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  • This Is Not A Drill: Kylie To Switch On Oxford Street Christmas Lights

    Gentlegays… Kylie is turning on the Christmas lights on Oxford Street this weekend.

    Gay icon Kylie is to turn on all 750,000 of the Oxford Street Christmas lights on the 1st November. The hugely anticipated event kicks off from 5.30pm. The switching on will take place from outside the PANDORA Marble Arch Flagship store.

    The iconic event promises to excite and entertain shoppers from start to finish with a stellar line up of live performances from some of the UK’s freshest and coolest acts including Foxes, Fleur East, Ben Haenow and Gabrielle Aplin as well as a member of the cast of Matilda The Musical.

    This year’s event will be held on a traffic–free Sunday – inviting families, shoppers and visitors alike to enjoy the start of their Christmas shopping in an enhanced environment along West Oxford Street from 2pm. What’s more over forty high street stores have joined forces to offer exclusive discounts, in-store events and on-street activity for this special day only – free shopping tickets can be downloaded at oxfordstreet.co.uk/oxstshines.

  • FILM REVIEW | Big Eden – a rerelease of a very much beloved gay film

    The award-winning gay romance film Big Eden is celebrating its 15th anniversary by being re-released on VOD and Blu-Ray. ★★★★

    It’s a film that takes us back to the simpler times; pre 9/11, a time when the hardest thing one had to most worry about was being single in a large city.
    Henry Hart (Arye Gross), a very successful NYC painter, and eternally single, finds out that his grandfather, who lives alone back home in Big Eden, Montana, has had a heart attack. So foregoing a big opening for his latest artwork, and much to the behest of his very pregnant assistant Mary (Veanne Cox), Henry jumps on a plane to be with his grandfather Sam Hart (George Coe).
    Going back home, to a state with beautiful lakes and mountains, brings back lots of memories for Henry. First of all, it’s where he met his first love Dean (Tim DeKay), a man who ended up leaving town and getting married. It’s taken a while for Henry to forget about him, including years of therapy. Back home is also where lots of his old friends still live, including Grace Cornwell (Oscar-winning actress Louise Fletcher), now a schoolteacher who was the one who informed Henry of his grandfather’s condition. Henry goes back home to a place that accepts his sexual orientation, times have changed and so has the community. Local busy body Widow Thayer (a very funny Nan Martin) makes it her job to nose into other people’s business and arranges teas for local people to ‘meet.’
    Once she sees Henry back in town she arranges a tea lunch for Henry with the local single women, but when she realizes he’s gay, she arranges a tea lunch with the local gay men. But it’s not any of these men that Henry is interested in. He’s back in town specifically to take care of his grandfather and is not interested in dating any of them. But soon enough he finds out that the very good looking Dean has moved back to town with his two sons. Seeing Dean again brings back memories from the past, and also questions as to why they never got together. Meanwhile, Widow Thayer has volunteered to cook dinner for both Henry and Sam as Henry claims that, being a New Yorker, he simply doesn’t know how to cook. So for the first few nights Thayer makes and brings over dinner, but it’s local store owner Pike Dexter (Eric Schweig) who volunteers to take over the cooking duties. He buys recipe books to make the most delicious meals, meals that he delivers to the Harts but always saying that they come from Widow Thayer. When Pike delivers the dinner, he quickly leaves, never staying to join Henry and Sam when asked to. Pike is something of an enigma in town, he’s quiet, reserved, but at the same time tall and strong. Pike seems to be hiding something, is it something about Henry’s homosexuality perhaps? Henry stays on in Big Eden as his grandfather continues to improve, he appears to be in no rush to get back to New York. Will Henry decide to stay in Big Eden permanently and leave the big city behind?
    Do Henry and Dean finally hook up? Why is Pike to mysterious? And what does Widow Thayer have up her sleeve next?
    Director and writer Thomas Bezucha crafts a beautiful romantic film with characters who could be from anyone’s hometown. The actors are all wonderful in their roles. And it’s a credit to Bezucha and his team that the setting is perfect. Every last detail is thought of and captured on film, and certain shots are set up perfectly, from the beautiful landscapes to the items in the local grocery story. Plus the country and western soundtrack gives the film a perfect flavor. It’s a must that you watch ‘Big Eden’ as it takes us back to a simpler time. It’s one of the most romantic gay films of all time, and proving that yes, you can always go back home again.
    ‘Big Eden has won numerous Audience Awards at several film festivals and in 2001 was named Best Fiction Feature at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and Best American Independent Feature Film plus Best Film at the Cleveland International Film Festival.
    ‘Big Eden’ is available for the first time on Blu-Ray, new HD version for VOD, which includes new bonus materials.
    Available to buy here

