But we’d be lying if we said we never had balls on our face before…
Ever had balls to the face?
Face Masks are a legal requirement now for so many parts of our existence now, whether it’s going to the shops, sitting in a theatre or travelling on public transport, but no one said what the face mask had to look like.
You could go for a nice rainbow face mask or, you could, go for this scrotum face mask, complete with wrinkles and tiny little hair follicles.
The face mask, which is produced in Blackpool is essentially a silicone mask that looks like a wrinkly ball sack. It’s sold by BillysBallBags.com, which is a shop that only sells ball bag merchandise. Of course. And why are we only just finding out about this shop!
Is the testicle face mask legal?
Well, as far as we can tell, they do comply with the law that requires you to wear a face-covering in certain settings. However, you might offend a few people or even get a few funny looks from your co-workers if you rock to your place of work with a set of balls on your face.
So what’s the price of this scrotum face mask? Well, you’re looking at a bill for £24.99, however, demand has apparently been “So high” that they are currently not available while the shop “catches up” on orders of the mask.
You can even order a darker or lighter shade as skin tone variations are allowed!
The British public is overwhelmingly in support of taking the Covid 19 vaccination with two thirds willing to have the jab as soon as it is available.
Opening up our beleaguered LGBT+ scene could be dependent on a huge uptake of the vaccination when it is rolled out in December and early 2021.
A survey of 2,000 adults revealed only 17 per would refuse to take a covid 10 vaccine, with 19 per cent stating they were still unsure.
Fewer than one in 10 (eight per cent) of those aged 55 or over would decline the vaccine when it is offered to them.
However, almost a third (31 per cent) of those aged 25 to 34 don’t think they’ll take it.
The speed at which the vaccinations have been developed have resulted in 71 per cent regarding its fight against Covid-19 as one of science’s greatest achievements.
The survey, by Medicspot, also looked at how people who didn’t want the vaccine could be incentivised to take it.
A fifth (20 per cent) said they would be vaccinated if they were paid, while 19 per cent would if it meant they could go to the pub. As it stands pubs in the UK, including our much love gay scene, have to remain closed in Tier 2 and 3 unless they serve a “substantial meal”. Many gay bars, like the Royal Vauxhall Tavern or the Equator Bar in Birmingham, are not set up to sell food.
More than a third (35 per cent) would take it if it meant they could go on holiday abroad, and 28 per cent would agree to it if it meant they could go to sporting, music or other events.
Dr Johnson D’souza, medical director at Medicspot, said, “In the space of one month we’ve had three vaccines announced, which has been an incredible achievement from everyone involved in the fight against Covid-19.
“It is comforting to know the vast majority of the public is supportive of the vaccine.”
Nearly half think the vaccine should be made compulsory
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The survey also found 45 per cent think the vaccine should be mandatory for everyone, while just over a third (35 per cent) disagree entirely.
But 57 per cent think the vaccine should only be mandatory for people who are deemed at a greater risk of the virus.
The research was carried out as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the latest Tier system as well as plans to allow ‘Five Days of Christmas’ where families from up to three households can mix over the festive season.
Almost a fifth (19 per cent) of respondents, polled via OnePoll for Medicspot, admitted they have broken the lockdown rules that were introduced at the start of November.
But 75 per cent said they were likely to adhere to the new regional tier rules just announced.
Lifting the international travel bans
In a move welcomed by the travel industry, the government is also lifting the ban on international travel when lockdown ends – giving families the chance to get away for winter sun.
On their return, travellers will now have to quarantine for five days instead of 14 if they can provide a negative Covid-19 test.
Medicspot has developed fast Covid-19 tests with next-day results designed for businesses testing staff and for individuals who need a ‘fit to fly’ certificate or have returned from abroad.
When the vaccine becomes available, almost three quarters (71 per cent) think people arriving in the UK on holiday or for business should have a certificate confirming they have been vaccinated
And 70 per cent think UK residents leaving the country should have a certificate saying they’ve been vaccinated.
Boyz Magazine is a London-based LGBT scene magazine.
