THEGAYUK

Tag: Dating

All the latest breaking news on dating when you’re LGBT+. Browse The THEGAYUK’s complete collection of features and commentary on dating.

  • OPINION | When Pride Was About Pulling

    Gay Pride events, what wonderful things they are. These days I like to get fully involved in the true meaning of pride and have an active role in community aspects of it.

    I am even organising my county’s first ever Pride (www.warwickshirepride.co.uk). But there was a time in the not too distant past when going to Pride was all about pulling.

    One year when I was particularly ‘mad fer it’, I went to Birmingham Pride with the intention of getting extremely drunk and copping off with as many guys as I could. How disappointed I was when it didn’t work out quite like that. What was even more disappointing was seeing each person I was at Pride with getting off with someone or at least having somebody show an interest. Even my heterosexual step-mother got hit on by a lesbian, but I had absolutely no interest in me at all. I know, how can that be possible?

    I spent the afternoon at the famous Nightingale Club in Birmingham with my friends and step-mother. It was a typically rain drenched Pride day so we had decided to take shelter and get drunk. I went to the toilet with my step-mother to get dried off. At this point a guy armed with a bag full of hairdressing equipment said he would style my step-mothers hair (as you do in a unisex toilet at Gay Pride – anything goes, I guess). Upon leaving the toilet my step-mother had been transformed from a drowned rat into a glamourpuss courtesy of the dude carrying a hairdressing kit around Pride all day. As she strutted towards the bar, heads were turning and one particular woman walked up to her and said “alright darling”. My step-mother thought it was hilarious. I was horrified. Why was she getting hit on and I wasn’t?

    I eventually saw the funny side of it and continued with my plan to pull. Once my step-mother had gone home and I was more able to misbehave, I began picking out the guys that I wanted to get jiggy with. Alas, more disappointment awaited. Nobody reciprocated the not so innocent feelings I had. Worse still, a girl I was with pulled a woman and my male mate pulled a man dressed as Queen Elizabeth 1st, which was quite bizarre actually.

    Eventually, I resigned myself to the fact I wasn’t even going to get a Pride snog. So I got very drunk and shook what my mama gave me in the club that night. But the next morning something unexpected happened.

    I was sharing a hotel room with my friend who had previously decided he was into guys that dress as Queen Elizabeth 1st, and somehow found myself in a tryst with him. It was nice. It was familiar. It wasn’t what I had intended, but sometimes these things just happen.

    So although I did pull, I don’t really count it as it wasn’t with somebody I didn’t know. I went home feeling incredibly disappointed that I had failed in my task. My strike rate had been very high, but perhaps I just tried too hard that weekend.

    Looking back, I am not too impressed with the way I conducted myself and now realise there is so much more to life than getting off with guys, and indeed more to Pride than pulling. However, on the other hand, I am glad I was like that because it has provided me with plenty of entertaining stories to tell my mates down the pub, and also some that I can share here.

    However you view Pride and whatever you get up to while you are there, the only thing I must insist on is that you have pride in yourself and enjoy it. If you see it as an opportunity to pull, then go for it and be safe. If you see it as a time to protest and focus on the issues that LGBT people face, then I salute you and again say go for it. Pride can be whatever you want it to be.

     

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  • 10 Fantastic Places for A Great Gay Date in London

    There are all the typical things to do in London; the bridge, the tower, the eye, and so on, but what if you want to network with other gays and meet people to take. Perhaps you want to take your friend to a new or different place. Here are 10 places you may not have thought of before.

     

    The Underground Club

    Located under Central Station you will find the Underground Club where the speciality of the day is the dark and mysterious. There is always a hopping party crowd and live DJ. One the weekends there is a light show to go with whatever the theme is. The Underground offers a fun place to go after you visit Central Station. So make a night out of this visit.

