Tag: UK
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THEATRE REVIEW | Lovesong Of An Electric Bear
Alan Turing’s life is told, with the help of his teddy bear, in the new play ‘Lovesong of the Electric Bear.’
Yes, you read it right. It’s a teddy bear called Porgy (Bryan Pilkington in a teddy bear suit) who guides Turing (and the audience) through the events in his life. From his life as a young boy in France, where he was a bit different from the other boys, to his time in Bletchley, where he created his machine which broke the German code during World War II. It’s a strange and unusual little show, currently playing in the small studio upstairs in the Arts Theatre on Great Newport Street, redesigned to look like a codebreakers bunker.
It’s a true story, written by the late Andrew Wilson. Turing evidently did have a teddy bear, and it’s the teddy bear in the opening sequence who awakens Turing from his deathbed and takes him through the journey of his life.
It’s an incredible journey, a journey we all know very well from last year’s hit film The Imitation Game, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing. Not much new information on Turing is provided in this production, but it’s the viewpoint of the teddy bear giving advice and opinion on every move Turing which makes is interesting to say the least. And it’s quite funny, and surreal, especially when Turing (played stoically and confidently by Ian Hallard) starts ‘dating’ Joan (an excellent Laura Harling), and he takes her to meet his parents, but it’s always the bear who is in the background giving advise and musing about Turing’s wrong decisions. And it’s also the bear who advises Turing to get far away from the rent boy (Chris Levens, very good in all the roles he plays in this show) that eventually brought upon Turing’s downfall. And of course we all know how it ends, and that’s the sad part, there was nothing the bear could have done for Turing, in the play and in real life. Turing’s was a life cut too short, he was a man too far ahead of his time.
Lovesong of the Electric Bear is playing at the Arts Theatre until November 21, 2015
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SINGLE REVIEW: Showbiz Christmas, Simon Gross
Ahhh… Christmas camp.
There are three things we want in a Christmas song: 1) Camp 2) Camp and 3) Camp and Big Brother’s Showbiz showman Simon Gross delivers all three in outstanding measure in his insta-hit Showbiz Christmas.
Gross manages to shoehorn in his well-worn, some may argue genius catchphrase “Showbiz” into 3 minutes and 10 seconds of pure Christmas campness, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Cliff Richard released Mistletoe and Wine.
Move over Weather Girls, Madonna and Wham, we have a contender for the gayest Christmas single ever released.
If you mix Peter Kay’s Once Upon A Christmas Song, with Britney’s My Only Wish you’re starting to get close to Simon’s Showbiz Christmas.
Fairly speaking it won’t or can’t match Mariah’s 1994 mega hit All I Want For Christmas, which has entered the UK charts every Christmas since 2005, when chart rules changed to allow digital purchases count towards them, but it makes a fair attempt at giving the UK an alternative to whatever bland winner’s song that Simon Cowell is bound to give the UK as it’s Christmas number 1.
With proceeds going to Centrepoint, the charity that aims gives homeless young people a future; there’s never been a better reason to change the Christmas number 1
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THEATRE REVIEW | Penny Arcade, Longing Last Longer
All hail Penny Arcade. Her latest, solo show – Longing Last Longer – knifes gentrification in the guts in a non-stop orgy of conceptual homicide.
Deliciously stoked and provoked by the severe, outrageously queer Gospel of Quentin Crisp, she’s a multiple-orgasm messiah high on life, love and luxuriant language. Ah, but Quentin’s brilliant, misanthropic spite – an anguished, solitary voice of sanity in a worldwide disturbed ward – is only one voice in Penny’s polyphonic choir of existential fire. Frankly, she’s our Dante, Allan Ginsberg and Martin Luther King sex-changed to a post-indulgence, Mad Max Furiosa, a warrior poetess par excellence. All punk-rock poison to mass stupidity, and spitting incandescent, revelatory bile, she massacres cultural mediocrity on the spot.
