THEGAYUK

Tag: UK

  • COMMENT | Just What Is Happening To Gay Soho?

    COMMENT | Just What Is Happening To Gay Soho?

    Is extremity passé? Pre-Crossrail Soho thinks so. F**k nurturing nonconformity – now, it’s virtually a shoot-on-sight thought crime. Don’t believe it? Think again; clubs, landlords and speculator scumbags w**k themselves raw for imminent, sky-high rents. Forget Soho’s mass misfit culture spanning centuries – this is Ebola economics, toxic to anything but itself.

    Forget Bohemian heritage. Those stinky, if beloved, Soho streets – strip-mined of any meaning but money – are being massacred by real-estate morons. It’s systematic, social abortion, a vicious kick in the pregnant belly of deviant culture. Forget dissent – the future is Yummy Dummy Yakuzas en mass, brutal corporate clones sipping lobotomised lattes, Orwell’s perpetual boot in the face with added, f**k-you froth.

    More vicious still, it’s deliberate, a long-term, strategic pacification sicker than stowaways falling from 747s. In common with deleting council tenants in desirable postcodes for lucrative redevelopment, any breeding grounds for debate also vanish. Notice a pattern? Not just gay bars and venues, but any establishment encouraging behaviour beyond ticked boxes.

    And the first casualty? Arguably, the Colony Room, Dean Street’s lusciously depraved den of artists, whores and lost souls, closed in August 2008. Commandeered (no other phrase fits) by the dulcetly vulgar dyke of distinction, Muriel Belcher – a typical greeting was ‘Alright, c**ty?’, despite actual gender – the club festered, Addams-family style, one taut, confining, sludge-green upstairs room with attached bar and drug-dusted lavatory. Part confessional, part pick-up joint and liquid muse Mecca for regulars Francis Bacon and his ilk, a utopia of free expression regardless of gender, desire or class, the Colony was Soho personified, the rank piss on a Duke’s pantyhose.

    Which meant what, precisely? Oh, everything that bigoted, reactionary wage-slaves hate – blanket irreverence and relishing life’s quality, not quantity. Puking, farting, publicly squirting spunk, Soho, at best, was life raw, erudite, and flawlessly finessed at level ten on Viagra.

    No longer. There’s a creeping disease – scorched-earth stupidity – alive and necrotising Soho daily. It’s called greed and property profiteering in the wake of London Transport’s Crossrail project gutting the area. A prime example? One neighbouring club – and here discretion demands anonymity– which as an amiable, if less intense, but enjoyably polysexual version of the Colony – which suffered appallingly.

    Acquired by interests blatantly misunderstanding the letter B in Bohemianism to mean business, it became a pressurised, bums-on-seats cash-cow overnight. Previous founder memberships were revoked en mass, the boozy Dylan Thomas ambience severely discouraged, and every expansive inch of unprofitable eccentricity press-ganged into table-service. Result? A win-win for mediocrity par excellence; Hello to the least welcoming, fleecingly expensive, stunningly intolerant faux-Starbucks in town.

    If only the scummification – the Battery Farm Bohemianism beloved by non-entities – had died there. No such luck – Jojo’s, the Black Cap, Soho’s 12 Bar Club and more have been shot faster than US police suspects. And that’s despite non-stop, impassioned celebrity pleas. ‘Stop the destruction!’ Vivienne Westwood recently demanded. ‘London is a disaster! People hate it! Clubs and dives are going, going, gone’.

    Exactly. It’s Artistic Abbatoir time ASAP, the ruthless culling of any possible activity not devoted to coining cash for city coffers. Who needs ISIS demolishing irreplaceable icons with Westminster Council in town? Insanely, Ruling Baron Bojo’s forgotten – or never knew – a society’s quality of life and civility is embodied by the amenities available. Not here; Tories despise the ‘useless embellishments’- like Culture and public toilets – encouraged by an inexplicably contrary Europe.

    In any form, philistine bigotry is ugly, especially posing as benign gentrification. Given free rein – like right now- Cameron and pals prefer a dead-by-night London choked with brain-dead worker ants by day. Their ideal city? A walk-away, stay-away, w*nker’s wonderland with all the cachet of a mass urinal. It’s divide and rule, a classic dictator strategy; people terrified by job insecurity simply ignore minority plights and issues.