It was created 30 years and is published by David Bridle.
The magazine is a monthly, full-colour magazine since was first launched in 1991. It features lots of news about bars and clubs in the scene as well as accompanying photos of revellers at said venues. It also once featured an X-rated picture in a feature called BackRoom Boy. It went through a major overhaul in 2007 when most of the adult content was removed. In 2008 as escort and rent boy adverts started to venture online the magazine removed its escort classified section.
It has published over 1400 issues.
It was weekly magazine until July 2019, when it changed its format once again to become monthly.
It is distributed, for free, primarily through gay venues through the UK, but mostly within London. It’s available to pick up in most LGBT+ bars and some shops, especially in the Soho area.
Can you buy a subscription?
Nope, Boyz Magazine is a free magazine distributed to some LGBT bars and shops. Readers cannot purchase a subscription in the same way that they might be able to subscribe to Gay Times or Attitude. You can, however, read the magazine for free via its website.
American politics was filled with a sea of heterosexual faces, sometimes fiercely homophobic, but mostly irreverent towards the gay community, that was until Harvey Milk entered the political arena.
Daniel Nicoletta – Provided by author, Daniel Nicoletta
Harvey Bernard Milk was born in the cold and wet winter of 1930, his birthplace was Woodmere, a small, hard-working, middle class, close-knit hamlet in Nassau County in the state of New York. After graduating in 1951, Milk joined the United States’ Navy, during the Korean War, he served aboard a rescue submarine, the USS Kittiwake – and later transferred to San Diego to serve as a diving instructor. He was discharged from the Navy in 1955.
Harvey Milk could be described as one of life’s wanderers until he moved to San Francisco he was a teacher, an actuarial statistician, a researcher, and a presidential campaigner, he worked in investments and for a theatre company.
He was a drifter, moving from California to Texas to New York and back again, without a steady job; eventually, Milk with his then-partner Scott Smith opened a camera shop on Castro Street in San Francisco with their last $1,000.
He moved from New York City to San Francisco in 1972, amid a mass migration of gay men to the Castro District. The gay’s growing political and economic power ensured that people like Milk could take advance to promote their interests.
Milk ‘s initial reception by the already installed gay political establishment could be described as cold, Jim Foster who had been active in gay politics for ten years resented Milk asking him for endorsement to becoming a City Supervisor, Foster told Milk,
“There’s an old saying in the Democratic Party. You don’t get to dance unless you put up the chairs. I’ve never seen you put up the chairs.”
Undeterred Milk won the support and endorsement of local gay bars and business owners, who had become disillusioned by the slow-moving pace of the already visible gay political movement.
Milk had an inimitable political style; his exuberant speeches and his astute media skills earned him significant press during the 1973 election, however, he failed to win.
Although Milk was a newcomer he had shown flair for leadership, he was starting to be taken seriously as a candidate and decided to run again as a City Supervisor and started using his camera store as a centre of activity in the Castro neighbour. The community rallied around Milk and voluntarily helped run his campaigns for him.
This time round Milk came 7th in the election, just one place away from earning a Supervisor seat.
Milk became the first openly gay commissioner in the United States after the newly elected Mayor George Moscone appointed him to the Board of Permit Appeals in 1976 where he worked just 5 weeks in the job before running for the California State Assembly.
Milk was described as a man of mixed temperament and of disorganisation. His campaign volunteer database comprised of just scraps of paper and his campaign manager’s assistant was an 11-year-old girl.
His accounting was erratic, reportedly grabbing fistfuls of cash from his store’s cash register. He was prone to amazing outburst of momentary temper before shouting excitedly about something else. Described as manic, one could not fault the man for his dedication and general good humour.
In 1977 his last campaign to become a City Supervisor, Milk’s showboating, handshaking and manic campaigning tactics won him a position, but with his victory came the distinct threat of assassination. He began to record his thoughts for preservation in case he was killed, stating, “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door”.