     

    Hampstead Heath Ponds

    Located in North London is the Hampstead Heath Ponds, three large freshwater swimming points that are popular for same sex and mixed couples alike. For centuries people have been coming to the ponds for a relaxing dip in the waters. Take your partner to the ponds and have some wet fun. Let your playful side come out while enjoying an athletic dip.

     

    Central Station, Kings Cross

    Known as one of the best pubs around, Central Station is known for Sweet Wednesday and diverse clientele that include transvestites and transsexuals. This is a wonderful place to take your partner for a little fun, exploration and ale. Events include cabaret and theme nights and can be found on Wharfdale Road in London.

     

    Gay Supper Club – The Hope, London

    At The Hope, a pop up restaurant, you and your date can attend the Gay Supper Club where you will enjoy a gourmet meal prepared by a world renowned Michelin star chef. This is an intimate setting designed for gay men to get to know each other, network, socialize and make new friends. The event is organised and supported by the Grub Club & Urban Connections group. The aim of this event which will be held on June 19th, 2013 is to bring individuals together to hopefully find their soul mate. This is not speed-dating, each course is taken at a slow comfortable pace but you will rotate thought the restaurant to meet multiple people and intermingle. There is no age limit of dress code, so put this night on your calendar and plan for an impromptu chance to meet your one.

     

    Vauxhall

    Within London is an inner city known as Vauxhall. This is where you come if you are gay and you want to party all night or through the weekend. This area is filled with bars, taverns, nightclubs, raves and parties. Get out into the night air, and dress up in your sexiest gear, you are bound to meet new likeminded friends at places like The Royal Vauxhall Tavern, The Hoist, Fire, and Barcode Vauxhall. Don’t stop there, there is so much to do in this area, you and your partner could party round the clock all weekend long.

     

    Soho London

    If you’re looking for the fun, hip, diverse center of activity and fun, look no further than Soho London for your date. The atmosphere in Soho is contagious, pleasurable, and a must-see for your date. With live entertainment, unique cuisine, a pulsing nightlife, and celebrations like Pride London, this is where you want to spend your time to meet and network with fellow gay Londoner’s and tourist

     

    London Gay Men’s Chorus

    Do you have a song in your heart? Then you should join up with the guys at the London Gay Men’s Chorus to express yourself inner Sir Elton John and meet new friends. The choir is one of the largest most active groups for gay men in Europe. The mission is to entertain, educate, and inspire others through music while challenging the preconceptions of homosexuality. If you cannot sing, then sign up for their newsletter and attend their events, you might meet your next date who has the voice of an angel.

     

    Hackney City Farm

    Not every date is required to take place at a club or bar. For a bit of variety during the sunlight hours stop by the Hackney City Farm with your special one. Take a minute to feed the goats and donkeys and watch your partner melt as he cuddles a little bunny in his strong arms. There are weekend courses, classes in pottery and mosaics, or you could become volunteers. This is a great place to honor your need for animals and outdoors and show your variety to your partner.

     

    Broadway Market

    Get out and go to the market. In almost every city around the world, there is an outdoor fresh market. In the London, this is the Broadway Market. Start your Saturday with a date at the market with all tastes and cultures that will satisfy any palate or shopping need. You will find the Market between Regent’s Canal and London Fields. There is everything from food, handcrafted items, and clothing. Bring your partner, take in the fresh air, and pick up fresh ingredients for a late picnic at London Fields and a candlelight dinner at home.

     

    A London Fields Picnic

    In East London, you will find the idyllic London Fields Park situated at the end of the Broadway Market. Historically a pasture, the park is not the hub of activity in East London. You will find a cricket pitch, BMX track, swimming pool, tennis courts, and more. Bring your date here, pack a picnic and plan an activity that you will both enjoy. You are bound to be able to plan a fun, relaxing day with your love interest.

     

    There you have it a fine selection of civil and naughty places to take your hot date in the capital city perhaps you seduced your partner on the web or indulging in gay chat with hot men by phone on a line heaven forbid just in the real world in the local bar. Well after your great effort on securing your sexy dates time make sure it goes with a real bang and hit up London.