    Well, so sorry, boys- we’re human beings demanding Humanity. Ever heard the phrase, while furiously deleting Human Rights from the statute books? If an ideal city – Paris or Rome – embodies all the poise, compassion and nurture vital to sexual, social and artistic diversity, then London 2015 is a psychopathic, brain-dead glutton, eating itself alive with greed. Do you – do we – truly want to barely exist, not live, in the rancid puke it’ll toss back as a bland, back-door Bohemia? No way, José. Stick it right back up where Bojo’s brain don’t shine. Just as Westminster’s done to Soho’s Rainbow wilting in the gutter. Poor Oscar Wilde; he’d be sobbing his heart out crying to the indifferent stars.

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

  • New Gay Bar In Camden Asks To Extend Trading Hours Until 3AM

    Picking up from where The Black Cap left off, Bloc Bar is asking for its trading license to be extended, allowing it to serve until 3 am.

    The Black Cap was inauspiciously closed earlier this year leaving Camden, a borough in North London, without an LGBT home. After its demise, Bloc Bar was opened in July one minute away from the old venue.

    According to Camden New Journal, Nigel Harris, who chairs Camden LGBT Forum, said:

    “Since the closure of the Black Cap on Camden High Street, a minute’s walk from the Bloc Bar, a significant number of LGBT residents have lost their community hub.

    The Cap was the only LGBT venue in Camden Town. Many residents facing severe isolation and difficulty with their own sexuality and gender identity relied on the Cap as a place to meet others and a sanctuary from homophobia. The Bloc Bar, although without the Cap’s history, will provide a much-needed hub for these residents.”

    He added: “The drive to keep our heritage of providing local opportunities for artists to perform is very important. Providing the Bloc Bar with a late licence will allow this to continue… cabaret and drag performers perform late and it is not plausible to operate cabaret before 11pm”.

    The extended trading license would allow for public performances until the early hours of the morning. The Black Cap was famous for its association with drag talent in North London. It has been credited for the birth place and stomping ground for many leading drag queens.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Sancho

    ★★★★ – timelessly humorous, and endlessly brilliant.

    When an actor comes on stage and asks the existential question “Who do I think I am?”, then we know it’s going to be a reflective piece where we and the actor come together and ponder the meaning of life, and begin dwelling on the smallest of things. ‘Sancho’ graced the studio theatre of The Rep with an energetic, hilarious and, with many shades of brilliance that grabbed the audience’s attention instantly, performance that left us wanting more by the end.

    Patterson Joseph wrote and performed the evocative and stunning production: ‘Sancho.’ It is the story of the first black gentleman in British history, which happened during the reign of Elizabeth I era, and monarch of which was extremely xenophobic. The black gentleman’s name was Charles Ignatius Sancho, and Patterson discovered the portrait of the said gentleman which was painted by Thomas Gainsborough, painted in a book entitled ‘Black Britain’ by Gretchen Gerzina, and this fuelled his research and the eventual creation of the play.

    It would not be existentialist if it didn’t have a plethora of Hamlet references deliciously embedded in the writing. Being a Shakespeare geek, I celebrated enthusiastically with every Hamlet quote spoken, such as, ‘Frailty thy name is…”Sancho”’; ‘That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain!’ and of course ‘The play’s the thing…’, all of which, I most powerfully and potently believe were designed to connect the thought of the actor with the audience’s thoughts about existential matters. It is clear from Patterson’s experience with performing Shakespeare plays that he is able to aptly adapt his writing to the era, and easily transport the spectators to the 16th century, where he laid his scene.

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  • THEATRE REVIEW: Romeo + Juliet – The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

    For this production starring Freddie Fox, the story of Romeo and Juliet needs very little introduction, being Shakespeare’s classic tale of two young lovers from rival families who see beyond their family’s feud, and secretly marry. ★★★

    But when Romeo kills a member of Juliet’s family, the tragedy looks set to tear them apart.

    Whilst retaining the original text, the events are loosely set in the north of England, with northern accents aplenty and bold characters, some of whom have a slight hint of “Jeremy Kyle fodder” bolshiness about them. The costumes provided an overarching 70’s visual style, made up of a plethora of man-made fibres, bold patterns, skimpy trunks and jumpsuits. An empty set constructed of corrugated steel sheets and pressed wood flooring served to focus the audience on the performances of the cast and the use of only two contrasting materials reflected the two conflicting families of the story.