It’s a gorgeous execution. Pointless identity politics and thought-police Nazis – the PC shock-jocks – are ruthlessly dispatched with stunning erudition and torn limb from linguistic limb. So they should be. Why lobotomise ourselves with divisive labels that set one social faction against another? Don’t fascist police states do that already? And that’s where Penny’s sublime, sheer art-attack joyously weighs in. Forget theatre; Longing Lasts Longer is language as visionary music, words and concepts blown as intoxicating, be-bop virtuoso jazz solos.
Utterly fearless, following no star but her own, outré contrariness and distrust of any authority – even her own! – Penny furiously asks the unsayable. Indiscriminately puking on taboos Labour, Tory and anarchist, she explodes orthodoxies cemented by dogma as utterly facile. And her most contentious target? Arguably, the mythic chimera of sexual freedom. Whatever labels our preening egos prefer – gay, bi, trans or straight – the physical reality is that females nurture and males take. ‘The biological imperative sees no difference between a c*** and an arsehole’, Penny declares with bravura crudity. How right she is. Guys will stick their dicks in anything; hello, glory holes? And even razor blades in prostitute pussies didn’t deter vets in Vietnam.
But don’t get her wrong. No prude, Penny’s partied for 45 years, the show’s soundtrack brilliantly accenting her excesses with a sonic blizzard of Nirvana, The Doors, Prince and more. Free your mind and your ass will follow, indeed; this is culture cut loose from classrooms and set wildly free as hot, sweaty, erotic dance. ‘I haven’t watched TV for 40 years’ Penny says, and why would she? She’s too busy living, the only known antidote to bovine, terminally-addicted consumerism and online ennui.
Impassioned, on a hugely physical and flame-haired roll, she decries the certifiably insane world of compulsory self-censorship and hair-trigger text warnings we’re sleepwalking into. ‘Mediocrity is the new black’ (as in fashion essential) Penny cries, and she’s so hilariously on the money it hurts. Apparently, even skimming textual trauma triggers the reality, so how vulnerable students approach American bestseller the Bible – crammed with sex and horror – beggars belief.
Frighteningly, Penny explains, our very powers of expression – a Niagara Falls of nuances – are being systematically impoverished by corporate consensus. Terrified to even expect sustained attention spans, we Twitter ourselves en masse to gnomic vapidity. George Orwell’s novel 1984 termed the process ‘Doublespeak’; with complex language deliberately erased, even imagining abstract concepts is impossible. Which perfectly suits repressive regimes and aggressive capitalism; the more inarticulate, easily swayed and passive drones we become, the better
‘You can’t call yourself fierce and demand a safe space outside of a mental hospital’ Penny inarguably states, succinctly nailing the paradox of fake, lip-service rebellion. So what will you do when, not if, the state dictates your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness? Penny’s answer is taking brilliantly-argued responsibility for her entire life, completely owning each trauma and rapture, with not a single, squandered second. Will you do as much? Don’t delay; ‘The roses in the shops have lost their scent’, Penny bewails, a shockingly astute, contemporary human metaphor. The message is plain, and passionately perfect; either live your own life now, on your own terms, or have it lived for you. Choose life. Choose passion. Choose Penny Arcade. She’s perfect salvation in a soundbite.
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Male Waxing At Wax In The City
It was a surprisingly sunny morning in London when I arrived at the Chelsea office of Wax in the City.
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ART REVIEW: Invisible Treasure At Ovalhouse
If you fancy being imprisoned in a room floored with orange faux grass, ceilinged with a projector screen, housing a cow-sized white rabbit with robot eyes for 70mins – read on.
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ELTON JOHN To Northern Ireland Politicians “enter the 21st Century”
Sir Elton John told Northern Ireland politicians to “enter the 21st Century” on Radio 4’s Today programme.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the legendary singer said that politicians in Northern Ireland should “enter the 21st Century” saying that if it was left to public decision same-sex marriage would “sail in”.