     

  • BOOK REVIEW | Educating Simon, by Robin Reardon

    Sixteen-year-old Simon’s life is turned upside down when his mother announces that she’s met and is marrying her new partner. ★

    Brian, Simon’s future step-father is from Boston, USA. Brian can’t move to England too because of his daughter Persie. So Simon is forced to give up Tinkerbell, his cat and Graeme, his imaginary boyfriend. Moving to Boston puts the shared dream of Simon going to Oxford University at risk.
    The dream being shared by Simon and his deceased father. In Boston, Simon’s new life is busy both with school work and socially. As part of his school work he is assigned Toby/Kay to Mentor for a Spelling Bee. Toby/Kay is an eleven-year-old trans person, who feels like he was born in the wrong body and wants to start hormone replacement therapy before he hits puberty.Educating Simon was an idea with a lot of potential, but unfortunately none of its potential was realised.
    Main character Simon writes the story from his perspective in diary entries. His character is un-relatable and doesn’t cause the reader to care about him. The character was also inconsistent. Reardon sometimes getting the mentality, emotional maturity and behaviour of 16-year-old Simon spot on and other times getting it completely wrong.
    All the other characters felt two-dimensional. Toby/Kay’s storyline lacked depth and felt more like it was about having a trans representative than truly telling her story. Educating Simon is overwritten with pacing that crawled along like a snail. The book doesn’t really get started until at least fifty pages in. The sense of relief when the book finally ends was the main sense of enjoyment.
    It’s not the worse book I’ve ever read, but it’s pretty close. This isn’t Reardon’s first book and I would be willing read another on of his books but would have low expectations and be wary.
    Reviewed by Antony Simpson | @antonysimpson

  • First After Hours Gay Club In The UK Will Close For Good After 25 Years

    London’s first after hours nightclub aimed at the gay community in London will close for good tonight as Trade bids farewell after 25 years.

    Gay clubbing experience Trade is throwing its final club night tonight as another landmark gay space closes in the UK’s capital. Having opened its doors in 1990, Trade was the first club in the UK to be granted a 24 hour license.

    Starting life in Turnmills in Clerkenwell, Trade was a weekly event for those on the LGBT scene who liked to continue their partying from 3AM until the afternoon the night after.
    A fave with the fashion, media, art and music crowd, Trade has had fans like Bjork, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Boy George, Kylie Morillo, Rupert Everett and Erick Morillo. It is rumoured to have turned Madonna away at the door.

    To celebrate its impact on the London night life scene and gay culture since the 1990s the “Trade: Often Copied, Never Equalled” Exhibition is at the Islington Museum, London until January 16th 2016.
    TRADE: THE FINAL will take place on Sunday the 25th October from 2PM to 9AM the following day at EGG London.

     

  • LAHORE: Drag Queens Should Do Sex Education In Schools

    LAHORE: Drag Queens Should Do Sex Education In Schools

    In a recent interview with TheGayUK Asifa Lahore Britain’s first out Muslim drag queen said that Drag queens had an obligation to do more for visibility in the LGBT community including doing sex education in schools.

    (more…)

  • Justin Bieber Offered $1 MILLION To Make A Dildo From His Dong

    A dildo maker in the United States has offered Justin Bieber $1 million to advertise its Clone-Your-Own Willy service.

    The star, whose penis recently became the talk of the town has apparently been offered $1 million to represent Clone-A-Willy – a firm which allows customers to clone their own penises and make them into dildos.

    Despite saying that he felt super violated by the candid pap shot taken whilst on holiday in Bora Bora, the Biebs did joke that he was suffering ‘shrinkage’ on the day the photo was taken.

    A letter sent to Bieber’s commercial agent from Clone-A-Willy said,

    “Justin Bieber, he’s popular, talented and now as the entire world knows … quite well-endowed. You can only imagine … a huge billboard of Justin Bieber and “Clone-A-Willy” in West Hollywood. It would surely do wonders to help promote his new album and certainly wouldn’t hurt his “dating” life.

    “We know that Justin is a big celebrity and our offer is commiserate [sic] with someone of his enormous stature,” the letter continues. “We are offering Mr. Bieber a million dollars to endorse ‘Clone-A-Willy.’ “

    So would you buy a Justin Dildo?

