hl=en

     

    ALSO READ: Joe shows off his incredibly slimmed down body

    ALSO READ: Joe McElderry shares his Terry Wogan memories

     

  • COMMENT | A journey to Orlando

    COMMENT | A journey to Orlando

    As a writer, I know better than to write about happenings when they evoke intense emotions, straight away. The consequence of this tends to be anger and a skewed message. It tends not to be the truth of what one has to say. So, for days now I’ve tried to keep quiet while everyone around me spoke about the murder of forty-nine people, and the attempted murder of fifty-three others. This is the journey I’ve been on since 12th June 2016.

    CREDIT: WalterPro/FLICKR CC

    Let me get this straight, I’m not from Orlando. I wasn’t even in Orlando at the time of the shooting. I was at home in Liverpool, England, in my bed, probably dreaming about cookies and books. But in the morning, I heard. People in Orlando were dead, shot and killed. People who identified as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender +, and their friends, were targeted because they went to a safe place to be themselves: a gay bar. How many of us have been to gay bars, how many of us go every weekend?

    Within twenty-four hours, many cities illuminated town halls, buildings of importance, with the colours of the rainbow; the rainbow flag hung at half-mast above town halls; people took to the streets with candles and prayers, not just to mark their respects, but more importantly to show solidarity. But underneath those expressions, we held our partners closer, made sure all of our family and friends were safe. We were thankful.

    I had to work hard to avoid interviews with the parents and friends of those who had lost their lives. I wasn’t ready for that, and to be honest, I’m still not ready. It wasn’t until a few days later, when I sat down to watch a news report and heard more about Omar Mateen that the full impact of what had happened struck me, full force right between the eyes. I couldn’t hold my tears back, and had to go out of the room, away from my mum. It could have been someone I cared about, or knew. I thought about my nephews and niece and my friends children, who I’m so close to.

    What world are we leaving for them to inherit? It’s still filled with hate based on a person’s religion, skin colour, background or sexuality. I don’t want that for them, especially if one of them grow up gay. This hate crime wasn’t committed in a country where homosexuality is outlawed, punishable by death. This was America, the land of the free. It could easily have happened here in Liverpool. I became angry and frustrated. How dare he. How dare he have the right to own a gun, bought from a store, and take it to a safe place and gun down innocent people. How f***ing dare he! I was glad he was dead, too.

    It was dubbed a terrorist attack. I don’t know how I feel about that label. When I first heard it, I knew it didn’t sit right with me. This wasn’t a plane hitting a building, or bombs on a bus, this was someone taking a gun, bought entirely legally, to a group of other people. But then, isn’t that terrorism? The purpose of terrorism is to promote terror, and on that night this objective was violently met. I’ve read a dispatch where Mateen states, “… I pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State.” If Mateen has done this in the name of Islamic State, a terrorist organisation, does this not make it a terrorist attack? Or was it a justification, a way to vindicate his actions? We may never know.

    It’s confusing, trying to piece together the fragments we’re fed by the media, and finding the facts among the quagmire of theories and rhetoric is daunting and almost impossible. Inevitably, we are left to draw our own conclusions, which is what I did next. I read more stories about Mateen and his many visits to Pulse, and his profiles on gay dating and sex mobile apps. I told myself there had to be more to it, because of this. I had his reason for doing this all plotted in my head, bound and ready to present to anyone who would listen. Mateen was a man whose supressed sexuality had driven him to violence. In my mind, his lifestyle, his upbringing, perhaps his parent’s staunch religious beliefs meant it was impossible and impractical for Mateen to come out as gay. His mind had become distorted and he was unhappy, seeing LGBT people living as themselves right in front of his face, and nobody batted an eyelid. I was upset that our society would allow organised religions to spout ancient teachings in a modern world, that people like Mateen had nowhere to go to be told ‘it’s okay to be gay, despite what your family and friends think.’ I think organised religion is the most dangerous thing in the world. I believed in my invented Mateen story right up until I started work on this piece, when I’d finally come to accept what happened. I’m just about ready to see the reactions and aftermath of the shootings, the gaps left in family circles.

    Even in the wake of such hatred, there are ripples of abhorrence toward homosexuals from some areas of the world. Twitter was brim-full of Tweets about how the gunman had done right. How ‘fags’ deserved to be killed, and what a good job had been done. Have you ever scrolled through Twitter and found messages of hate about a community you belong to? It’s sickening. Even more sickening that they were still there some days later – no immediate removal.

