On the 1st April 2014, the BBC News magazine ran an article ‘Do gay people still need gay bars’
By the end of the article, the answer was that whilst society has changed, there still appears to be a demand for gay people to socialise – the bars today are less about meeting people for sex. The development of social media, whether it is Facebook, Grindr, Glaad, gays.com, etc. to name a few has revolutionised how people interact with each other, develop friendships and meet. However, like any meeting place, you do need to exercise caution and be safe.
But where I do take umbrage with the article is that there is no reference to Scotland and N Ireland. I would not 
dare to write about Scotland’s gay scene, however being a resident of Northern Ireland I do feel qualified to stat that N Ireland does have a vibrant scene. Whilst predominantly based in Belfast with over 17 venues on various nights, there are pockets of activity throughout the counties.
It should be further noted gay relationships between men in Northern Ireland were illegal until December 1982 when the legal case taken by Jeff Dudgeon against the United Kingdom government was decided in his favour in the European Court of Human Rights.
The ‘troubles’ which are often referred to, did not prevent gay men or women from meeting regularly in a few supportive venues; and in particular the Carpenter Club in Long Lane, Belfast which was an extensive, unlicensed disco and coffee bar on two floors, as well as providing the Cara Friend office, and various meeting room including a library of LGBT newspapers, magazines and books.
The law reform in Northern Ireland was 15 years after England and Wales, and even today the LGBT community still have to fight for equality. The Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister are (OFMDFM – what a mouthful) are still pedalling slowly on producing the ‘sexual Orientation Strategy’ which was part of the consultation process of 2006. The OFMDFM opened a consultative process on the document in early March 2014 – eight years after it was first voiced, and with still no clarification why there has been a delay.
N Ireland’s politics are different from those Great Britain; unfortunately there is not always the separation of church and state that you would wish for. As a consequence when you look at the statistics of police reported cases of harassment in the sector for 2012-13, there were 246 of which 149 not stated as being criminal offences.
Being a member of the LGBT community is never easy anywhere, but when the legal supportive framework and 
societal framework are lacking or tardy in being developed and enforced there must by necessity be a need for gay bars and meeting places.
Archives for 2015
Book Review: The Journey Home
The Journey Home
By Dermot Bolger
Penguin
The Journey Home by Dermot Bolger is an exceptional novel from one of Ireland’s leading contemporary writers. The author, with the release of this title, has been recently nominated for the Irish literature prize in the Irish Times/Aer Lingus awards.
One can immediately see why.
Mr Bolger, to coin a phrase, is a master of modern-day grotesquery in that he portrays a horribly vivid picture of Dublin life as seen through the eyes of his principal characters: Hano, Shay and Katie.
The former enjoys too much lavish drunken debauchery with is soulmate Shay; whilst the latter has a sordid past of solvent abuse and robbery.
Briefly, Hano meets Shay whilst working in an electoral office; the two begin drinking heavily together and become best friends. Hano gradually places Shay on a pedestal. The latter moves to the continent, returns, and is eventually murdered by Hano’s ex-boss: the shady (homosexual) Patrick Plunkett (extortionist extraordinaire). In revenge, Hano murders Plunkett and goes on the run with the outcast and social victim Katie.
Behind all this marvellous maundering is a background of drug abuse, homelessness, prostitution, alcoholism, corruption rape, destruction of innocence, death, and street-fighting (PHEW!). The whole structure of the novel would make Dickens envious.
Bolger is incontrovertibly a craftsman. Structurally The Journey Home is a delight to behold; for the author incorporates flashback/memory with the present; and manages to restrict the story’s time-span to four days (Sunday to Wednesday). Further to this his seemingly “out-of-place” passages (in italics) give his work a strong cinematic quality.
