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  • No One Is Born Gay: Says US Gay Cure Group On Billboard

    A US-based “gay cure” organisation, PFOX.org has bought ad space on a billboard in Virginia, which proclaims no one is born gay.

    Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays have bought billboard ad space in Richmond, VA, that say that gay people aren’t born that way.

    Writing on their website PFOX states,

    “Identical twins have the same genes or DNA. They are nurtured in equal prenatal conditions. If homosexuality is caused by genetics or prenatal conditions and one twin is gay, the co-twin should also be gay … because identical twins are always genetically identical, homosexuality cannot be genetically dictated. No-one is born gay.”

    According to their website, thousands of individuals have made the decision to leave ‘the homosexual life’ and can confirm that change is possible.

    So-called ‘gay cures’ have long been debunked by doctors and scientists. Last year Doctor Christian Jessen filmed a documentary for Channel 4, where he uncovered various treatments to ‘cure’ homosexuality. All of which he found to be useless, and with no scientific proof that they worked.

    Gay cure can range from reparative therapy to ‘shock’ treatments. In July a man who was ‘treated’ for homosexuality in the 1970s, talked to the BBC about his ordeal administered by the NHS and the damage it had done to his life. The 69-year-old said the treatment had made him feel that he was, ‘going to pass from this life without ever having a full relationship with a human being.’

    A statement from Jamie Machut, Vice President of Lamar Advertising Company, the owners of the billboard responded to criticism about allowing the advertisement saying,

    “There are no plans for billboard to come down,

    “Please keep in mind that the advertising is a message from PFOX and not Lamar Advertising Company. We support the First Amendment right of advertisers and believe that it is in the best interest of our company and the communities we serve to accept advertising copy openly.”

  • THEATRE REVIEW: Northern Ballet’s Peter Pan, Leeds Grand Theatre

    Join Peter, Wendy, Michael and John as they fly off against a backdrop of stars to Neverland in search of adventure. Teaming up with the Lost Boys, the friends are never far away from Captain Hook and his band of pirates, who have a score to settle with Peter Pan. But as the battles ensue and the Lost Boys are captured by the pirates, it is down to Peter Pan to save the day, with a little bit of help from Tinkerbell. ★★★★

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  • One Million Pounds Set Aside For Male Rape Support Services

    More than £1 million is being provided to specialist rape support organisations across England and Wales as part of the first ever fund to help male victims of rape and sexual violence.

    Approximately 75,000 men are victims of sexual assault or attempted assault a year according to data from 2012/13 while 9,000 men are victims of rape or attempted rape each year according to figures released in 2013, yet police figures show fewer than 3,000 offences of male rape or sexual assault were recorded in 2013/14.

    The Male Rape Support Fund was created by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to help tackle the taboo that surrounds male victims of sexual violence and encourage them to seek help. We also hope this will encourage more male victims to report the crime and bring their offender to justice. It will help increase male victims’ access to crucial information, myth busting and emotional support – either in person, or online if they find that more accessible.

    Twelve organisations have been successful in securing funding totalling more than £600,000 over 2 years to provide face-to-face support at centres across England and Wales, increasing the availability of advice and counselling for men who may not previously have been able to find help.

    A further £400,000 over 2 years will be given to Survivors UK to help them create the first national website and online support service specifically tailored to help men who have suffered rape or sexual abuse and ensure that no matter where they live they will be able to access help anonymously and at a time that suits them.

    Victims Minister Mike Penning said. “Latest estimates show that more than 1 in 10 victims of rape or attempted rape every year are men. Yet few come to forward to report it or seek help. I want to change that – it’s vital these victims are helped to cope and hopefully recover from what is a hugely traumatic crime.

    “Creating a fund specifically for male victims will encourage them to break the silence on a topic still seen as taboo, as well as help those organisations already doing excellent work to increase the availability of that support so any man can get help wherever he is in England or Wales.”

    The website will provide clear information specific to male victims, carers and professionals, and include statistics, a “myth-busting” section, short films discussing some of the issues and a series of animated client stories.