    I still maintain that Mateen may have been struggling with his own sexuality, and couldn’t cope with the pressure he placed on his own happiness. But then something dawned on me, it plucked at the tattered edges of theories and ideas, and unpicked every loose stitch. Perhaps, I thought, Mateen had visited Pulse, had downloaded gay apps, as a form of research, to get to know faces and names … to plan. Now that idea haunts me even as I type. How horrific. I know that we will never fully comprehend what happened in Mateen’s mind that night, but you know what? I feel lucky …

    I don’t have friends who ask ‘you weren’t in Orlando, why are you upset?’ or ‘it’s not like you knew them’. They get it. I’m a member of a community that has been ridiculed, imprisoned and hurt just for existing. Like any community that has endured this kind of treatment throughout history, we won’t give up fighting and speaking out and kissing our partners, because we know there can be something better; you can’t fight hate with hate because there’ll be no victor.

    As I come to my conclusion, and read over what I’ve written above, I realise something more. I have psychologically processed grief from the time of the shooting up to now: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. That is what separates a human from homosapiens.

     

    Follow Sean Watkin on Twitter

     

    The opinions expressed in this comment piece may not reflect those of the management or editorial of THEGAYUK. If you’d like to write a comment or column for THEGAYUK click here.

  • How the LGBT community is planning to vote on the EU Referendum

    How the LGBT community is planning to vote on the EU Referendum

    Over the past couple of months THEGAYUK has conducted a number of flash polls to see what way readers were tending to skew for the EU Referendum.

    CREDIT: EU
    CREDIT: EU

    Referendum day is upon us and up and down the United Kingdom today millions of people will be casting their votes to secure Britain’s future in or out of the European Union.

    Over the past months we’ve polled our readers in a series of flash polls to get a feeling about how people are planning to vote today.

    Here are our findings:

    Polling date: 23rd March

    How are you likely to vote on EU?

    25% Vote Leave

    61% Vote Stay

    14% Undecided

     

    Polling date: 24th April

    Better In Or Out of The EU?

    82% Better In

    18% Better out

     

    Polling date: 22nd June

    With the EU vote looming are you decided on which way you’ll vote?

    56% Remain

    32% Leave

    10% Still undecided

     

    Live poll:

     

  • Majority of LGBT+ people in UK still feel they need to lie about their sexuality

    Pride in London, in partnership with Quadrangle and Populus, conducted a survey of more than 1,000 LGBT+ people in the UK. The research also discovered that people who are LGBT+ are six times less likely to hold a partner’s hand in public than the rest of the population, and that LGBT+ respondents are five times more likely to have been bullied at work because of their gender.

    Pride in London is one of the city’s biggest one-day events, with as many as 1m people coming to the festival to support the UK’s LGBT+ community. It is run entirely by volunteers, with more than 800 volunteers helping on the day.

    Chair of Pride in London, Michael Salter-Church said,

    “Great progress has been made in the name of LGBT+ equality in recent years, but these figures show the striking reason why Pride is still as important as ever.

    “People in Britain who are LGBT+ still face the need to filter their true selves, and hide affection to their loved ones. At its heart, Pride in London is a community led movement that recognises the struggles and successes of everyone in our community.”

    Marketing Director of Pride in London, and Deputy Chair at Quadrangle Research, Alison Camps said,

    “As well as changing laws we need to change hearts and minds. Pride in London gives us an incredible day to celebrate who we are, and give people the confidence to be proud.

    “This is what this year’s campaign #nofilter is all about. We will recognise those people who must live life under a filter, fight for them, and celebrate a day of #nofilter.”

    David Ames, who plays Dominic Copeland in Holby City, and appears in the #nofilter campaign said,

    “My chosen career asks of me to wear a mask, to tell someone else’s story and to put myself in someone else shoes. Well, that’s all very well when it’s work and I’m being paid.

    “In my personal life, however, I don’t want to have to wear a mask. I want to be the narrator of my own story and I certainly don’t want to wear someone else’s grotty shoes.

    “So, I fully support and applaud this year’s Pride in London for its #nofilter campaign.

    “Showing others that you’re proud, encouraging those who need it to stand tall and making sure those most vulnerable know at all times that, as a community, we’ll do all we can to support you.

    “Leave your filters for your Instagram and go and celebrate being you.”