MPs voted recently on whether same-sex marriage should become law in Northern Ireland. As it stands Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where marriage between gay couples is not legal.
Patrick Corrigan, Northern Ireland Programme Director of Amnesty International, said:
“Sir Elton John’s support for marriage equality in Northern Ireland is very welcome.
“Sir Elton has a proud track record of standing up for gay rights around the world. It’s great that he’s speaking out for the rights of LGBTI people in Northern Ireland, which is now the only part of the UK or Ireland that ban same-sex marriage.
“He’s 100% correct when he says that most people in Northern Ireland back same-sex marriage and that if there was a public vote it would ‘sail in’. Local politicians who continue to block equality must wake up and realise the damage they’re causing to gay people in Northern Ireland, as well as to our international reputation.”
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Gay Bars That Have Closed In London Since The Turn Of The Century
There’s a lot of conversation over the number of gay/LGBT bars and clubs that have closed in recent years, using an old copy of Fluid magazine, (which no longer exist either) from 2001 we discover the bars, clubs or gay nights that have closed in London since 2000.
Can you help us create a full listing complete with pictures? We’re trying to create the ultimate Lost LGBT Scene archive. If you have any details you can add to the descriptions or have photos please click on the venue and use the comment section at the bottom of the page to add your memories.
Gay Bars Closed (124)
(Click on the name to go to the venue’s page)
- 3 Monkey: Greenwich
- The Angel: a cabaret bar in Stratford.
- The Anvil: rather sleazy bar within the Shipwrights Arms in Tooley Street
- Artful Dodger: in Highbury and Islington.
- The Backstreet: London’s longest-running fetish and leather club 1985-2022.
- The Bar: a large style cafe bar in Shoreditch.
- Bar Aquda: on Maiden Lane near Covent Garden.
- Barcode Vauxhall: cruisy bar in Albert Embankment. 1996 – 2015
- Barcode: a dancey bar in Soho which closed in the late 00s.
- Bar Fusion: in Islington.
- Bar Titania: Was on Charing Cross Road on the site of the old Ku Bar next to Manbar/CXR. Closed 2016.
- The Birdcage: A traditional friendly pub in Chiswick which closed in 2006.
- The Black Cap: legendary North London drag bar and club which closed in 2015. 1965 – 2015
- The Black Horse: East end gay bar near Stepney Green.
- Blackout: an Art Deco style cocktail bar on Molton Street
- The Blush Bar: a lesbian bar in Stoke Newington. 1997 – 2015.
- The Boltons: Corner of Earls Court Rd & Brompton Rd
- The Box: relaxed cafe on Seven Dials near Covent Garden.
- Brewery Tap: a friendly local gay bar in Stockwell
- Brewers Tap: Walthamstow
- The Britannia: a different themed night every night in Leytonstone
- Brief Encounters
- The British Prince: An intimate east end boozer near Limehouse
- Bromptons: Big and cruisy was once part of the now-defunct Earl’s Court gay scene. Is now being turned into flats. 1984 – 2008.
- Buzz Bar: Bar in Clapham Junction
- Cafe Au-Reole: gay bar set on two floors, was part of the Earl’s Court gay scene.
- Central Station, Walthamstow: gay bar with nightly entertainment in Walthamstow.
- Candy Bar: London’s number one Lesbian bar – had a brief reopening, but closed again in 2014. 1996 – 2014
- Catch 22: short-lived gay bar in Wood Green, the most northern gay bar in London.
- The Cellar Bar, Charing Cross
- Citrus Grove: Fridays only in Gipsy Hill.
- The Champion: long-running and unpretentious in Notting Hill.
- Copacabana: Disco bar in Earls Court closed in the late 90s
- Cock: a traditional pub in Kennington which closed in 2005.
- Cock and Comfort: large gay boozer in Bethnal Green
- The Coleherne: bar which tried to rebrand in 2008 becoming the Pembroke. It was London’s oldest gay bar until its closure.