  • Fashion Label Perry Ellis Denies Anti Gay and Anti – Black Ad Policy

    Lawyers for the Perry Ellis fashion label have categorically denied claims by a former employee that the firm’s boss is homophobic and racist.

    A former employee is suing the Perry Ellis label after claiming that the company’s president Oscar Feldenkreis demanded that there be “no blacks in my ads” or “anyone who looked too gay”. Cook claims he was “frozen out” after he made a complaint.

    The action is being brought by a former employee, Joseph Cook who claims that he endured highly offensive homophobic, racial and ethnic slurs” from Feldenkreis and alleges that during a meeting to discuss an advertising campaign the president told him he did not want anyone who looked too gay” in the campaign.

    The company, which is named after its gay founder, denies all allegations saying that “it is probably one of the most diverse companies in the apparel business following its multicultural roots, stemming from Puerto Rico and Cuba.”Perry Ellis founded the company in 1978. he died at the age of 46 in New York in 1986.

  • COLUMN: Why I Am Outraged by LGBT People’s Outrage

    If there’s one thing that really annoys me these days, it’s people being ‘outraged’ over things that do not require any amount of outrage.

    Particularly with social networking sites being so popular, it’s easy to log on to the likes of Twitter and jump on a bandwagon of outrage against something.

    This week there have been two stories in the news that have resulted in LGBT people claiming outrage. The first is about the comments that Sir Tom Jones made regarding his former views on homosexuality. In an interview he said he was paranoid about homosexuals in the 50s and 60s when he was starting out in the music industry. When I read the article I had no doubt that he was referring to a certain period in history and that his views are surely more open minded now. However, the outraged brigade failed to see that and leaped on to the Tom Jones bashing bandwagon to call him out for being a homophobe. As Tom Jones himself has since said via his Twitter feed, let’s put this story into context. He was clearly talking about a period in history when homosexuality was illegal and people had very different views to ones that are held today.

    In another part of the interview he said that he soon realised that most people “were normal” before going on to clarify that “homosexuals are normal” and that “he shouldn’t have put it like that”. From my point of view he had said something that could cause offense, realised what he had said and then corrected himself.

    Therefore there’s no issue, right? Apparently not so, as swarms of people took to Twitter to berate him for saying homosexuals are not normal; something which he never actually said. I wonder how many of those people criticising him actually read the article or considered the context of what he said, and how many blindly jumped on the bandwagon of being outraged by something that he didn’t actually say.
    The second story that caught my eye is regarding the calls to ban Germaine Greer from speaking at Cardiff University due to transphobic comments she has made in the past. I’ve long been an advocate of trans rights and actively campaigned on behalf of trans people. However I have to disagree with any calls to ban Germaine Greer from speaking at Cardiff University (or indeed any other university). Although I do not agree with the comments she has made about trans women, I also do not believe in silencing or censoring people who have differing views, regardless of how offensive people may find them. As long as no laws are being broken and there isn’t any incitement of hatred, I am all for freedom of speech. Surely it is much better to organise a peaceful protest or actively challenge Germaine Greer over her views than to act to silence her. Doesn’t that make us as bad as those who act to silence our voices?

    The link between the two stories and the views I hold, is the outrage and offense that people claim they feel. While I cannot tell people what they do or do not feel, I can’t help but think that people need to read between the lines, see things for that they are, and perhaps open their minds a bit more before getting angry.

    Another example is when I recently organised an equality rally in my hometown of Leamington Spa to peacefully protest against a rise in violent attacks on LGBT people. Although not a dangerous place, attacks on the community have been slowly rising over the past couple of years and I decided to do something about it. As well as organising the rally, I also spoke to many local councillors, my MP and the Police to alert them to the situation and call on them to do more to support the LGBT community. The concerns were positively received and in particular the Police were incredibly supportive. They agreed a series of strategies to combat hate crimes against LGBT people, encourage reporting and support the community. I posted about the positive outcomes on social media so that those attending the rally could see what was happening behind the scenes. While the news was welcomed by the majority, there was a sect that became outraged that I would allow the Police to be involved with LGBT people and LGBT events.
    A number of very angry individuals, who were acting on behalf of a militant LGBTQ+ group, began aggressively posting their thoughts on how the Police actively murder people from our community and stated that the Police should be banned from all LGBT events. My response was to again explain the context of Police involvement. I told the individuals that the Police were being supportive of our community and that they were not attending local LGBT events to ‘police’ us. It was about positive community engagement and trying to learn how they can do better for our community. My clarification fell on deaf ears and the outrage of that sect became increasingly intense. Along with their outrage and aggressive posts came personal attacks on me, including racism.