As the first openly gay, non-incumbent man in US history his swearing in as City Supervisor made national headlines, giving the gay community a positive visibility that it hadn’t enjoyed before. He started in office sponsoring a civil rights bill that outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation, it was met with no opposition apart from Dan White, who Milk had increasingly bad relations with after Milk switched his vote in supporting a health facility for troubled adolescents be placed in White’s District.
His personal life at the time was one filled with sadness; he had long split with Smith and had begun a relationship with a man 18 years his senior; Jack Lira who hanged himself after being consumed with sadness with the anti-gay campaigns of Anita Bryant and John Brigg.
The John Briggs Initiative known as Proposition 6 would have made the firing of any gay teacher or public school employee who supported gay rights mandatory. Brigg’s stated that gay teachers wanted to recruit and molest children; Milk refuted this with statistics compiled by law enforcement that most paedophiles were identified as heterosexuals.
Brigg’s campaign came off the back of singer Anita Bryant’s “Save Our Children” campaign in Florida which repealed a law which ended discrimination based on sexual orientation.
During the summer of 1978, gay pride marches found their attendance level rise, with over 250,000 people attending San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade. This is where Milk gave an impassioned ‘Hope Speech’
“On this anniversary of Stonewall, I ask my gay sisters and brothers to make the commitment to fight. For themselves, for their freedom, for their country … We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets … We are coming out to fight the lies, the myths, the distortions. We are coming out to tell the truths about gays, for I am tired of the conspiracy of silence, so I’m going to talk about it. And I want you to talk about it. You must come out. Come out to your parents, your relatives.”
Even though Anita Bryant’s campaign had been successful in Florida, Brigg’s initiative failed by more than a million votes. In San Francisco alone 75% voted against the proposition.
On 10th November 1978, Dan White resigned stating that the yearly salary of $9600 was not sufficient to support his family, days later he asked Mayor Moscone for his resignation to be withdrawn, although the Mayor initially agreed, after further consideration and consultation with the other city supervisors, Moscone was persuaded to install someone who represented White’s district which was growing in ethnic diversity.
On 27th November 1978, Harvey Milk would wake for the last time, in his beloved adopted town of Castro.
Half an hour before the press conference in which Mayor Moscone was to announce White’s replacement, White entered City Hall with a gun undetected and made his way to the Mayor’s office. Witnesses recall hearing shouting, between the two men followed by four gunshots.
White had shot Moscone once in the shoulder, once in the chest and twice in the head.
After reloading his gun, White intercepted Milk – an argument ensued, followed by more gunshots as he emptied 5 hollow-point bullets into Harvey Milk’s head and body.
The President of the Board of Supervisors, Dianne Feinstein found Harvey Milk and identified both bodies.
It was Feinstein, who announced to the press,
‘Today San Francisco has experienced a double tragedy of immense proportions. As President of the Board of Supervisors, it is my duty to inform you that both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed.”
Milk was 48 and Moscone was 49.
Milk’s legacy is still felt to this day, in the last year of his life, he empowered gay people to be more visible; to help themselves to end the discrimination and violence against them. In his final statement during the taped prediction of his assassination he said,
‘I cannot prevent anyone from getting angry, or mad, or frustrated. I can only hope that they’ll turn that anger and frustration and madness into something positive, so that two, three, four, five hundred will step forward, so the gay doctors will come out, the gay lawyers, the gay judges, gay bankers, gay architects … I hope that every professional gay will say ‘enough’, come forward and tell everybody, wear a sign, let the world know. Maybe that will help.
Although his time in politics was relatively short, Milk’s untimely death at the hand of Dan White, ensured that Harvey Milk would forever be held up as one of the most powerful and iconic men of politics the world has ever seen.
Until a rather problematic article by Conservative Women writer, Caroline Ffiske appeared online recently, I must admit that I wasn’t very educated on the idea of “Queer Theory”. But apparently, it’s something that we all should familiarise ourselves with because we need to protect our children from it.
Here we go again. Another homophobic article wrote by a privileged white person who really doesn’t have a fucking clue what they’re talking about.