    A safe online community will also be created for men to talk about their experiences and recovery, as well as space for survivors to blog about their experiences and how they have coped. There will be a web-chat service to provide online emotional support, a text-chat service, access to phone counselling and signposting to national counselling services.

    The Male Rape Support Fund is part of MOJ’s campaign to Break the Silence around male rape and sexual violence, launched earlier this year. This was supported by Channel 4’s Hollyoaks which was the first British soap to feature the issue of male rape in a storyline.

    This fund sits alongside our funding for Female Rape Support services which were the subject of a coalition pledge. This commitment to creating 15 new female rape support centres was met this year – and more than £4 million has been provided each year to Female Rape Support Centres since 2010.

  • Man Thrown Off Building To His Death After IS Accuse Him Of Being Gay

    Sickening images have emerged from Iraq, of a man who was thrown off a building, to his death, after ISIS find the man guilty of being gay.

    Images released by Islamic State (IS) have shown a man plunging to his death after being accused of being gay, and found guilty by an Islamic Court, in Northern Iraq.The punishment for his crime was to be thrown off the tallest building in the town, following by stoning.

    The unnamed man, who is seen to be bound with his hands behind his back, is thrown off the roof of the building, whilst up to ten people overlook the operation. The Islamic court also ruled that the man should be stoned to death for his crime. The picture above shows the man surrounded by rocks and stones.

    The barbaric punishment was read out loud in the streets, by balaclava-clad IS fighters, in a town believed to be in Northern Iraq. The punishment read that he should thrown off the highest point in the city for being gay.

    The images appeared on the Internet just hours after a report which detailed the the abuse of CIA detainees was released by the US.

    It is not known if the man died immediately from his injuries.

  • Christian Pastor Tells Gay Man To Commit Suicide

    Government’s Job To Kill Gay People Says Christian Pastor

    A shocking anti-gay rant by Christian Pastor Logan Robertson, in which he states every single gay person should be put to death, has been reported in New Zealand.

    A Christian pastor from the WestCity Baptist Church in New Zealand was initially approached by author Jim Marjoram, who reached out to over 400 churches to interview for a book he is currently writing when he received a shocking response from Robertson that said, “We are not interested in your filthy lifestyle or book,”
    “I pray that you will commit suicide you filthy child molesting fag.”

    An openly gay journalist, Matt Mclean then approached the pastor for comment and was told by Robertson, that he would “never give an interview to a filthy faggot”.

    However, in an interview later in the day he further laid out his point of view on gay people saying they should be put to death and that Christians shouldn’t be the ones to put gay men to death, but it was the responsibility of the government.

    He went on to explain, “I think every single one of them should be put to death,
    “Christians shouldn’t be doing it, I’m not going to do it, it’s the government’s job to be doing it.”

    The national leader of the Baptist Churches of New Zealand, who said that the comments were appalling, has challenged his comments and the church’s alignment to the Baptist Church in New Zealand. They stated that WestCity was not part of its organisation.

  • VIDEO: Slightly Amazing Gay Pick Up Lines

    Are your pick up lines so old that you cannot get laid?

     

    Well to help you through the Christmas Party period American You Tube vlogger Hat has put together a list of hilarious brand new lines to get you noticed. Here’s one example, ‘You remind me of a Sudoku puzzle, because even if you’re HARD I’m going to finish you in 30 seconds!’

    He guarantees if you use his gems you will get laid, or punched on the nose… (but hey, some guys like that too).

    In the video Hat shares his favourite lines and includes a very funny reaction shot from an unimpressed lad, who calls him inappropriate.

     

     

     

  • INTERVIEW: La Voix

    INTERVIEW: La Voix

    Having been on the scene a number of years now, La Voix won the nation’s hearts on Britain’s Got Talent this year performing with the London Big Band, sadly losing out at the Semi-Finals, but concreting her career as one of the UK’s top drag acts. Of course, there was only one question we could ask first…

    Has the cheque become bigger?