     

    The research finds:
    74% of LGBT+ respondents still feel the need to lie about their sexuality or gender identity
    2% of the population has been bullied at work because of their gender, compared to 10% of LGBT+ respondents in our survey
    77% of LGBT+ respondents felt uncomfortable being their true self in public, compared to just 23% in the general population
    21% of LGBT+ respondents felt completely comfortable being themselves in all situations, compared with 41% of straight respondents
    75% of LGBT+ respondents were out to all their friends, but only 50% were out to all their colleagues
    Friends are by far the most common group to be out to, and men are much more likely to be out in the workplace (89% of our male survey respondents) than women (76% of our female survey respondents)
    59% of LGBT+ respondents had felt threatened by other people’s attitudes and behaviours towards them, compared with 16% of the wider population
    While only 5% of people think twice about holding a partner’s hand in public, 30% of LGBT+ respondents were uncomfortable with this, rising to 41% of gay men

  • FILM REVIEW | X-Men: Apocalypse

    X-MEN : APOCALYPSE – The Third, Sixth or Ninth helping from the X universe depending on how you are counting them up and this time it’s the end of the world by missile or metal in the earths core we got confused.
    Photo Credit: Alan Markfield.

    Nutshell – A huge cast of characters come together to do battle with Apocalypse a century’s old mutant from ancient Egypt who is backed with his oh so evil four horsemen one of which is regular Mutant bad guy Magneto. Everyone is back but it all turns into a bit of a confused mess to be honest trying to fit far too much in and so many character arcs. Extensive knowledge of the previous films will greatly help as they are referenced throughout but the real problem here is the bad guys who are pretty undeveloped and seem to be massively pissed at the 21st Century for no real reason we could see and boy is it long leading eventually to a pretty weak and throwaway climax.

    Time – 144 mins; Certificate – 12A

    Tagline – ‘Prepare For The Apocalypse; Only The Strong Will Survive’.

    THE GAY UK FACTOR – As with all superhero films you get a load of very fit muscular guys in tight spandex outfits and this film has more than most so all good there. Our faves are Michael Fassbender who is now odds on favourite to be the next James Bond and Nicholas Hoult who always looks so hot and sexually corruptible. Luckily they both have a lot of screen time and they stand out from every scene they are in.

    Cast – James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne and the sexiest new star we have seen for a long while Ben Hardy as Angel plus some famous uncredited cameos.

    Key Player – Michael Fassbender just hogs your attention throughout. In his third appearance as Magneto he could do this in his sleep but luckily this time he has an even bigger character arc to work with. He is now arguably the best actor on the planet and he relishes being a bad guy that you would not want to meet on a lonely dark street or maybe you would ?.

    Budget – A whopping $178 Million which it has just made back largely on the success of the previous titles in the franchise. This will be the least successful X-Men film to date and with no obvious threads as to where to go next so it might get interesting over at Marvel HQ and Wolverine may be getting a phone call.

    Best Bit – 0.10 mins; A great West Berlin sequench of forced cage fighting of mutants against their will that really makes you think you are in for a great movie – you aren’t..

    Worst Bit – 1.50 mins; The last 40 mins is a pretty overpumped uninvolving sequence of action beats that are all lacklustre. Maybe consider leaving early before the Cities of the World are turned to dust killing millions whilst none of the characters really seem that bothered about the death count.

    Little Secret – Although the box office on Apocalypse will be below what was hoped there are already two more X-Men films planned namely X-Force & X-Men: The New Mutants. This is the final part of the ‘First Class’ Trilogy and the future films will concentrate on the new young mutants introduced here.

    Movie Mistake – It all gets a bit questionable when Magneto starts to raise anything metal from the ground but there are so many things which don’t seem affected at all including cars and lorries in the background and then the metallic X-men airplane also seems to be un affected and don’t look to hard at all the English signs in the Auschwitz camp scene either.

    Further Viewing – Any movie with a X in the title or Wolverine, Avengers Assemble, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, Guardians of the Galaxy and everything starring Fassbender.

    Any Good – It has all the right ingredients but boy does it do very little with the great talent, director and budget. This is without doubt the poorest of the series with too many characters and baddies you won’t register with. See it so as you know what is happening in the ongoing series but tbh this is a disappointment and a missed opportunity.

    Rating – 81/100 (81st out of the last 100 films reviewed with 1 being best and 100 being a damp squib).