So, what exactly is “Queer Theory”. Well, according to Ffiske is it based on the 1960’s neo-Marxist idea that our sexual acts and sexual identities are ‘socially constructed’. Apparently, the focus of ‘queer theory’ is all about the personal and the private and what people deem as normal can be challenged as so form of social construct and that basically what goes on in the bedroom should stay in the bedroom and not be brought out into the light of day. The article then goes on to suggest that sex should remain as an “extraordinarily intimate act which touches our soul and goes to the heart of our human experience”. Clearly, she’s never had a one-night stand. Ffiske also goes on to imply that we are normalising and encouraging sex among teenagers.
Let’s be very clear about this. Teenagers are going to have sex. They are going to have straight sex, gay-sex, threesomes, oral sex, anal sex because that’s what teenagers do. It’s not about normalising it; it’s a fact of life. I remember being a horny teenager and wanting to bone everything that was on two legs. Well, within reason. But isn’t your teenage years and your early adult years all about – experimenting? It’s about finding what you like and what you look for in a sexual partner. Your teenage years are about discovering who you are as a person. For some, that is quite straightforward, but for others, it’s a struggle. You grow into yourself as a person and sometimes that doesn’t fit with social stereotypes. Surely, we should be encouraging this exploration. We should encourage conversations for teenagers because that’s how we learn and break down social stigmas and prejudice.
Laying the blame for sexual exploration at the door of the gays
What Ffiske is actually doing, and probably doesn’t realise it, is laying the blame for encouraging sexual exploration at the door of the gays. Whilst it might be true that gay men can be very promiscuous and have multiple sexual partners during their life, it’s not fair to blame it on them. Historically, the queer theory was born out of a movement of living your life as the way you fit and how you want to. It’s about how you want to identify and isn’t having the choice to do that is the best thing for us to have in society. If you want to identify as a man or a woman or be trans, you’ve got that choice, because you have been struggling with the thoughts inside your head as a kid. It’s not been pushed on you, and the media don’t push it on anyone. It’s about education and allowing conversations to happen. Just because you don’t fit into a box, it doesn’t mean you are a freak and should be banished to an island. You should be allowed to live your own life as you want to. Bollocks to anyone else.
Ffiske talks about sex, and specifically anal sex as being degrading. She says that “young women feel that they do want to take their virginity seriously and that their psychological well-being is at stake if they are encouraged not to do so”. Let’s look at this in the broader sense. The first time for anyone is going to be something that you remember because let’s be honest – it’s never the best. It’s often clumsy, clunky and extremely uncomfortable, but it’s a part of life. I’m not saying that people don’t take that decision lightly to become sexually active, but it’s not always as black and white as that. Teenagers are hormonal, they are going to have curiosities about sex. Isn’t it more dangerous not to educate them about it? Let’s look at teenage pregnancy in the states, for example, a study in 2019 by the American Journey of Public Health showed that in states where sex education is more abstinence-based, the education actually contributed to an increase in teenage pregnancies.
Surely if we are not having more open conversations about safe, consensual sex then we’re doing the younger generation a disservice.
The problem isn’t about over sexualising teenagers. The problem is really that people think they have a right to dictate and decide what’s best of other people when they have really not got a clue about what they might be going through. The ones that that feel threatened by queer theory are those that have absolutely no idea about what being different or being queer is all about. It’s not a walk in the park. It’s often a long dark road with bumps and kinks in it. Discovering where you fit into society. How you are accepted by society and what prejudices you’re gonna encounter.
I want to side-step for just a second because I think this is important. It’s not just queer equality that is under threat from the right-wing. But equality as a whole is under threat when there are MPs in parliament like Ben Bradley who is calling on more rights for white straight men because he thinks that they are underrepresented. In a speech in the House of Commons this week; Bradley stood up, and with a very straight face, went on to moan that there is a minister for women but not men, complained about more women than men in higher education, and mourned the death of “banter”. He said that; “men are often talked about, all too often, as a problem that must be rectified”. Oh, Ben. Going on to then condemn the Equality Act as being “willfully and regularly misapplied across gender, race, and every other characteristic”. Asserting the importance of “holding the door open for a lady”, expecting a man to “provide for his family”, and “wanting to be a man’s man” who goes “down to the football at the weekend” and has “some banter with the lads”. Bradley then complained; “that banter is now bullying”.