- The Coronet: described as a stylish east end bar, near Stratford, now apartments
- Compass: Islington
- Crews: Central London, on St. Martin’s Lane. Read a story about why Crews was opened.
- Crown and Anchor: a gay and mixed pub in Bromley North. Closed in 2006 and reopened as a non-gay bar and told customers who were looking for a gay bar to go to Stonewall bar in Lewisham – also now closed.
- David Warriors A Bar: for men with attitude – men only in Southwark
- Due South: in Stoke Newington
- Dukes: a gay bar which was very popular with bears in Vauxhall It now operates as Eagle London, which is still a gay venue.
- The Duke of Clarence: Lesbian bar on Rotherfield Street, just off Essex Road, Islington.
- The Duke of Wellington: mixed and friendly bar in Islington.
- Edge, The: 4 Storey gay bar perched on the edge of Soho Square.
- Embassy, The
- Escape: Popular dance bar with student night in Soho, closed in 2014. 1998 – 2014.
- Fallen Angel: Islington. Bar with rooms upstairs where support groups would meet. Has now been turned into flats.
- Flag, The, Finsbury Park
- The Fort: a cruisy gay bar in Elephant and Castle. Was reported closed in August 2011. 1997 – 2011.
- First Out Cafe Bar: legendary gay venue lasted 25 years before closing in 2011. 1986 – 2011.
- The George Music Bar: Cosy bar in Isleworth.
- Goose and Carrot: a gay-friendly mixed pub in Croydon
- Gladstone Arms: gay bar in Borough which had regular themed nights.
- Gloucester, The: Gay bar featured in Beautiful Thing
- The Green: Swanky, an upmarket bar on Upper Street, Islington. 2007 – 2012.
- The Green Carnation: Upper market wine bar on the edge of Soho. Closed in 2015.
- The Green Man: Traditional and mixed in Harlesden.
- George And Dragon: in Shoreditch was forced to close after a dramatic price hike in its lease.
- Golden Lion, Kings Cross
- The Halfway House: described as east London’s friendly gay bar in Bethnal Green.
- Harpoon Louis: The bar upstairs, Harpoon Louie’s (later Harpo’s and later still Banana Max), was until the late 1980s among the most popular gay bars in London. It is now a Wagamama restaurant. Above the Copa in Earls Court Road, it was the largest gay bar in London, on 3 levels with an extensive garden. Opened in 1983 and closed in 1997 (thanks to John for the info)
- The Hoist: cruise and sex venue for guys in Vauxhall. Closed in January 2017 after 21 years in business
- The Horns: cruise bar at London Bridge.
- Jacomos
- The Joiner’s Arms: Long established LGBT space which closed in January 2015 1997 – 2015
- Jonathan’s
- The Jubilee Tavern
- Two8Six: Was a pub formerly known as Stonewalls, it closed in 2012. The 1960s – 2012
- Kazbar: Announced it would close at the end of 2016. Was one of two gay bars in Clapham, the other being The Two Brewers.
- Kensington Roof Gardens: had a gay night on Sundays.
- King Edward IV: in Islington closed in 2011. 1966 – 2011
- Kudos
- Leinster, The: The pub opened in 1998 and closed in 2005 on two floors, a traditional gay pub for the “Chelsea crowd” The pub which was on the corner of Ossington St has since been demolished. (Thanks to John for the info)
- Limelight, On Charing Cross Road, near the Palace Theatre. Was a Sunday night evening event.
- The Little Apple: traditional gay pub closed in 2014. 1993 – 2014
- Lo-Profile: a gay bar started by the dating site, Gaydar, closed in 2013.
- London Apprentice: Old Street, North London
- Lower Ground: a basement bar in West Hampstead.
- Lounge: iconic lesbian night which closed and then reopens and then closed again.
- Macbeth, The: gay run pub near Old Street.