  • OPINION | Why “They” Matters

    In this game we weathered old showgirls have to sell ourselves to sell seats, giving interviews, waffling away on the radio, and generally generating promotional content (such as this very article) when we have an upcoming performance. There are protocols in place, one mustn’t swear on the BBC, one shouldn’t leave a journalist waiting in Pret for 45 minutes, and one should send one’s press releases out in clear, concise, proper English. Here we get to the cut of the jib…

     

    I prefer the pronoun “they”, with the understanding that it refers to me as a person who recognises themselves to be neither a man or a woman, but both simultaneously. This is pretty straightforward in practice, EG “Did you see La JJ on TheGayUK? Their article was so enjoyably informative! How do they do it?” As such I am using singular “they” in my press releases, to the chagrin of certain writers who feel it is incorrect English and therefore either decline to write about my new hit show GEIST (which is at the Arcola July 2nd & 3rd btw) or else just use the pronoun they feel best suits me, which is actually quite rude when you think about it.

    Perfectly reasonable people, people who are allied to queer and trans causes, will say, “I’m not opposed to using ‘they’ in principle, it’s just that it’s not grammatically correct.”

    But aren’t we already using it on the daily? Don’t we say things like, “Everybody wants to think that they’re cute”? That’s singular “they” right there babes! Technically we should be saying, “Everybody wants to think that he or she is cute”, but obviously we don’t because it’s such a cumbersome mouthful. Yet even that unwieldy sentence is a recent modification, made by the Feminist impulse to rectify a sexist bias in the English language. Why should every writer, “Pick up his pen and set about his work”? Exactly – it’s bulls*it.

    Victorian grammarians set “he” as the universal English pronoun, though a quick Google will tell you from around 1300, and through the Middle Ages, singular “they” was common. Chaucer uses it as does Shakey themselves, as in The Comedy of Errors, when Antipholus says, “There’s not a man I meet but doth salute me as if I were their well-acquainted friend.” Shakespeare chooses to use “they” instead of “his”, just as Jane Austen does countless times, 200 or so years later. Whilst we’re at it why is nobody up in arms over the loss of formal/informal distinctions in English? Why aren’t we upset that we can no longer choose to speak intimately by employing, “Thou art” (in place of “You are”) without coming off as a Fantasy Fiction dork?

    That’s because language evolves babe, for better or worse, even The Washington Post managed to get their heads around “they” when it was pulled into their style guide last year. People start sentences with “And” and “But” all over the shop with little furore arising, though until recently the very suggestion of it sent editors apoplectic. Likewise, when a writer asks if they can interview me, I don’t reply tartly, “No, but you may conduct an interview with me,” do I? (Well not unless I’ve had a double shot in my skinny latte at least). An insistence on alleged grammatical righteousness is actually a determination to prop up the prejudices built into the English language and shrug it off as out of one’s control. By dismissing singular “they” what you’re actually saying is, “I’d really love to help you feel like you have a place in the world, but sadly this copy of Grammar for Dummies from 1909 just won’t let me, sad face emoji.”

    Third gendered, non-binary, trans, gender fluid and transdrogynous people have tried out several new pronouns over the past few decades. From the lumpy “Zir” which was all the rage a decade ago, to Justin Vivian Bond’s famous “V”, and Theo Addams’ playful “tree”. All of those choices are beautiful and valid, but “they” works best for me. It’s already in the language we use, it expresses the multiplicity which many of us gender outlaws experience, and remarkably it’s 100% gluten free. Try it, you might like it! And share it with your lover – they may get a kick out of it too.

    Catch La JohnJoseph in GEIST at the Arcola Theatre 2nd and 3rd July at 8 pm. For a chance to win a pair of tickets to the show, simply enter your name below. The winner will be announced on the 30th June. Good Luck.

    THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED

    Terms of Competition

    1. You have until the 30th June 2016 9:00 AM
    2. Entries made after this time will not be counted.
    3. Winner must be over 18 and reside in the UK.
    4. Offer is not-transferrable and no cash equivalent will be given.
    5. Entry is free of charge.
    6. Winners will be notified by email from TheGayUK by the 30th June 2016 by 2:00 PM.
    7. Winners will have one day to claim their prize. Afterwards, a new winner shall be drawn and previous claims will be forfeit.
    8. All entries will be added to TheGayUK and TheGayShop mailing list which you can unsubscribe from at any time.
    9. The prize is tickets only. Winners must make their own travel arrangements.
  • TV doctor says best option for UK is to vote out

    TV doctor says best option for UK is to vote out

    Doctor David Bull has shown his support for the Leave Campaign ahead of the UK’s EU referendum tomorrow.

    Dr Bull, who is known for presenting BBC’s Watchdog, Newsround and Sugar Dome has spoken out about why he feels the UK should vote to leave the European Union.