Moreover, the characters portrayed in the book are extremely lifelike. It seems that very few authors around today could mould such moral deviants; such villainous, putrescent scum; as does Dermot Bolger. I actually sat down after reading this little gem of skulduggery and imagined what type of life, and what kind of people the writer in question has had the misfortune to have known. The Plunkett brothers are nasty pieces of work. Patrick is a high-powered sexual deviant; Pascal is a corruptible junior minister. The two, in my opinion, would have battled well against the Kray twins.
The whole tone of the book is one of no hope as the narrator (Hano) struggles with his guilt. Indeed, this novel could be very easily compared to Jean-Paul Sartre. It has an essentially existentialist outlook and moves often from one morose setting to the next:
…”But always the fun was jolted out of the night by the interruption of the journey. We’d sit on the floor around an electric fire, opening six-packs and trying to get back into the happy ambience of the pub. But slowly the conversation froze back into the endless dissection of work and promotion, character assassination and grudges”…
The book carries on in this vein incessantly. It can make reading somewhat arduous at times; sometimes strangely interesting at others.
One essential point to note about the Journey Home is that it can shock quite easily. I issue this very serious warning: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PURCHASE THIS NOVEL IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED. For within this work there are numerous passages of gratuitous violence; bad language; and explicit sex scenes (including a homosexual rape scene). On the other hand, if you are open-minded these passages are a riveting read: for they practically drip realism onto the page. They are also arguably essential to the plot in that they aid the reader to visualise the harsh realities that the author is trying to convey. Indeed, the author attains his goals in this respect with consummate ease.
The Journey Home, surprisingly, is a refreshing, rather than a depressing work. It can serve as a lesson to us all on how to avoid the evils of modern society. The book’s greatest attribute is it’s commentary on the destruction of innocence, and collapse of society (Hano’s family being the prime example of this).
One really wonders if the author leaves us with any hope of salvation from the sordid state that Dublin, and, more importantly, the characters within this novel have got themselves into. Is It is really their fault thought?……we can only speculate.
Overall, this is a book that will no doubt have you completely enthralled from the moment you pick it up until you put it down. I strongly recommend its purchase, despite the fact that I previously thought that I disliked this genre.
The Journey Home is worthwhile: not only is it thoroughly entertaining, but it will no doubt stand the test of time as a social commentary. Just like Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier it is vastly ahead of its time. The novel has something in it for everyone; and the discerning reader will find it hard not to see it for it’s true worth.
Granted, I didn’t come away from reading it with a sense of catharsis – but I was pleased to discover that my initial perceptions of the book were wholly unfounded.
At its current price it is at least worth considerable consideration.
JOURNEY INTO its PAGES IF YOU DARE TO STARE REALITY IN THE FACE.
Me? …..well, I’m going to buy another one of Bolger’s books!
Mark McCormack
Thought for the Day
If a problem cannot be solved, enlarge it.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/dwightdei135980.html#romQDgWEX8VZpf4Q.99
Cuddling is good for you
Allison Renner has written that it is no secret that cuddling can make you feel good … but did you know that there is actually a scientific reason for this?
Her research has shown ten positive reasons for cuddling:
- Cuddling releases oxytocin, a hormone which does everything from making you feel good to helping you connect with others
- Cuddling boosts the immune system
- Cuddling relieves pain. What do we do naturally when a child gets hurt, we cuddle them
- Cuddling helps deepen relationships
- Cuddling can lead to more – Even non-erotic touch can release dopamine, which is a hormone that increases sexual desire
- Cuddling helps women bond
- Cuddling reduces social anxiety – Oxytocin inspires positive thinking. It helps you have an optimistic outlook on the world.
- Cuddling reduces stress
- Cuddling lowers your risk of heart disease
- Cuddling doesn’t have a definition – Cuddling doesn’t have to be between you and your romantic partner
So why am I so interested in cuddling (apart from the obvious that is); according to a study on the changing social habits of heterosexual males, it revealed that 98 percent of the study’s participants — all white, college-age male athletes — have shared a bed with another guy. In addition, 93 percent also reported having spooned or cuddled with another man.