There is nothing that riles me more than a straight white man complaining that they aren’t represented.
He’s clearly never experienced prejudice for being a straight white man. Bradley also went to say that he wants “straight equally protected as gay”. Can someone enlighten me, in how many countries you can be executed or imprisoned for being straight? Or how many victims there are of anti-straight hate crimes in the UK? Not surprisingly, the government have also ended funding aimed at reducing homophobic bullying of LGBT+ students in schools in England, just as new research by the Diversity Role Models (DRM) shows that just 27% of students think that their school is a safe space for classmates to be themselves. Leading LGBT+ charity Stonewall has started a new hashtag initiative allowing members of the community to tell people about their experiences at school. Have a read through some of the stories using hashtag #LGBTatSchool.
Back to queer theory though, Fiske’s article finishes with a quote from Oscar Wilde saying, “we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars”. She thinks that Queer Theory is pulling us all into the gutter and diminishing rather than dignifying. Well, if we’re in the gutter, then the gutter to me is pretty fabulous. Come join us here – because we are living our best lives. But more importantly, take some time to educate yourself. It’s all very well to sit and say that you should do this, or you shouldn’t do that, but that’s not for us to decide – it’s up to the young person
I’ve said this so many times now, but I just keep coming back to it. Education is the power to change. Educate our young people that there are different types of families. Educate our kids on the importance of safe sex. Encourage conversations between youngsters. Let them make the decisions that they want to make, but make sure they are given the facts. Not what you think is right. And if you feel threatened by queer theory, don’t just blast it as not the normal thing. Take some time to research about that being queer in 2020 is like and what queer relationships genuinely look like. You never know; you might learn something. It’s not about being a snowflake or being ‘woke’ but it’s about teaching our young people that equality a right – not a privilege.
Short answer, you really can’t stop a fart during anal sex
It can happen to the best of us – the fuck fart. He pulls out and you parp. It’s just the way it goes – and most likely is probably not an actual tummy-made gas, so is it really a fart?
In women or some trans guys who have a vagina, it’s called Queefing and it’s essentially the air that escapes the vagina – but a fart and queef can both sound the same. So what should we call air that escapes your bottom during sex, but isn’t actually gas from your intestines… Beefing?
There’s no real way to stop Beefing as the air that gets pumped inside you (as your top is pounding away) really doesn’t have anywhere else to go, but back out your butt hole. Also as you have anal sex, the muscles around your hole – the sphincter, which is the muscle that can stop a normal fart will have relaxed quite considerably, so it might be quite hard to clench to stop the escaping air.
This is why you might beef when the top pulls out, especially if it’s unexpected. The air that escapes is most likely to be air that’s been trapped in your rectum rather than from your lower intestine. Which is a good thing, because it’s also highly unlikely to smell – especially if you’ve prepped for sex, by douching.
The Butter Churn is a prime example of a position that can make you fart when he pulls out. That’s where the bottom props up his back with his hands and puts both legs in the air above his head, while the top enters in a downward motion. Its a bit like a plunger – and that causes a lot of air movement.
Staying clear of any position where your butthole is likely to be more exposed like if your legs are wide open might also contribute to a build-up of air in your rectum.
Also, the slow plough, where your top thrusts all the way in and then all the way out of your ass is likely to get air trapped, so don’t be surprised if you parp a little during this.
What do you if you fart during anal sex?
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The best thing to do is laugh at it or just ignore it altogether. Try not to be embarrassed about it, or even apologise for it. It’s completely normal, happens to everyone and there’s nothing you can really do about it anyway.
You never know the guy you’re with might actually be turned on the sound of your beef. So just go with it. Don’t let it stop the fun.
If you’ve had enough of Grindr there’s always Scruff…
Scruff is the other big gay hook up app and it is one of the more highly rated of all the big names according to our research. However, an interesting feature, which you might not know about actually gives a pretty insightful look at who your perfect guy is, even if you’re not actually sure who he is.