    Of course it has, I’m not gonna lie. I mean, two years ago I was working as a makeup artist and I was doing the odd gig here and there. Now two years later La Voix is full-time. It’s what I do. I’ve got an office space I rent, a PA for bookings and invoices and It’s crazy, It’s like the world of camp gone mad.

    Do you get a lot of gigs with the London Big Band or do you now work alone?

    The immediate after-mass, the band took a break because it was a long rehearsal, you can imagine trying to get twenty-five of us together for rehearsal was hell because they’ve all got jobs. Next year we’ve got lots of exciting bookings together. We’ve got theatre tours all up and down the country, but this year for me has been majority solo.

    Is there any bitching from the other queens on the scene, since your new found fame?

    I get a mixed reaction. I think I’m half loved, half hated. I’m very ambitious and I’m not scared to let people know that. Sometimes people think that It’s a bit of a bitch but I think I’d say I’m a bit of a diva, but not a bitch, I think there’s a difference. I just think It’s about time, if the drag scene is gonna move forward, like it has done in New York with Ru Paul’s Drag Race, we need to step it up. I think it can be a little bit ropey over here. Like I said on Britain’s Got Talent I think you can get a bit of a naff vibe and there’s some great acts out there and some great talent but it just doesn’t get the light of day really.

    Drag had been fading from the public consciousness but seems to have come full circle with popular TV drag shows. Was there a fear in the drag community that the art was dying out?

    I came into the cabaret scene quite late off the back of wining Drag Idol in 2012, so I’ve really only been on the gay scene as an act for two years, which is quite short compared to a lot of the names who have done ‘20-25 years darling’, to quote Danny La Rue. When I joined I didn’t realise there was such a big scene and it opened my eyes. You’d imagine going to Soho and it’d be dripping with drag shows and drag bars but there’s a lot more on the outskirts with your Clapham, your Camden, your Brighton. I thought drag was definitely on its way out but I think its gone a bit more main stream with Ru Paul’s Drag Race, and it’s bound to come over here in some form at some point.

    Well, we know that Ru Paul’s Drag Race is coming to the UK, so what are your thoughts on that?

    Do you know what? I am more than prepared for it. I’ve been preparing for this for more than a year. I’ve taken sewing classes. If that comes about without a doubt I’ll be going hook line and sinker to get on that show. I like a competition.

    Are you any good at sewing?

    No, I am one of those lazy ones that has everything made for me. I literally, no word of a lie, started an evening sewing class. I’ve got a sewing machine and this is literally all in preparation for whet Ru Paul’s Drag Race comes to the UK. I think it’s such a great opportunity to get the drag back out there. I mean, just look at the work those guys get for being on that show, why on earth you’d be a drag queen and not be on it I do not know.

    Do you think that Simon Cowell would make a good drag queen?

    No! He’d be horrendous I mean look at his style as a man. Imagine what he’d be like as a woman. No.

    Taking in his shape and size, is there any advice you’d give him if he was looking for a moment in drag?

    Oh My God. He’d just have to wear a huge cover all and lots of ostrich to try and cover that shape but he should definitely keep his flat top hair style. He could maybe be the first lesbian drag look.

    You came about during Drag Idol in 2012, so were you doing drag at all before then?

    Yeah. I was a resident down at Madame Jo Jo’s on a saturday for seven years, but I don’t think people knew I was down there really because it’s very much a non-gay crowd now, like all stag and hen nights. It was very choreographed and stylised and I was quite snobby about the cabaret scene for a long time. I didn’t want to be part of that ‘singing in a pub’. I came from a theatre background and had my degree and I very much wanted to be a serious actor for a while. The drag thing, it sounds corny, kinda found me. I was working as a make up artist and also a singer and it just happened, I put the two together. I didn’t realise how lucrative it was and how much work you could get otherwise I would have done it years ago. So I’m absolutely loving it.

    So where did the name come from?

    I was really inspired by a retired lip syncer in America who, although I’m a live singer, I was just amazed by his You Tube. He had red hair and a 50s look and I was always very honest that I literally stole that image because it was so iconic and I think gay men are so intrigued by your Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, but there’s not many acts that actually embody that 50s era. With his name being Lip Syncer and what he did was lip syncing, I quite liked the the idea that his name told you what he did and I thought my point of difference was that I sing live, which is not that different in Britain but it certainly is in the States. We were just playing around with the voice, singing and different languages and we just came up with that really.