According to the study co- author and sociologist Mark McCormack, of Durham University, the study’s results demonstrate changing conceptions of masculinity in contemporary culture. As homophobia decreases, McCormack says, straight men are acting “much softer” than those from older generations — something he and Eric Anderson, of the University of Winchester, set out to examine.
This then raises the question, do straight men feel as comfortable with gay men if they cuddle them? According to the study, American men are still slightly reserved in the cuddling field, but British men (who have often been described as extremely reserved) are more advanced in these behaviours.
McCormack states “Homophobia hasn’t disappeared, but straight men today are not expected to be homophobic like they were in the 1980s and 1990s…’
Further reading:
· The Ultimate Collection Of Cuddling Bros Photos – http://www.queerty.com/the-ultimate-collection-of-cuddling-bros-photos-20140503
· Is it normal for a straight guy to want to cuddle with a gay guy? – http://isitnormal.com/story/is-it-normal-for-a-straight-guy-to-want-to-cuddle-with-a-gay-guy-50920/
· 93 Percent Of Straight Men In This Study Said They’ve Cuddled With Another Guy – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/01/straight-men-cuddle-guys-study_n_5241953.html
Thought For The Day
Quentin Crisp
“I don’t think you can really be proud of being gay, because it isn’t something you’ve done. You can only be proud of not being ashamed.”
Quentin Crisp
Writer
-
Quentin Crisp was an English writer and raconteur. From a conventional suburban background, Crisp grew up with effeminate tendencies, which he flaunted by parading the streets in make-up and painted nails, and working as a rent-boy. Wikipedia
Died: November 21, 1999, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Greater Manchester
Will any Northern Ireland Football Club follow York FC in it's anti-homophobia campaign?
When you have read the article below, republished from Gay Star News, I wonder if you will have the same question raised in your mind; namely, will any Northern Ireland football club be as supportive as York FC in it anti-homphobia campaign? The 2015 Football v Homophobia campaign has launched in Manchester, at the National Football Museum, let us see if it reaches any of our clubs. Indeed I would open it further and say let us see if it reaches any of our sporting clubs in Northern Ireland, even though the campaign launched is sponsored by the FA.
Club
Ballymena United
Cliftonville
Coleraine
Crusaders
Donegal Celtic
Dungannon Swifts
Glenavon
Glentoran
Linfield
Lisburn Distillery
Newry City
Portadown
Top UK soccer club gives out free tickets to gay fans
York City FC will host a Football v Homophobia match
York City FC is giving out dozens of free tickets to LGBTI fans to fight against homophobia in the soccer.
The northern English city club is giving out 100 tickets for their second Football v Homophobia match on 14 February as part of the Month of Action.
Lou Englefield, director of Pride Sports, said York City FC’s initiative to tackle homophobia and welcome LGBTI people into their club had been fantastic.
He said: ‘They have raised the profile of football within the LGBT community and shown their city that everyone has a place in the game.’
York City join a number of other teams, including Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, and will use the match against Tranmere Rovers to send out the message that football is a sport for everyone, regardless of sexuality, and there is no room for discrimination.
Sophie McGill, York City communications and community director, said: ‘We are once again proud to support the national Football v Homophobia campaign and are committed to tackling discrimination of all forms at York City Football Club.
‘We are actively promoting the message to our supporters that football is for everyone.’
Greg Stephenson, chair of York Pride, said the charity was delighted with the ‘commitment here at our local club, with the players and backroom staff all keen to show that prejudice about someone’s sexuality is just as irrelevant and unwelcome in football as it in every other aspect of our lives.’
The Minstermen will warm up in Football v Homophobia t-shirts while rainbow flags will be presented on the pitch before kick-off by the ball boys and girls.
Before the match and at half-time there will be anti-homophobia PA announcements and the match programme will also feature articles promoting Football v Homophobia and York Pride.