So, I was looking at the “Insights” section on my own profile. You get there by clicking on your own photo and scrolling down until you see the “Insights” button.
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Usually, Insights is a paid-for feature for other profiles, but it’s free to see your own insight and it has to be said I love a bit of ANALytics. See what I did there? #SorryNotSorry.
What is Insights on Scruff?
It gives you a rundown of who you respond to and how often you do it which when you check out their charts can be quite interesting.
It shows you how often you respond to messages and the breaks that down by the community you most often answer, their age bracket and interestingly their body hair.
Your eyes tell a different story to your heart
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You see, subconsciously you may be answering more messages from certain types of guys without even knowing it.
So apparently, if you hit me up on Scruff, you’re most likely going to get an answer if you’re from the Geek Community (apparently I answer them 40% of the time) If you’re 26-35 (I answer those guys 60% of the time) and if you’re hairy (67%).
Weirdly, if you ask me what my type was I’d say maybe Ryan Phillipe circa 2001 or Jeffrey Bowyer Chapman or even Sir Patrick Stewart, but actually, my eyes and my ding dong clearly answer the mating call to geeky, hairy 30-somethings. Go them – actually, go me!
If you’re looking to give the perfect blow job or become a master in good oral sex, then read on.
*This article contains images that might not be suitable for work*
Going down, blow job, giving head, oral sex, whatever you call it, it’s one of the pure joys of being gay/bi or just cock loving, let’s face it. Aside from bum fun, it’s one of the most gay-defining sex acts – putting another man’s penis in your mouth – it doesn’t get gayer than that!
But what constitutes a good blow job?
It’s not quite the advice that can be passed down from your father (but maybe from your Daddy) but most of us learn about blow jobs via porn and well, trial and error.
The problem with trial and error is that it often requires us to be confident to tell our partner what we’re feeling – and that can be harder than you might think, for fear of offending.
So when guys were recently asked on THEGAYUK community, what advice they’d give, guys did not hold back with their amazing little tidbits on giving love to the purple-headed love monster.
inspiration from Cocky Boys
Practice makes perfect
Practice on a banana. Use lots of saliva and use your lips. Enjoy it like you were sucking on a tall ice cream that’s melting quickly. VIA
Use tongue, not teeth
Move your head up and down even side to side if you please. This might seems like common sense but you’d be surprised. Don’t suck too hard.. one guy gave me head took the word “suck” way too literally. He literally sucked it like a breath mint that was suppose to melt away. It was awkward to be stuck in that position the entire time. Don’t do that. VIA
Put yourself in his shoes
Inspiration from BEL AMI
Imagine what feels good to you (if you’ve had head before at least) or when you’re jerking off… and do that to him… just go slow at first and get comfortable with it. You’ll soon learn what the other guy is liking and what he isn’t… Don’t forget to use your tongue. Lots! VIA
The eyes
lots of eye contact, if he’s into that. Most guys are. Whatever position you are in, see if you can look him in the eye has your have his cock head in your mouth. HOT AF. VIA
Don’t be extra
Don’t try and impress with your skills. Just do what comes naturally. VIA
Don’t always go for the deep throat
I’m not that huge a fan of deep throating. It’s not that comfortable for the receiver. especially if you can’t get the whole damn thing down your throat. It feels like it’s getting crushed and it kinda hurts. Plus I don’t know about anyone else, but the sound of a guy gagging makes me feel like I’m gonna gag. Really not sexy. VIA
inspiration from Lucas Entertainment
Enjoy every inch
Take time every cm / inch of that cock. Maybe trying something new with each section. Thin tonguing for the pee hole, lips for the tip, teeth (lightly) on the shaft, flat tongue action on his balls, a lapping motion on his groin. VIA
He’s the cure
He’s the cure…
Personally, it’s all about enthusiasm. You’ve got to act like you’ve been poisoned and the cure is in his cock. VIA
How risky are Blow Jobs?