    Campaigners for the Out and Proud campaign were out in Soho yesterday to make a last-minute push to help people make up their minds about the impending EU referendum in which voters in the UK decide whether Britain should stay in the European Union or leave.

     

    outandproudletter

    The Out and Proud campaign is a grassroots drive by members of the LGBT+ community who are campaigning to Leave the EU.

    Dr Bull who had been a supporter of the Remain campaign switched sides.

    In his video Dr Bull said,

    “The UK has never really been fully in. We don’t even share the same currency, we have many opt outs and so either you get in or you get out. I think the best thing for us to do is as a Country is to vote Leave.”

    Crispin Blunt MP, Chairman, Foreign Affairs Select Committee said,

    “Britain is proudly at the forefront of LGBTI equality and will continue to be one of the world’s leading proponents of LGBTI rights if we Leave the EU.

    There are some who purposely confuse the debate by muddling the EU and ECHR, and say that by leaving one we will leave the other. This is completely false. The EU and the ECHR are completely different treaties, and there is no question of us leaving the ECHR.

    Outside the EU we will have a renewed positive global role. A role that is more attuned to our people, economic strengths, history and culture. We should Leave the EU to play a positive not a defensive and negative role in the world.”

  • Could homophbia in Scottish schools be a thing of the past?

    Could homophbia in Scottish schools be a thing of the past?

    The campaigning group Time For Inclusive Education has announced a new training scheme today (22 June), as they step up their efforts to end homophobia in Scottish schools.

    Supplied by TIE
    In the week marking sixteen years since the repeal of Section 28 (Clause 2A in Scotland), which banned the discussion of homosexuality in schools, the Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaign have outlined their plans to train school staff on LGBTI issues.

    The scheme will pilot with two free to attend training days in Glasgow and Edinburgh in October, and will be centred around how teachers can tackle homophobic attitudes and discuss LGBTI issues with their pupils in primary, secondary and additional support needs education.

    The course has been created by TIE campaigners and teachers, including John Naples-Campbell, Scott Mowat and Danielle Campbell, who have each been recognised and awarded for their work on equalities education in schools.

    The move marks the first time that a training course which is specific to LGBTI issues has been available to educators free of charge and is inclusive of the additional support needs sector.

    TIE emphasised that the decision to organise training has been the result of working with schools, teachers and young people for the past year, and has been created as a response to the “systematic barriers” which prevent teachers from accessing training.

    A TIE spokesperson said,

    “For a year now, we have been campaigning for the Scottish Government to ensure that all schools are inclusive of LGBTI identities, and while we have considerable political support for our cause – we have encountered some worrying trends which must be addressed immediately. Despite being sixteen years since Clause 2a was repealed, we are still seeing it’s impact in schools across the country. Indeed, we have met teachers who still think that the clause is in place, and we cannot wait for political change before taking steps to rectify this.”

    “Also, as a result of cuts to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) budgets, many schools are struggling to cover the costs of training their staff on LGBTI issues. This is why we have ensured that our course will remain free of charge and will be held out of school hours on Saturdays. Our events are a response to the systematic barriers which prevent schools from becoming inclusive of LGBTI young people, and we would encourage all teaching staff – whether probationary, trainee or currently practicing – to attend in October.”

    Attendees at the training course in Glasgow will be welcomed with speeches from human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar, Scottish Greens MSP Patrick Harvie and the Very Reverend Kelvin Holdsworth of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

    The training courses will be held on the 1st October in Glasgow, and 8th October in Edinburgh.

    The announcement comes after party leaders pledged swift action on TIE’s calls for LGBTI inclusive education last week during a Holyrood debate on the Orlando shootings.

    The campaign has received support from figureheads including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie, Harry Potter actress Emma Thompson and gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.

     

    This aritcle was written by TIE Campaign follow them on Twitter

  • CAR REVIEW | Renault Twingo

    ★★★★ | Renault Twingo

    It’s always a problem when you give a name to a car on review. It becomes personal and trying to be subjective about it is wholly difficult. Its flaws covered up with candy floss and its better bits celebrated with raptures of delight.

    If I lived in Toy Town I would drive a Twingo. In fact Noddy would have one too. In its third incarnation Renault have returned to a layout last seen in 1971 with their rear engined rear drive 8 and 10 models. This car shares a platform with Smarts For4. It’s just been dressed in prettier clothing.

    Turn the key and the engine giggles into life. Now I know that makes it sound like I have lost the plot somewhat and to be fair I have with this little Renault. It’s such an easy car to love.