- Madame Jo Jos: famed Drag venue which closed in 2014. 1966 – 2014
- Manbar: the bar that went on to replace CRX79 on Tottenham Court Road.
- The Market Tavern: Islington.
- Molly Moggs: a friendly and brash central London pub, famous for its larger than life drag queens, karaoke and friendly staff. One of the oldest LGBT pubs in the UK. Molly Moggs has now reopened. Update 2019 It is now closed and reopened as another bar, which isn’t LGBT.
- The Navy Arms: a Friendly pub in Deptford.
- Nelson’s Head: a traditional pub in Horatio Street. 2007 – 2015.
- The Oak: lesbian bar in Manor House. 1994 – 2013
- Old Ship: East end gay pub near Old Street. (UPDATE) It’s now under new management and isn’t “gay” anymore, but gay-friendly – and has drag acts.
- The Orange: Described as a large boys space, with themes every night.
- The Outback Bar: next to Buzz Bar, also closed in Clapham Junction.
- Penny Farthing: A favourite Hammersmith hangout.
- Piano Bar
- Play Pit: A sleazy barroom cruisy bar in Kings Cross
- Profile: a cafe and bar opened by dating gurus Gaydar, closed in 2013 along with the sale of their radio station Gaydar Radio. 2007 – 2013.
- Prohibition Cafe Bar: gay owned, a gay-friendly pub in Streatham.
- Princess Of Wales: Friendly gay bar in Woolwich.
- Queens Arms: closed in the early 2000s and turned into flats. It was a smart, upmarket pub.
- Queens Arms: a homely pub in Hounslow Central.
- Queens Head: Chelsea gay/straight pub that was unable to negotiate a new lease due to increased costs in 2016.
- Ram, The: Islington with legendary party nights.
- Rocket: Two bars in one, in Acton.
- Roebuck: a bar situated in Rennell Street, later called Bar Phoenix which was eventually demolished.
- Rose and Crown: Greenwich
- Red Stiletto: in Vauxhall.
- Racecourse: The a friendly mixed pub in Crouch End.
- Route 73: traditional gay bar in Stoke Newington.
- Rush Bar: a lesbian bar which closed in the mid-2000s.
- Salisbury: St Martins Lane, WC1 (yes it is still there, but now straight).
This was pub frequented by actors and gay men in the 1950/60s becoming completely gay in the 1970s. It ceased trading as a gay pub in 1985 with the opening of a new gay bar across the road (Brief Encounter). It was featured in the film “Victim” with gay leading actor Dirk Bogarde. The film made in 1961 told the story of the culture of blackmail in the gay community.
The film set in motion the legalisation of homosexuality in 1967. (thanks to John for info) - The Salmon, in Islington
- Shadow Lounge: A members dance club/bar that allowed guest listing announced it was to shut in September 2016.
- Skinners Arms: a Traditional gay pub in Oval.
- Soho’s Strippers
- Southopia: a lesbian bar in Kennington.
- The Spiral Staircase, a gay bar on Shoreditch Highstreet
- SW9: a stylish cafe bar in Brixton.
- The Stag
- Star And Garter: a traditional pub in Bromley. 2006 – 2014.
- Stokey Stop: a lesbian bar in Stoke Newington
- West Central
- White Horse: a mixed pub on the Westferry DLR.
- Woolwich Infant: Plumstead
- Y Bar: On Essex Road in Islington.
- 79CXR: manly bar on Tottenham Court Road. 1994 -2015
Got a venue to add? Click here.
Gay Clubs Closed (43)
- Adams Club: In in Leicester Sq.
- Area: Dance club in Albert Embankment 2006 – 2014
- Atelier at The End: Weekly lounge-style event near Tottenham Court Road.
- Bangs Nightclub on Charing Cross Road in the 70s
- Benjy’s 2000: a Sunday night club night for gay men, near Mile End.
- The Block: A Bromley by Bow dress code, cruisy club night.