    But with so little on set, the performances were left to carry the production. There were two performances which stood out from the ensemble cast. Firstly Rachel Lumberg as Nurse, who was the epitome of the northern “salt of the Earth” working class mother figure. Secondly was a quirky, camp and awkward version of Peter, played by Joshua Miles. Skulking around like the lovechild of Alan Bennet and Jarvis Cocker, his scene stealing turn was rewarded with the majority of the audience’s laughter and affection.

    But the draw here is Freddie Fox, last seen by most people in “Cucumber”, “Banana” and “Pride”. Fox made for an interesting choice, with his youthful, almost androgynous and pale features, which worked surprisingly well. Fox’s performance was better than one would perhaps anticipate, demonstrating his versatility. His diction was clear and precise and he did hold a real stage presence, drawing the eye and teasing the audience with frequent flashes of his washboard abs and his toned biceps. You could easily believe that he was a young, somewhat naïve love-struck teenager, and his wide-eyed performance conveyed Romeo’s first realisation of true love over and above his romantic ideations that had come before it. The supporting cast was also filled with a slew of very handsome young men, in particular Scott Arthur, Joshua Miles and Simon Manyonda who all performed as well as they looked.

    Staging a new production of Romeo + Juliet can be tricky. As one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays and given its presence in popular culture, any company has to walk a fine line. If you make the production too modern, it draws the risk of being criticised as a pale imitation of the Baz Lurhman film starring Leonardo Di Caprio; too traditional and it becomes a bland and unimaginative re-tread which has all been seen before. But thankfully Sheffield Theatres manages to walk a line which means that there production doesn’t falls into either category, with a production that put me in mind of a Shane Meadow’s “This Is England 90” chav culture.
    The first act of the play picked out the comedy elements of the piece nicely and was engaging and entertaining, although the second act did seem to lose some of the momentum which had built up in the first act and there were occasions throughout when some of the diction was lost at times by some of the cast members. But that said; it was an interesting take on a classic and one which did just about enough to make it stand apart from versions which has come before it.
    Romeo + Juliet is at The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield until 17th October 2015. Tickets can be bought online at www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk or by calling the box office on 0114 249 6000.

  • The Sun’s Deidre Response To Man Who Had Gay Sex With Sis’s Hubby Gets TheGayUK Treatment

    In a recent issue of The Sun, stalwart Agony Aunt Deidre gave some advice to a man who had recently been caught with his trousers down with his sister’s husband

    The man was caught by his sister having sex with her husband, the reader expressed feeling trapped and having nobody to turn to and that his sister was distressed and that she wouldn’t talk to him again.
    Diedre replied that his sister had been betrayed by two people she loved and trusted and that his actions were inexcusable, but he must make sure that the husband must take half the responsibilty…
    We thought we’d ask some of our writers how they’d have tackled the problem.

    ALEX Da Silva (Birmingham Correspondant)

    Impulse is a dark force that many succumb to, and sometimes it is uncontrollable. Human beings live day by day experiencing all sorts of instinctive outbursts, ‘do I get a dessert after that big main?’; ‘shall I hit the snooze button again, and make an excuse about the train being late, to get more sleep?’ and sometimes impulses drive our minds further where temptation is undeniable.

    Looking at your case, this ‘itch’ appears to have been initiated by your sister’s husband, a step which would have taken a lot of courage to make. I have gone through something similar myself, and although the person who will hurt the most will be your sister, due to the fact that both men of her life have betrayed at once and together, there is an emptiness one feels to have been that person to cause such hurt and mistrust. I am sure that you are nice person, always paid your bills, and maybe have bought a Big Issue here and there, but society is very quick to coin people whose actions are of a negative nature.

    However, your sister is your blood, and is a person that you could not live without. To get her back, you must give her that space, for every time you text, ring, visit her you are just taking her back to that dreadful moment, event of which wounded you all. Send a letter here and there about a memory you have shared together, send a card for her birthday and Christmas, but keep at that for now. It’s a gash so deep that unless you are a mutant with regenerative qualities, will take some time to heal.

    In regards to your family, they are hurt too. It is going to take not as long, but the same care, of not trying to apologise or try to talk about that night, it should be periodical attempts at maybe conversing with your mother first, as she loves unconditionally and let her have her peace and work from there. She could really help you mend the bond between you and your sister.