    ‘Giggles’ as he became known arrived to me with bright red paint, go faster stripes and pretty polished alloy wheels. The stripes and wheels themselves were reminiscent to those offered by Renault in the 1970’s boutique range of accessories. This car possessed some nice retro touches. The rear was very pretty. The front however had the face only a mother could love. The problem is with the daytime running lights that look like he’s had his top lip pierced twice! You’ll soon grow to accept this.

    While I had the Twingo with me I had a party so parked him in the back garden. There were some picky queens whose car delights ranged from all things Citroen, Alfa Romeo and Maserati. With alcohol flowing the Twingo was subjected to a clinic style review. It was thumbs up on a lot of things. Your friends would approve but choose wisely. Despite the being able to accommodate well within the space available, the Twingo is a strict 4 seater.

    Inside was a pleasant change from austere black that is so the norm these days. The Twingo had the options list ticked and came with the red and white plastic inserts on the doors and contrasting red stitching on the seats. The white plastic will get grubby. You can’t deny that so getting the bucket out on a Sunday for a wash and wipe won’t become a bore because you’ll love the little Twingo. Despite living in the sticks I have never once washed a car I had to return but I just couldn’t return ‘Giggles’ to Renault covered in dirt.

    It was easy to get into a suitable driving position. The high backed seats took a bit of time to get used too but after a day or two  it all felt quite normal. What wasn’t was the position of the window switches. No matter how short or tall you are they are always about 4 inches too far back. Thankfully the ventilation system is up to the job. The pop out windows in the rear doors working well in promoting greater ventilation with minimal wind noise.

    The driving experience of the Twingo is unique. It’s not how you would imagine it to be. A rear engined rear drive layout it might have but thoughts of a tail happy little car are not what you get. The stability program is always on and will always get you out of trouble even if you provoke it wildly with enthusiastic movements. What you will prefer though is to drive it in its manual mode. The auto box will still change up and down but it will do so at a higher rev and for this increase in enthusiasm you won’t pay dearly at the pumps. Chances are you won’t notice a difference at all.

    Stuart_Bird-060215ren3

    The auto gear box does however have a few niggles. In traffic it can become a bit snappy if you are heavy with the right foot. At parking speeds it just won’t engage without a little throttle. Several times I “that’ll do” parked it instead of risking ploughing into the car in front. Strangely enough though is that it works better in reverse. Thankfully the turning circle is small so backing into a space is easier. I went out to find small spaces just to drive round and round. It had me laughing.

    Now for the science part. The 898cc engine will make your mother happy. She’ll be happy you don’t have one of those big engined fast cars. What you don’t need to tell her is the little turbo attached to it propels the Twingo at quite a rate in forward motion. It will startle you at just how nippy this little car is. As is typical with a rear weight bias layout though is susceptibility to side winds. It can get buffeted about a bit. This was noticeable at those great speeds it could travel at. Kept within 70mph and it wasn’t such a problem.

    Living with the Twingo is easy. There are cubby holes where you wouldn’t expect them to be and that high rear boot floor that hides the engine is perfect height for loading. It also turns out it is also the perfect height as a seat. The insulation over the engine so epic in its padding that it makes for a cushiony soft seat to sit on and ponder life. It’s also good at not allowing heat into the boot so your picnic and your chilled prosecco won’t be ruined.

    One innovative trick Renault have missed out on is the centre consoles removable cubby box. Add a snap-on strap and you get yourself a swishy Twingo bag for your oddments while also having a handy place for it to go when on the move.

    What did annoy me the most was getting to the service items. The bonnet pulls forward to reveal the brake fluid, screen wash, coolant and battery. It’s a bit of a faff and all items are accessed by leaning over the bonnet. Chances are the coolant will never get checked and the screen wash will always be empty. Normal bonnet hinges would correct this and probably allow for some extra storage up front. Like wise to check the oil you need to go through the boot floor. Removing the floor isn’t as easy as it could be and makes it a bit of a chore.

    Since its launch I had always wanted to test a Twingo and l am glad I did. As a run around this car gets my thumbs up. It also gets the sides of my mouth up too. l can’t stop giggling.

    Likes

    Fun to drive
    Cute
    Turning circle

    Loathes

    Auto box jerky
    Poor access to service items
    Window switch posistion

    The Lowdown
    Car – Renault Twingo Dynamique TCe
    Price – £ £13,900 (as tested)
    MPG – 58.9mpg (combined)
    Power – 90 bhp 6000 rpm
    Top Speed – 104 mph
    Co2 – 108 (g/km)

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