    Ultimately what happened was a group of people became outraged over something they completely missed the context of and refused to listen to any kind of reasoning or explanation. I guess that’s the same in the case of the Tom Jones and Germaine Greer stories; people are becoming outraged over something without really understanding the context or considering the alternatives.

    As I keep saying, the LGBT community is sometimes its own worst enemy.

     

    Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, it’s management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.

  • 12 Campest Moments Of X FACTOR

    Here they are… the 12 campest moments from X Factor

    Another chance for the weird and wonderful to grace our TV screens with glittery performances and outrageous outfits. There has been many a camp moment over the years and this year will no different. Now we take a look back at some of the great, and not so great contestants and their camp moments during the last 12 years.

     

    Chico (Series 2, 2005)

     

    It’s Chico time…You can’t have a camp list without Chico and his time. So naturally his campest moment is Chico Time from week 6. But it comes to something when you can’t even beat the dull as dishwater Andy Abraham who finished second eventually.

    Same Difference (Series 4, 2007)

     

    Well what can one say about the eternally smiling, incredibly close, brother and sister duo Same Difference, who every week the viewers had to be reminded were brother and sister. Their constantly upbeat and sparkly performances really puts them in the camp category, but I would have to say their campest moment would be the performance of “Blame it on the Boogie”.

    Rhydian Roberts (Series 4, 2007)

     

    Rhydian with his jawline that could carve a steak, how do I best describe him? Well his shock of white blond hair made him stand out every week and his operatic style voice propelled him into second place that year to eventually lose to Leon Jackson. He was larger than life and put on quite the show every week. However his campest moment came in week 5 of the live shows when dressed as a sailor he sang The Pet Shop boys classic “Go West”.

    Alexandra Burke & Beyonce (Series 5, 2008)

     

    Not exactly a camp moment in itself, but it got all the gays moist with excitement when Alexandra Burke started singing “Listen” by Beyonce, and low & behold the lady herself glided effortlessly on stage and completely stole the show with her powerful vocals that helped Alexandra win the whole series.

    John & Edward Grimes AKA Jedward (Series 6, 2009)

     

    Oh Jedward, you distressingly annoying pair of idiots. From the word go with their hybrid American/Irish accent I knew I would hate them and every week I willed them to not make it any further. Jedward started the trend of having at least one “entertaining” contestant rather than actual talent. Their vocals harmed TV speakers over the whole country and while it’s difficult to pick a best camp moment out of the many they decided to inflict us with, I’m going to have to go with their dreadful, red PVC suit wearing rendition of “Oops I Did it Again”.

    Diva Fever (Series 7, 2010)

     

    If gay was personified, it would be Diva Fever, who didn’t exactly sing a whole lot. The public were never entirely sure if they were watching a singing act or a dressage performance. They only managed to survive 2 weeks in the live shows but they certainly left an impression with their high camp moments from the auditions through to the live shows.

     

    Katie Waissel (Series 7, 2010)

     

    Song destroying Katie Waissel, who many people think didn’t deserve her place because she rarely made it through a full song during the auditions, managed to outdo herself in the camp factor during week 4 of the live shows. Dressed in a birds nest on her head and bright white eyelashes, along with dancers with inflatable pumpkins she mutilated the theme song to “Bewitched”.

    Wagner (Series 7, 2010)

    I can’t pick one camp moment from Wagner because he did so many hilarious mash-ups of various camp classics. Trouble was, he took himself seriously and thought he was amazing while the rest of the country didn’t. He managed to cause controversy when he described Cheryl as “A girl from a council estate who got lucky” and not long after he was booted from the competition after a series of rants about the show

    Johnny Robinson (Series 8, 2011)

     

    A Kylie Minogue classic, a kimono and a fan that threatened to upstage him, made for the campest moment of this series with Johnny Robinson singing “Can’t Get You Out of my Head”. No other contestant could’ve pulled this off quite like Johnny did, so it made quite the interesting performance.

    Rylan Clark (Series 9, 2012)

     

    Nicole, Nicole, Nicole, why did you do this to us and inflict Rylan upon the world. The perma-tanned, TOWIE wannabe who cried in a very scary way was forced upon us, despite his obvious absence of talent. And most weeks he was there, he murdered camp classics but managed to survive to come 5th. But the controversial deadlock decision by Louis Walsh in week one against the slightly boring yet more talented Carolynne Poole made people start to openly question the validity of the show.