    Family ties are bound forever, and though there may be slashes and tears, you will work together to restore your home again. Just keep faith.

    JORDAN Lohan (Food and Drink editor, Brighton)

    I can imagine your sister’s world crumbling at the seams walking in and finding out that her brother is “the other woman”. Throughout your description of this hideous event, you don’t actually explicitly admit to being sorry or express any feelings of remorse or regret. You even have the audacity to reminisce about his touch being “electrifying”.

    If you were truly sorry and understood the real implications of what you and the husband had done, it should make you feel sick and uncomfortable. “I feel trapped” is your final sentence and that sentence comes from a selfish place of wanting to help YOURSELF. Your sister is the victim here, not you.

    I don’t think your relationship can ever be 100% salvaged with your sister, you fuc**ked her husband and you fuc**ed the trust between the two of you which should have been sacred and pure.

    If i were your sister, I would want you to pipe down, go away, and get some counselling to delve into the reason why you warranted the sabotage of your and her relationship, and come back when you were truly sorry.

  • MP Sarah Champion Tweets Her Support For Blood Donations From Gay Men

    Labour MP for Rotherham, Sarah Champion, has tweeted her support for the end of banning gay and bisexual from giving blood.

    Labour MP Sarah Champion has tweeted her support for bringing an end to a discriminatory ruling that forbids men who have sex with men from donating blood, unless they have been celibate for 12 months. According to TheyWorkForYou.com Ms. Champion has “consistently” voted in favour of legislations that affect the rights of LGBTs in the UK.

    The petition calls for the Government to end the 12-month deferral ban on gay men donating blood. It calls for a replacement “equal and individual risk assessment based process for all blood donors.”Ms. Champion tweeted a link to an official petition site, which is delivered direct to the Government. When the petition, started by Robbie Beveridge, reaches 10,000 signatures the government officially responds to the petitioner, at 100,000 signatures the petition is considered for debate in Parliament.

    The debate about gay, bisexual and MSM’s ability to donate blood has become a hot topic in recent months with one campaign, Free To Donate already achieving over 37,000 signatures.

    Ms. Champion was made Shadow Minister for Preventing abuse, a new position in the shadow cabinet. The appointment was made by Labour’s new leader Jeremy Corbyn.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Casa Valentina – The best show in London about Transvestites

    There’s a house in the Catskill mountains in upstate New York where several men go to dress up in women’s clothing. It’s also a new play by Harvey Fierstein called ‘Casa Valentina’ now playing at the Southwark Playhouse. ★★★★

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  • THEATRE REVIEW | The White Feather

    A New British Musical written by Ross Clark and directed by Andrew Keates ★★★★★

    Union Theatre is a poky, spit-and-sawdust kinda playhouse. Once you’ve walked through the patio, you’ll be drawn into a small but amply sized bar with a piano nestled in the corner, bare brick walls, basement-jazz low lighting and a sort of smell that evolves from years of fermenting damp, old stone and no doubt decades of booze spillage. Utterly charming – even it you’ve no intention of watching a production you must pop by for a swift one or a caffeine fix.

    Award winning journalist Ross Clark’s story highlights that allied soldiers were executed for cowardice, by British soldiers during the First World War, focusing on an underage recruit and some homosexual turmoil. Director Andrew Keates, also a trophy holder, breathes life into Ross’s quillings with emotion-elevating lyrics and compelling numbers that are implemented by nine talented actors.

    Set in a village in Suffolk the performance confronts class hierarchy, a strong sibling bond, a sexuality struggle, and the injustice of how young men with no real political views were brainwashed to fight. A head stirrer with core-fondling harmonies.

    Emma Cardinall (played by Cameron Leigh) brought a slight element of Downton Abbey meets Are You Being Served to her segments while Edith (Katie Brennan) could easily have walked in off the streets of an East Anglian village she was so lifelike. But the shiniest bauble on The White Feather’s theatrical tree is Georgina Briggs (Abigail Matthews) – pitch perfect. Abigail, buy your ticket to Hollywood and don’t forget to pack a red carpet number.