- Catacombs: A bar in Earl’s Court, which never sold alcohol. Read a story from the Catacombs.
- Coco Latte: every Friday night at the Chocolate Bar.
- Club V: a popular gay indie night every other Saturday in Islington.
- Club Kali: at the Dome, a bi-monthly Bhangra bash in N19.
- Club Tranvesties: A Stepney night for “TVs/ TSs” every Sunday near Aldgate East
- Chaguaramas Club: Neal St, closed in 1970
- Crash: late night club from 10.30 in Vauxhall. Closed in 2007. It now operates as Union, which is still a gay event.
- Dorian Club off Kings Road in Chelsea in the 70s
- DTPM
- El Sombrero: (Yours or Mine) Kensington High Street
- Extreme: Sunday afternoon clubbing from 1 PM till 9 PM.
- FF was at Turnmills
- Fist: described as a “sleaze pit” with a strictly enforced dress code.
- G-A-Y: at the Astoria: 1993 – 2008 Moved to Heaven.
- Gay Tea Dance: at the Limelight on Shaftesbury Ave.
- Ghetto: Cult Soho dance club with a mixed clientele of club freaks, artists and international A-listers. Legendary nights included NagNagNag, Misshapes and The Cock (thanks to LWellsted). 2001 – 2008
- Le Foyer: A club in Soho in 70s
- Long Yang Club: a gay night for Southeast Asians.
- The Masquerade club: On Earl’s Court Road
- Napoleon: A club on Bond street
- Off The Hook: at Velvet – mixed Monday night club.
- The Phoenix: clubbing on Saturdays near Oxford Circus.
- Popstarz: mixed club night which used to be held in Kings Cross closed in November 2014.
- Reflections: an intimate gay night in Stratford.
- Reflex: attitude-free clubbing in Kingston Upon Thames.
- Sadie Masie: at the now-defunct London lesbian and Gay Centre in Cow Cross Street, Farringdon. (Thanks to John)
- Shadow Lounge: A members club in the heart of Soho famous for its light-up dance floor and VIP sections. Closed 2016.
- Silks Club: A club in Shepherd’s Bush shopping centre
- Spats club in Oxford St.
- The Spiral: gay-friendly club near Old Street.
- Substation South: late night club, with different themes each night of the week in Brixton.
- Substation Sound-Shaft: on Hungerford Lane – cruisy late night club/bar – Thursday nights were called Twisted and Fridays were called SPUNK.
- Subway: Leicester Square
- The Lounge: described as a “gentleman’s” club with bar and restaurant.
- The Masquerade Club, In Earl’s Court
- Trade: Techno club night at Turnmills. 4 AM till 1 PM in Farringdon. Last night was held in October 2015.
- Trash Palace: In Soho, set over three floors down the road from Ku Bar.
- The Tube: Late night club and cruise bar on Saturdays was called Wigout.
- Turnmills: Clerkenwell
- Voltz: Was beneath the Roebuck in Lewisham.
Got a venue to add? Click here.
Other gay venues closed
Biograph: A cinema were gay men went, but didn’t spend much time watching films. Read a story about a young man’s first sexual encounter at Biograph.
Got a venue to add? Click here.
Gay Saunas Closed
Steamworks 309 – Sauna based in New Cross Closed 2014
Chariots Shoreditch – It was London’s largest sauna but was demolished in 2016 to make way for a new development.
Chariots Streatham – Was a sauna that was closed without warning in 2016.
Chariots Waterloo – Was closed in 2017 to make way for a new development in the area.
Holland Park Sauna – A sauna right in the middle of the shopping centre
Got a venue to add? Click here.
Can you help us flesh out descriptions? Send your email to newsdesk@thegayuk.com. Please let us know if any of the listings are mistaken or if we’ve left a favourite haunt of yours.
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RESTAURANT REVIEW | Wringer & Mangle
The Gay UK team are a clean and fastidious bunch, so it seemed perfectly apt we were invited to the opening of a former industrial laundry in the Big Smoke’s hipster hang-out, London Fields.