McGill added: ‘Hopefully our continued efforts to address homophobia in football will make a positive difference in York and will lead to more acceptance of gay players and supporters.’
The northern English city club is giving out 100 tickets for their second Football v Homophobia match on 14 February as part of the Month of Action.
Lou Englefield, director of Pride Sports, said York City FC’s initiative to tackle homophobia and welcome LGBTI people into their club had been fantastic.
He said: ‘They have raised the profile of football within the LGBT community and shown their city that everyone has a place in the game.’
York City join a number of other teams, including Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, and will use the match against Tranmere Rovers to send out the message that football is a sport for everyone, regardless of sexuality, and there is no room for discrimination.
Sophie McGill, York City communications and community director, said: ‘We are once again proud to support the national Football v Homophobia campaign and are committed to tackling discrimination of all forms at York City Football Club.
‘We are actively promoting the message to our supporters that football is for everyone.’
Greg Stephenson, chair of York Pride, said the charity was delighted with the ‘commitment here at our local club, with the players and backroom staff all keen to show that prejudice about someone’s sexuality is just as irrelevant and unwelcome in football as it in every other aspect of our lives.’
The Minstermen will warm up in Football v Homophobia t-shirts while rainbow flags will be presented on the pitch before kick-off by the ball boys and girls.
Before the match and at half-time there will be anti-homophobia PA announcements and the match programme will also feature articles promoting Football v Homophobia and York Pride.
McGill added: ‘Hopefully our continued efforts to address homophobia in football will make a positive difference in York and will lead to more acceptance of gay players and supporters.’
– See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/top-uk-soccer-club-gives-out-free-tickets-gay-fans020215#sthash.RzZTpln9.dpuf
Book and Movie – LOVE AND DEATH ON LONG ISLAND
LOVE AND DEATH ON LONG ISLAND
by Gilbert Adair
138 pages
Published by Minerva
This novel might be described as a gay Lolita, or more properly a modern Death in Venice. The tile seems to hint at this connection, and while the main character does finally meet and speak to the object of his desire, the same fruitless ending follows.
Giles is a middle-aged writer who lives in near seclusion. On impulse he goes to the cinema complex to see a film of a Forster novel. He goes to the wrong cinema and sees instead Hotpants College II, and falles hopelessly in love with Ronnie Bostock, one of the stars.
Giles embarks on a search for details of his beloved. He discovers Teen Dream Boat and other fan magazines. He even enters the world of video rental. Then he finds himself pushed to buy Toy Boy and superimpose the head of Ronnie on the nakes bodies from the flesh mag. When he reads that Ronnie is to wed, he goes in desperation to the States to meet him. This he finally manages, and flatters Ronnie with an intellectual analysis of the crap films he stars in. When he does finally declare himself to Ronnie, he is rebuffed.
The novel is told in beautiful spare prose, and (contrary to what this brief outline might indicate) it is funny and amusing. Adair, who is an accomplished film commentator and author of Hollywood’s Vietnam, manages to filter the world of cinema through innocent eyes, and this shed new light on it.
the obsessive nature of love is superbly captured, and this (Gile’s declaration to Ronnie) captures the style:
I found myself clinging to his wrist, to his hand, holding him back to then, in a fierce whisper, forcing frommyself the inevitable,: irreplaceable words, hackneyed and sacre d’I love you!’
When Ronnie has left, he wonders:
Dear God, I said to myelf, what have I done?
This short book says more in its space than many an overweight ‘page-turner’. It will appeal for its fine handling of a gay theme with poise and humour, while not flinching from the pathos that lies at the heart of so much love.
AH
BOOK REVIEW: Barbra: An Actress Who Sings
Barbra: An Actress Who Sings
An unauthorised biography by James Kimbrell, published by Branden Publishing Company, Boston
Filmography, Discography, bibliography are all words that spring to mind when trying to describe this book. Volume I (of presumably a 2-volume set) gives us Ms Streisand the Acress and Singer, but precious little about Streisand the Woman. Certainly we learn of her affair with Jon Peters; but this is probably one of the too-few instances when we hear about her private life.