    To learn what occurs in the Union Theatre trenches, and to see how the many layers of The White Feather unfold, no military tactics, tanks or weapons needed – just hop on a tube to SE1.
    Union Theatre, 204 Union Street, London SE1 0LX – Wednesday 16th September – Saturday 17th October 2015

    Tickets are available starting at £15 from the Union Theatre Box Office and www.uniontheatre.biz – 020 7261 9876
    by Thabian Sutherland

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Kinky Boots, Adelphi Theatre, London

    ★★★ | Kinky Boots, London

    It’s a huge hit on Broadway and it’s now finally opened in London. ‘Kinky Boots’ is in the house!

    If the name rings a bell, it’s because Kinky Boots was a 2005 film about a struggling shoe factory about to go out of business until they change their product line and start making boots that are sexy, and, literally, not worn by the everyday woman. The musical version of Kinky Boots follows the same story, but it’s got a book by Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy and La Cage Aux Folles – books he also wrote), music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper (“Girls Just Want to Have Fun”), and choreography by Jerry Mitchell (The Full Monty and Hairspray). That’s a lot of power and muscle behind a show, and it works, to a degree. (The show won six Tony Awards).

    Killian Donnelly (the breakout star of The Commitments and co-star of Memphis) easily and comfortably plays Charlie Price, whose late father leaves him his shoe factory in Northhampton. It’s losing money, and Price might be forced to close it down, something that would make his London-bound fiancee Nicola (Amy Ross) happy. By chance, he comes to the aid of a drag queen who is being beaten up in a park. The Drag queen, Lola, played very ably and loudly by Matt Henry, is grateful to Price for saving him. But their meeting turns into a business relationship where Lola plants the idea into Price’s head to have his factory make Kinky Boots – boots for him and his fellow drag queens – boots that are big, flashy and preferably red! And eventually, Lola gives up her life (and leaves her fellow drag queens) in London to go up north to help in the factory to lead in the design of some Kinky Boots. But he’s not too accepted in a town and factory where no drag queen has walked in heels before. Even though he’s dressed as a man, some of the other workers make fun of him, especially Don (Jamie Braughan), who challenges Lola to a boxing match. Of course, conflict and arguments take place between Price and Lola, and Lola decides that she’s had enough of the northerners and heads back down to London. Meanwhile, Price is being wooed by one his employees – Lauren (Amy Lennox – wonderful) But it’s bad timing as Price is about to show his latest models of shoes at a Milan fashion show – he’s got no Lola, no models, and tons of shoes that need to be worn.

    And you can only guess what will happen next. To say this show is predictable is an understatement.

    While there are no surprises in the plot, it’s the music that raises the show up a notch or two. Lauper has injected her personality into songs that only she can write – when all the actors sing “Everybody Say Yeah” – it’s a song that will stick in your head for the rest of the night – in a good way. And of course each actor has their own song moment – Donnelly sings his heart out in “Soul of a Man” while Lola is given “Hold Me In Your Heart”- a song that highlights his very deep baritone voice in a soulful way (it sounds a bit like the song in Dreamgirls – “And I am Telling you I’m not Going”. If there’s one person who steals the show it’s Lennox – she’s hysterical in the role of Price’s colleague who pines for him while he’s focused on keeping the business afloat.

    Production values are fine – the set morphs from factory to the fashion show. For me it’s the drag queens that make this show good – their sparkling clothing and sass and attitude and sequins are just right – for without them Kinky Boots wouldn’t be so Kinky at all.

    At the Adelphi Theatre 020 3725 7068 | http://www.kinkybootsthemusical.co.uk/tickets.php

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Rugby Burgers @ West 12 Bar & Grill

    Last night, I had the pleasure of dining at West 12 Bar & Grill, at Birmingham Marriott Hotel, just in time for the opening of the Rugby World Cup. For the duration of the Rugby season, the Marriott Hotels are hosting #BurgersandBubbles, motto of which is: ‘designed by champions, served with champers.’ Celebrating Rugby events in style, Marriott and International Rugby Players have collaborated into creating the bravest, beefiest and bulgiest burgers I have ever held in my two hands.