    Where are you from originally?

    I’m from the North East, Stockton-on-Tees

    And do you ever get to go back?

    Yeah, It’s a very small scene because Newcastle is 45 mins up the road and Leeds is about 45 mins to an hour the other way, so you’re in between two quite prolific cities really that have got quite good scenes. You’ve got the odd one or two bars, the one that’s gay on a Tuesday night, so It’s very small. However, what was wonderful was this year, off the back of telly, I headlined the Middlesborough Community Pride, which is one of the first gay prides they’ve ever done in the North East.

    Did your folks attend?

    Yeah, they walked the gay parade march with me this year and that was lovely. My mum tries my dresses on. The first thing she does when she comes to london, oh let me try this on, let me try this one on.

    So you haven’t just burst from no-where, you’ve almost got one foot in the older more established drag queens camp and also a foot in the new crop of queens that have come about, because of TV, so looking back at the ‘heritage’ queens, the Dave Lynn the Titti La Camp, is there anyone who’s your favourite?

    Well Titti La Camp, who hosted Drag Idol, was a wonderful support for me very early on. I remember having this phone call with her and she went through every single cabaret venue in the uk from the North to the South saying this stage is like this and this town’s not very good, this town’s good, this is the money you need here this is the money you’ll get there, you wont get any higher than that there and she was really, really lovely and supportive and I’ve always had a soft spot for Titti La Camp. I think without him I wouldn’t have won the competition and still been a little bit snobby about it all and not done as much work as I would have. He basically said, take the money, take the booking, say yes to everything, just do it, and it was the best advice he gave me. It exploded me onto the scene.

    From the new batch has anyone caught your eye?

    I like Myra Dubois, he’s very original and quirky. He hosted the Cabaret Awards last year and I was just in tears with laughter as he was just so clever. He can’t sing a note for toffee but his comedy’s great. [Laughs.] To be honest I think we need a new school. We need some fresh blood there.

    Do you think the idea of a drag girl-band works or do you think there’s just too many personalities?

    I think with the age group of some of those acts they’ve got in, what spills across the footlights for me is the politics in the group or the problems with rehearsing. If you were to do a girl group of Dave Lynn, Miss Jason and Titti, straight away what you’d get is triple the energy, you’d get fun and any politics and jokes would be thrown to the audience to laugh at.

    How do you think you’d fair in the executive realness? What kind of look would you pull?

    I’d go for Ann Widdecombe.

    Oh dear, that’s an image. Tell me the very first time La Voix came about, where were you?

    We came up with the name and the look and I decided I wanted to be with a live band, even though now that’s few and far between because of the logistics, but I hired Madame Jo Jo’s myself, and Shadow Lounge, and did a ticketed show with a live band, which was brave as I had no following – which showed in the ticket sales! We literally launched like you would a new product. Looking back it was a little too premature, however it certainly prepared me for a couple of months later when the whole Drag Idol came up.

    Do you have a partner?

    No.

    In La Voix’s life does she have a partner?

    Oh, that’s a very deep question. No, I don’t think she does. She’s been married before. She’s got kids but she lost them somewhere. She put them up for adoption when she got gigs because she didn’t want to lose her record deal for being pregnant.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Anything Goes – Sheffield Crucible Theatre and National Tour

    ★★★★★ | Anything Goes – Sheffield Crucible Theatre and National Tour

    It’s all aboard for high camp on the high seas, as the SS American sets sail from New York to Southampton and Billy Crocker stows away on board to chase the love of his life, Hope Harcourt. When he discovers that Hope is due to marry hapless fop, Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, Billy teams up with a gangster, Moonface Martin, Erma, the Gangster’s Moll; and a sassy lounge singer, Reno Sweeny, in an attempt to win her hand. But can Billy avoid the sailors hunting the stowaway, get away with a number of dubious disguises, avoid his unsuspecting boss and get Hope to agree to marry him before the ship docks in Southampton?