    Stevi Ritchie (Series 11, 2014)

    This time it’s Simon Cowell’s fault. Stevi Ritchie was the one who looked like the creepy, friend of the family who you were forced to call “uncle”. He certainly tried his best each week despite his lack of vocal ability, and his campest moment had to be the strangely Egyptian themed version of “I’m Still Standing”.

    Seann Miley Moore (Series 12, 2015)

     

    Anyone who comes on stage in high heeled boots, a fur jacket and a see-through top has to be a camp moment. Singing The Show Must Go On, he does have a good singing voice, and might actually break the curse of being the irritating “entertaining” one and actually be talented instead. We’ll just have to see if he makes it through to the live shows.

  • COCKTAIL RECIPES | TERRIFIC TANQUERAY

    In anticipation of having a Halloween party this year, me and my partner-in-refined, Grace, got together for an evening trying and testing out some gin based cocktails. (more…)

  • CAR REVIEW | Mazda CX 3

    Mazda are one of the latest manufacturers to produce a competitor for Nissan’s popular Juke crossover.  ★★★★

    Called the CX-3, it promises a more upmarket feel inside and out when compared to the little Nissan or the Renault Captur. Beneath the distinctive styling is the platform of the Mazda2 supermini albeit without that car’s smaller engines.

    While the CX-3 may be roughly the same length as the Mazda2, a more upright seating position gives noticeably more room front and rear along with a bigger boot. Even so, you wouldn’t want to cram three adults in the back for too long especially if they’re tall. Think of it as good for its size but bear in mind a similarly priced Skoda Yeti would give even more space inside.

    The Skoda wouldn’t have quite the same level of style as the Mazda though. While the Yeti doesn’t look bad, the CX-3 is a handsome little thing (even in refrigerator white) that avoids looking like its trying too hard to be different like some competitors. Those looks are carried through to the cabin which proved to be a very pleasant environment to be in. There’s a good selection of high quality plastics and leather effect materials but a few too many hard and scratchy surfaces considering the £17,000 plus price tag.

    The infotainment system is worth a mention though. The screen is touch sensitive but there’s also a rotary controller between the front seats similar to BMW’s iDrive system. It takes a little getting used to at first but proves much more accurate than prodding at a screen over bumpy roads. Menus are attractive and the sat-nav worked very well too; it all seemed a cut above systems from many rival manufacturers including premium brands.

    While an unusually large 2.0 litre petrol engine is available with two power outputs, I selected a 1.5 litre diesel to test. This 105hp unit will likely be the volume seller of the range thanks to its combination of punchy performance and the promise of over 70mpg in front wheel drive guise. Four wheel drive is available but you really need to ask whether the economy and emissions penalty is worth it. Unless you live out in the country or down the end of a farm track, I’d argue it isn’t.

    You might think 105hp isn’t a great deal of grunt but then the CX-3 doesn’t weigh a vast amount; this means 0-62mph takes just 10.1 seconds. It never feels fast but then it never wants for more power either. There’s plenty of grunt from low in the rev-range which makes for easy-going progress on motorways too. As with all cars these days, you won’t be matching the official fuel consumption figures but I still managed 50mpg over around 300 miles on a mixture of roads. I don’t hang about either.

    Unfortunately, handling proved to be a bit of a mixed bag. There’s a fair amount of body roll but it always feels keen and willing to entertain around corners. Over long undulations at speed it feels quite soft and wallowy which lulls you into thinking this will be a comfortable car. Unfortunately over more pronounced bumps and rough surfaces, it tends to fidget and bounce more than you’d expect. A Renault Captur would be more comfortable for sure although I still preferred the Mazda’s sense of fun. It could be better though.

    The Mazda CX-3 is a very likeable little car. I was impressed by the combination of real-world economy and performance on offer; it really was a surprise when compared to rivals. I also felt it looked great inside and out even though the colour did it no favours at all. Unfortunately it is expensive compared to rivals and doesn’t quite have the fit and finish inside to justify the price. I also felt the suspension setup seemed a little unfinished. The MX-5 shows Mazda can clearly make a car that handles, a little of that magic wouldn’t go amiss here. Even so, it’s still my favourite baby crossover.

    Pros

    Handling

    Styling

    Economy

    Cons

    Expensive compared to rivals

    Interior feels cheap in places

    Pricey

    The Lowdown

    Car – Mazda CX-3 1.5 2WD SE-L Nav Diesel

    Price – £20,995 (£21,535 as tested)

    Power – 105hp

    0-62mph – 10.1 seconds

    Top Speed – 110mph

    Co2 – 105g/km

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