Oral sex is a pretty low-risk activity when it comes to some STIs, such as HIV, but you can still catch a number of other infections from blow jobs. Speaking to us from the sexual health clinic, 56 Dean Street, Jake and Jenna told us, “Other nasties like Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea can be passed on by both receiver and giver, and might not even show symptoms, however, all these infections can be treated effectively if caught soon enough”.
So you can reduce your risk of catching these by using condoms, flavoured condoms are the best for oral sex and won’t leave a nasty chemical taste in your mouth.
The CEO of one of the UK’s oldest and best-loved LGBT+ bars, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, has hit out at Boris Johnson’s Christmas plan of allowing multiple houses to mix during the height of a pandemic, but not allowing them to mix in Covid-secure settings like pubs and bars is a “road to nowhere”
He said it was “inflicting devastating pain to an industry on the verge of collapse”.
James Lindsay, The RVT‘s CEO has written a blistering open letter to Boris Johnson and his cabinet saying that the current Christmas plan to allow up to three households to mix for five days during the festive season is a “mockery” of all the hardship that the hospitality industry has been through in the last 39 weeks.
He also told the Prime Minister that the plans to allow families to mix in their own homes, but not in restaurants or pubs, was putting “vulnerable people at risk” and denying the LGBT+ community a chance to mix and socialise with their chosen families.
He wrote, The Government’s olive branch for a ‘family Christmas’ is clearly aimed at appeasing the “party” faithful. As well as putting many vulnerable people at risk this also denies the LGBTQ+ community their much needed time with friends and our chosen families.
“Our venues offer a safe space for people who often don’t have the ‘normal’ family support”.
Gay Bars are at particular risk when the tier system returns.
One of the issues facing many bars, but in particular gay bars, is that many aren’t equipped to serve food – which is one of the requirements for pubs to be able to open in at least two Tiers of the Government’s system. Bars which solely sell drink are unable to open in Tier 2 and Tier 3. Only bars which sell “substantial” food can open in Tier 2 and can only operate as takeouts in Tier 3.
With most of the country expected to be entered into Tier 2 or 3 when Boris Johnson announces the Tier system today, the Equator bar in Birmingham announced that it might have to close forever, adding “Equator bar is not a restaurant so will not be allowed to open in Tier 2” and added, “Maybe time to call it a day”.
Speaking about the crisis facing the LGBT+ Scene, Lindsay continued, “The vast majority of LGBTQ+ venues don’t serve food but offer cabaret, DJs, screenings and a whole range of other events that people need to buy tickets in the same way theatres do.
“A venue such at The RVT not only supports its staff and customers but has a whole range of self-employed performers and promotors that rely on us and all the other venues, many of whom are from marginalised groups within our community.”
How does hospitality contribute to the rising numbers of Coronavirus cases?
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association said, “Hospitality has accounted for as little as 2% of Covid cases”, and Kate Nicholls CEO, UK Hospitality said, “Pubs and restaurants pay the price of tougher tier restrictions – no other sector are facing restrictions like these.”
Government data has shown that house-to-house mixing has the highest rate of rates of transmission for the virus.
Government must compensate the hospital sector
Lindsay continued, “We understand the need for safety and Public Health, since March we have followed every rule the Government has told us to, but now the Government needs to do the honourable thing and financially support the approach to destroy a much loved industry and fully compensate commercially viable businesses who have been operating Covid-19 compliance.
“That means grants that fully cover their fixed costs and loss of business and loss of profit.
Road to nowhere
“It feels like we are on a road to nowhere that will result in the decimation of the hospitality sector as well as more deaths from Covid.
“Maybe I should ask – What is the purpose of this Government? They have not consulted with the hospitality industry and the advice that has been provided by the industry experts has been ignored. Equally the advice of the Governments own experts with the strategy they have deployed has also been ignored.”
Veterans from the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) will be holding a torchlight rally this Friday to mark 50 years since the first LGBT protest in Britain.
The rally was held to highlight anti-gay laws and police harassment, specifically in response to the arrest of the then leader of the Young Liberals, Louis Eaks, in Highbury Fields, Islington.