    Featuring the songs “I Get a Kick out Of You”; “You’re The Top”; “De-Lovely”, and “Anything Goes”, this 1930’s set musical comedy, which was written 80 years ago, is still an utterly joyous delight. The story has everything you could want from a whimsical musical – a will they/won’t they love story, a genuinely funny, laugh out loud script, some subtle slapstick and elements of farce, mistaken identity, disguises of varying quality, feisty heroines and, of course, a delightful and timeless score and songs which make it impossible for you to resist tapping your feet.

    This art deco tinged production is packed with well-timed comedy, spectacularly choreographed set pieces, good vocal performances and an uplifting sense of fun which proves utterly irresistible. Stephen Matthews delights as the naïve, bumbling toff, Lord Oakleigh, who is bursting with a dark family secret. Hugh Sachs (from TV’s Benidorm) shows his comedic talent as Moonface Martin, in a performance which is reminiscent of Nathan Lane in The Producers; and Debbie Kurup was a sassy bundle of energy in her performance as Reno Sweeney, heading up the tap dancing, show-stopping denouement to the first act and a lively and vivacious opening to the second act.

    The show is well directed and choreographed and is brimming with such energy and you can’t help but get swept along by it. This production is a welcome and well-timed revival of a criminally underperformed show, which has a surprising number of parallels between the 1930s and modern day, in terms of the economy and the public’s interest in celebrity. But the rapturous standing ovation and the number of people singing, tap dancing and laughing as they left the theatre is the most accurate measure of the success of the show.

    Sheffield Theatres annual Christmas musical is rapidly garnering a national reputation as one of the most hotly anticipated theatrical events, and after their award-winning productions of My Fair lady and Oliver! over the last two years, Anything Goes continues the trend.

    Anything Goes is playing at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre until the 17th January 2015, before embarking on a national tour covering a total of 30 venues up and down the country between now and October 2015. Visit www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk and http://anythinggoestour.com for information, tickets and tour details.

  • GARDEN| Gifts From The Garden

    Christmas – I love it. I love the music, the dark cold nights in the pub with friends, driving for hours to be with family, too much food, way too much drink. It also feels to me like throughout December people are nicer to each other.

    The Christmas spirit definitely exists – Christmas parties, funny jumpers and strategically hung mistletoe all play a part in cheering us up and making us think a little bit more about how we treat our fellow men and women.

    However – (there had to be a but!) my feelings towards giving and receiving of gifts is mixed. Somewhere along the way gift giving has become a bit crass and tacky.

    Before Andy and I began trying to make a living from our smallholding we were as guilty as anyone. We bought horrendous amounts of gifts for friends, friends of friends, close family, distant family, work mates we liked, work colleagues we didn’t, the postman and even our pets. We had no reason to do it – it was just part of Christmas.

    So once we moved and the purse strings became tighter we made a rule – If we can’t afford to buy someone a gift, we don’t.

    For us now Christmas is simpler, It’s about sharing our lives with the people we love. We make (almost) all of our gifts and have a real sense of satisfaction when sharing them with our loved ones.

    Having learnt a lot about keeping poultry we’re raising turkeys to give to our parents.

    We’ve kept our bees happy – so we’ve got honey to give.

    The Polytunnel has given us some great produce to turn into gifts like spiced courgette chutney.

    Our favourites, the pigs, mean we’ve got homemade sausages and pork chops to delight our friends

    Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon is the best way to start your Christmas Day. (We can’t provide the salmon this year – but onwards and upwards!)

    A lot of people have given up their time to help us over the last three years so we’ll be giving out vouchers for a free weekend in the holiday cottage.

    Using the herbs from around the smallholding, these simple oils make great gifts.

    The gifts we’re giving this year are specific to our situation and place – not everyone has the space to raise turkeys! But you could use home grown herbs to make flavoured oils, or use some of your homegrown veg to make chutneys.

    It’s about experiences – everyone has received something they don’t want for Christmas. Something stuffed in a drawer that never sees the light of day. But what if you give them a new taste that changes the way they see food – or take them somewhere they’ve never been.