We didn’t take our dirty smalls, or our scented-passion-flower-and-ylang-ylang Comfort, or indeed pack our Fairy non-bio washing powder. Twists were for martinis, the only things sodden were the guests’ esophaguses from the plentiful cocktails, and only a few lightweight journos were mangled.
Award-winning mixologist and restaurateur Gerry Calabrese has eighteen years experience, and a few distinguished names hanging from his washing-line of achievements. Calabrese is the founder of the Hoxton Pony and his new venture Wringer & Mangle (W&M). Gerry launched Hoxton Gin, and has worked with The British Fashion Council, Mulberry, and Bentley – there are no stains on him.
To enter W&M you walk through a terrace, and past a Moroccan-style den, where lattice fencing, riddled with ivy, sections off an outdoor seating area surrounding a fire pit. Ideal for an aperitif – so we did. Cushions, candles and outdoor heaters will keep you snug as a duvet in a tumble dryer.
First bevvy of the night, The Bramble Collins: Finlandia Vodka with fresh blackberries, sugar syrup, fresh sage, topped with ginger root and honey soda. Earthy, sweet and bitter, with a twinge of woody-ness from the sage. We washed it down.Walking into the main building, you could be fooled into thinking you’d just entered a high-flying artisan New Yorker’s oversized loft apartment. Concrete ceiling, exposed brick, mismatched tables, a few animal skulls and abstract art cakes the walls. All lit by naked Victorian bulbs and copper lighting – there’s something for the fastwashers, you delicates out there, and for those who just wanna rinse, spin and pump-out – W&M will appeal to the bulk of East London dwellers.
While schmoozing with the trendy-Wendys, happening-hacks and look-at-me-Larrys, canapés were wafted around like incense at a pilgrims’ gathering. Beetroot, goat curd and fig tarts – bland. Mackerel tartar and pickled cucumber – an assertive fishy punch, toned down beautifully by the drunk cucumber – exquisite. Pig’s head terrine and mustard vinaigrette – not too coarse, quality meat, elevated by garlic notes and a grainy sense – yummy.
Our next tipple, The Pre-Wash Collins: Bombay Sapphire, gin-infused cucumber, topped with cucumber and cardamom foam. Its botanical garden aroma teases you first, followed by the texture of a gingery, bubbly lather – then something sweet and spicy happens – the Hotpoint of the night.
Once we’d caught a glimpse of Professor Green and could practically smell the Rizzle Kicks, the mains were being dished out by dishy staff.Braised lamb shoulder with pearl barley and rosemary – the grain was tender, salty and packed undertones of parsley and onion, complementing the fragrant meat – damn tasty.
Autumnal vegetable stew – root vegetables were brought to life in this bowl of warmth and goodness – a superb veg stew.
Smoked haddock chowder – we were just missing a couple of sporrans and some droning highland melodies – almost as good as Glasgow’s finest.
We’ll definitely be Whirlpool-ing our way back to try their ‘Traditional Roast Sirloin of Beef with all the trimmings’ one Sunday – they’ll be no Wringer-ing out ya purse at only £15 a pop. But they can scrub the phallic communal hand soap in the lavs – we’re not asking for an automatic-washer, just quality washroom hand soap worthy of an old washhouse. We left dry-clean, colour-safe and folded back home nicely – care symbol: regular visits a must.
Wringer & MangleREVIEWED BY: Thabian Sutherland
ADDRESS: The Laundry Building, 2-18 Warburton Road, London E8 3FN
RATING: ★★★★ (explained)
COST: £££ (explained)
http://www.wringerandmangle.com -
UK Government Refuses To Ban “Gay Cure” Treatments
The UK’s Conservative Government is refusing to get rid of treatments which aim to “cure” patients of their homosexuality, despite being “firmly opposed” to the controversial treatments.