To conform to lockdown regulations, participants will wear masks, remain in two-person groups and keep socially distanced from each other.
“27th November 1970 was a watershed moment that challenged police persecution for the first time in the UK. It began our fightback, igniting an LGBT+ protest movement that in the following five decades rolled back straight supremacism and won the repeal of anti-LGBT+ laws,” said Peter Tatchell, who was a member of GLF 1971-74.
This 50th commemoration, we will replicate the torchlight rally of 50 years ago and read the original Gay Liberation Front demands A plaque commemorating the protest on 27 November 1970 was affixed to the former public toilet by the LGBT+ group OutRage! and Islington Council.
It was unveiled on 27 November 2000, on the 30th anniversary of the first demonstration, in the presence of then Culture Secretary Chris Smith MP, local MP Jeremy Corbyn, the Mayor of Islington, and GLF veterans.
“In 1970 I suggested that the Gay Liberation Front’s first demo ought to be in Highbury Fields against the arrest of Louis Eaks. I’m now 86 and send my love. I remind everyone that the word for the Highbury Fields demo, in the slang of 1970, was a ‘zap’, meaning a bolt of electrical energy. Highbury Fields forever! In solidarity and disgrace.” Eric Thompson
“From the dark of Highbury Fields to the light of the pub afterwards, we saw each other anew. We had shared our beliefs and convictions in public and acted them out in the world. We had made the first-ever openly public demonstration in this country by homosexuals. Whatever barriers there were between us were let down that night. An emotional connection of solidarity and respect, for ourselves and each other, was forged. It remains palpable to this day.” Stuart Feather, author of the Gay Liberation Front memoir, Blowing the Lid.
A defining moment in LGBT history
“Highbury Fields was a UK defining moment in a global LGBT+ uprising and revolution against oppression and for liberation with sexual liberation at its heart.” John Lloyd
“In 1970 gay men, lesbians and trans people protested together on Highbury Fields, not just about police abuse of power and unjust laws, but also for liberation, including sexual liberation for everyone – a revolution. Love and liberation.” Nettie Pollard.
“Marking the 50th anniversary of the first LGBT protest in London is of paramount importance today in bringing together queer individuals spanning multiple generations in order that we can celebrate and learn from those who have continuously fought for our rights over the last 50 years.” Graham Martin
Face masks have become a part of Coronavirus life, particularly if you’re not exempt from wearing one.
In the beginning, it was a pain in the ass, let’s face it. How many of us would leave the house, ready to start the day, only to have to trudge back home to retrieve the MF face mask. It is one of the things that just added to the shitstink 2020 has turned out to be.
So with the announcement(s) that vaccinations are on their way, people are starting to wonder when we can start going mask free.
We know that wearing a face mask is said to be crucial in the slowing down the rate of transmission of the Coronavirus, so until the virus is being suppressed in another way, it looks like that face masks will continue play a pivotal role for some months yet.
When will vaccinations start in the UK
Theres been a flurry of announcements about vaccines in the last couple of weeks, which has brought renewed hope that there is a light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel.
The schedule of vaccination then trickles down as availability spreads across the UK. A report has suggested that by March, everyone in the UK who needs and wants a vaccine will have had it, which is brilliant news looking ahead to a summer of activities, including Pride Season 2021.
There’s no actual date for when you can stop wearing face masks in key areas, like shops
As it stands the law requiring people to wear face masks on public transport and in other settings has an expiry to it. The law says that it expires 12 months after the law came into effect. In this case, the law came into effect on the 15th June 2020, so the face masks are a legal requirement until at least 15th June 2021. The law must also be reviewed after 6 months by the Secretary of State, which means a review on wearing face masks in the UK, is due on the 15th December 2020.
However, we can assume that sometime after March, as transmissions of COVID-19 start to radically (and hopefully) fall and we’ve reached a sort of “herd immunity” thanks to the vaccine that the need for mask-wearing in public will not be needed.
But maybe face masks should stay? After all there are tonnes of airborne virus out there, like the common cold and other flus – so maybe wearing a mask, especially during the winter months, will actually help us reduce the spread of those.