    The best gift I’ve ever been given is a photocopy of a friend’s favourite recipe. It sounds simple but when I cooked the meal a few months after Christmas (spiced potato cakes with halloumi and pineapple relish – in case you’re wondering!!)) it felt like eating it was the second part of the gift -like my friend had chosen that recipe because they love it and thought I would too. Really special.

    So this year think outside the (money) box. If you give your parents a voucher for a day’s help in the garden, or your sister a promise to help her decorate her lounge or your best friend a note to say you’ll be over in the spring to help them plant up their new flower beds (We’re giving a lot of people that one this year!!) I guarantee you’ll have a healthier wallet in January and lots of things and experiences to look forward to in 2015. Win, win.

     

    So have a great time everyone – be merry, be safe and be present savvy!

     

    See you in the new year x

     

    By Adam Willcox

     

  • Foggy And Jake Quickenden Compare Package Sizes

    It’s not what you usually expect from good old family entertainment, but the two remaining men of this years I’m A Celebrity Get me Out of Here, compared penises sizes yesterday before a task.

    Looking at their respective costumes ahead of the infamous Cyclone task on last night’s episode of I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, Jake Quickenden exclaimed, ‘Yours is bigger than mine!’ before putting his hands down the front of his costume to readjust himself – as a bemused Carl ‘Foggy’ Fogarty looked down to check out his own tackle. Later on, after successfully completing the challenge, back at the camp, Foggy decided to give the remaining campmates a show, by pulling up his trunks to show off his bulge and spanking his bottom at former Tory politician Edwina Currie, who despite complaining about the show, couldn’t keep her eyes off the former racing champion gyrations.

    Tonight one of the three remaining celebs, Mel Sykes, Jake Quickenden and Foggy will be crowned King or Queen of the Jungle after Edwina Currie was booted from the camp in last night’s episode.

    According to a poll on Digital Spy, Jake Quickenden is favourite to win with 39.5% of the vote, whilst Foggy has 32.6% of the vote and Mel has 27.8%.

    Jake entered the jungle, with Edwina, late when Gemma Collins and Craig Charles left the competition at the beginning of the series.

    I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! airs its finale at 9pm on ITV on Sunday.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Apartment 40C

    ★★★★ | Apartment 40C

    Relationships are difficult things; from their tenuous beginnings through to their rocky patches, moments of pure joy and sometimes bitter dissolutions. Apartment 40c looks at the lifespan of a relationship of a New York couple by looking at their lives over the course of three pivotal evenings.

    Tom Lees and Ray Rackham’s clever new musical uses six actors to play the same two characters at different points in their lives. The characters often mingle on stage, unaware of the existence of their older or younger incarnations.

    Fresh-faced Alex Crossley and Alex James Ellison lend a romantic comedy element to the piece, playing the couple when they first meet in the apartment. Lizzie Wofford and the handsome hunk Drew Weston play the couple as they hit a difficult patch with brooding resentment, differences of opinion and betrayal threatening their once blissful intimacy. Nova Skipp (last seen in the incredible Damn Yankees at The Landor) and Peter Gerald play the couple in later life, returning to the apartment to arrange its sale.

    The story is well balanced with comedic moments, poignant numbers and rousing passionate songs. The music and lyrics are as good as you’d hear in any big West End musical (if not better, at times). Tom Lees and Ray Rackham’s show has a touch of Sondheim about it in places but ultimately has a unique and very distinct style of its own. The cast are spectacular with a standout performance from Lizzie Wofford who has the most amazing voice and is a breathtakingly accomplished actress. Drew Weston’s torso is worthy of a mention too. The sight of his six pack as he strode on stage in nothing but a towel led to a lot of shuffling and creaking of seats in the theatre.

    The set is well constructed and barring a few weak moments, this is an outstanding musical and a rare treat. Catch it while you can and I can almost guarantee that you’ll also catch some rising stars of theatre.

    Apartment 40C runs until the 20th of December at the London Theatre Workshop.

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