    My dinner partner and I decided to go head-to-head with the two available Rugby Burger options. So, representing Australia, my guest went for The Burke burger, designed by the Australian fullback Matt Burke himself, who must have been a huge fan of sweet and sour, for the concoction of beef burger, grilled red onion, beetroot and pineapple behaved rather saucily in my partner’s mouth. At home, I represented New Zealand with the Hardman burger, created by Brad Thorn, the lock of the team, and I have to say, if I had even attempted man-handling the burger, it would have given me a locked jaw. Thankfully, we were both given steak knives to tackle the scrummy masterpieces. The Hardman was smoky and earthy with the venison, crispy streaky bacon, fried egg and tomato chutney combination. It was a draw, for both burgers equally delighted the taste buds of the burger captains.
    Our evening was made extra special by the restaurant team, who did nothing more but care for us. It was very kind of the Hotel General Manager, Gordon Tyler, to personally welcome us, joke about the world cup and assuring us that we were very welcome at West 12 Bar & Grill. He told us, ‘it is a very exciting time of year for rugby fans,’ and though we are not dedicated Rugby fans, we were soon in the mood for celebrating. Our waiter Sam led the team with care, dedication and a pleasant smile that went with every course. He was very passionate about the wines that he let us sample, and was very good listener while we shared our views about each one. It was not quite around the world in eighty glasses, but as we gargled the tasters, it felt we were being transported to the climates of the hot countries of Chile, Italy, Spain, France, where the wines were made. Our favourite was a red wine which accompanied the red meats deliciously, and though the name has escaped my mind, it was a combination of a Shiraz and Cabernet, and boy did it dance around our heads.

    I take my hat off to the chefs, who talentedly infused the finest ingredients by presenting both the starter and the main with formidable style and elegance, and the meaty burgers that made us fall-back and made us feel slightly self-conscious that our hands were not qualified to master the handling of the meat in between the two gigantic sesame-seeded buns.

    England beat Fiji 35-11, last night. So, it was an all-around successful night.

    Reviewed by: Alex DaSilva

    Address:

    Telephone: +44 121 452 1144

    Website: Click here

    Star rating: ★★★★★ (explained)

    Cost rating: £££ (explained)

    Tipping policy: Discrectionary 12.5% added to you bill
    by Alex Da Silva

  • COMMENT | What Jeremy Corbyn Has Already Done For The Gay Community

    Many of my gay chums often tell me they are not “into politics”. Personally, I’ve always often thought this was a bit odd because I’ve always thought of being gay and being political as going hand in hand.

    We have long had things to fight for in the name of fairness and equality and pressure to put on those in power; the long struggle for equal marriage being just one example in recent history.

    But politics, especially that coming straight out of Westminster, leaves many cold. And after the recession and all that nasty MP’s expenses business then is it any wonder?

    Even if you despise all things political though, the rise of Jeremy Corbyn has been inescapable. And somewhere in the media storm and the thousands of words written about him, there is one announcement that is both very welcome and hugely long overdue.

    In unveiling his Shadow Cabinet team, Corbyn named Luciana Berger as the very first Shadow Minister For Mental Health.

    Here we need some context: a University of Cambridge study published in September 2014 found that 12 percent of lesbian women and almost 19 percent of bisexual women reported mental health problems, compared with six percent of heterosexual women. Also, 11 percent of gay men and 15 percent of bisexual men reported problems, compared to five percent of heterosexual men.

    It’s pretty clear that mental health is an area of huge importance to the continued wellbeing of us all in the LGB community. However long waiting times for an initial hospital consultation and the postcode lottery that results in standards of care being entirely dependent on where you live continue to be a big problem.

    And we all know that the Conservative policy of austerity has led to funding cuts to many organisations that were previously there to provide support and advice.

    Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here; the appointment of a Shadow Minister is in no way the miracle cure to solve the problem with the current state of care. And to be brutally realistic, we still have a government in power who plan on cutting public services yet more in the next few years. Not a great sign that an already difficult situation will get easier anytime soon. But at least for once we can say with certainty that a political party is actually taking it seriously rather than paying lip service with a brief paragraph in the manifesto at election time.

    So yes, these are politicians we are talking about. And we’ve all learnt not to trust them right? So it could turn out to be a naïve hope but just maybe the appointment of Luciana Berger means that with the closer scrutiny a designated minister should bring, there just might be a grown up conversation about mental health care in this country.

    Yes. I did say it was possibly a naïve hope.

    But mental health matters. Given the statistics it is a topic that touches all of us in the gay community, if not personally then chances are through our closest friends and families.

    And that is true, whether you are “into politics” or not.

    Views expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its editorial team and owners. As part of our mission statement, we have published this comment piece as part of our open platform. If you’d like to reply please use the comment section below and if you’d like to write an opinion piece please visit: www.thegayuk.com/Submit