Streisand the Actress seems to be an entirely different person from the plitical and social-awareness campaigner, as th singer is totally different fromthe aforementioned two. Her temper is legendary, and she does not sufer fools gladly- but she has also alienated many co-stars, directors, producers, camera-men etc. Mr Kimbrell is obviously a fan of Ms Streisand, but he is not afraid to pull any punches when describing her behaviour on and off the set.
The gorgeous voice (we learn) is a little unsure of itself, which accounts for her giving only four (I was surprised to learn) publich performances in her entire career. Her singing career is very well covered in this volume – but Please! no more underlining of titles, dates, names etc. It is so infuriating and distracting.
Streisand is not afraind to tackel political issues as well. Money form her own pocket was used to fund a campaign to unseat Senator Jesse Helms. All that can be said is Good Luck on this one, Barbra!
Certainly a book for all Streisand fans; but I think I will wait a while, as this is definetly not the Definitive Biography.
Peter G Simms
Russian State Ballet Company of Siberia – The Nutcracker
I love music in just about any form – jazz, classical, pop, big band, opera, ballet – they all have their place on my music shelf.
I also love the theatre, and the nuances that you pick up from a live performance, and of course opera which combines music and live acting performances.
But until last month, whilst I loved ballet music, and have watched numerous performances on television, I had not been grabbed by ballet. But this changed. Last month I was lucky enough to get a ticket for the Russian State Ballet of Siberia’s performance of ‘The Nurcracker’ in the Belfast Opera House. This is a young but not inexperienced ballet company, who are presently touring the UK with four ballets; The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, La Fille mal gardee, Coppelia.
As I have said, I was lucky enough to see The Nutcracker on Friday night [23 January 2015]. The theatre was packed, indeed I saw one baby their with its parents – and it didn’t cry once.
The sets and costumes by Christina Fyodorova, are bright and well suited to each of the performers and different points of the story. And Anatoliy Chepurnoy’s conducting of both the orchestra and his interaction with the audience was wonderful.
The accompanying booklet is lavish, beautifully produced and covers all four ballets, and is well worth the purchase price.
I am now a convert to live ballet, particularly if it keeps with the very high standard that this ballet company has produced. I for one will be looking forward to their return – the sooner the better.
Floral Hall – Belfast
On Wednesday 21, 2015 Linda Stewart wrote in the Belfast Telegraph about the Floral Hall at Bellvue and the campaign to try and save it and restore it to its past glory. Having read the article, and looked at the Facebook campaign page, with its photos, I got to wondering how many of you remember going to any of the events at the Floral Hall, was there a ‘scene’ , albeit hidden, at the Floral Hall.
Why not write an let us know your memories, and with your permission we will print them
The Floral Hall, was built in the 1930s and was used as a dance hall for many years.
Located within the grounds of the zoo is a 1930s art deco ballroom, the Floral Hall. The Hall was popular venue in its time and during the war the Hall had blackouts fitted to the windows so that dances could continue. In the 1960s, the hall was visited by musical artists such as Pink Floyd and Small Faces. The Floral Hall closed to the public on 2 April 1972 and has remained derelict since the outbreak of the Troubles in the 1970s.
During the 1990s the Floral Hall had been given Listed Building Status.
In December 2011 saw the creation of a Facebook page based around sharing old photos of the Floral Hall including interior shots of the hall today, the following year an online petition, addressed to the City Council was created to help raise awareness and to progress with the restoration project of the hall.
With such an iconic building, and the fact that it was a venue for so many different kind of events, I wonder how many of the LGBT community in Ireland, or anywhere for that matter, can remember going to any kind of event. If you do why not write to us letting us know your memories.
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