Pink Sauce

11.40 pm. I close the front door and shut off the world, climb up to my room and here I am, survivor of yet another attack of bad luck. Tonight was the scene of another low in my already subterranean track regard with strangers. I am sure some scientist of the extreme will find it some day and hail it as the missing link in the evolution of protozoa into amoeba. Or something charming like that. Location: Village bar, Soho (very gay bar in a very gay part of town) Time: 9pm, Friday night in the lull between the ebb and the flow of two waves of customers. Characters: Two men in their early thirties, meeting for the first time, although they have been in contact electronically for about a year. The meeting was a last minute arrangement made earlier in the day. Duration: 75min approx. Surpringly we managed to find a seat (near the open Fench window on the street) and I was instructed to go and sit while (let's call him) PSJ went to the bar to order drinks. He came back with 3 class...

An Apology... of sort. My recent post on St George has somehow found itself linked to in a news item on the blog of the Campaign for an English Parliament. This has generated a couple of comments. One of them, while I understand that it was possibly not very nice, was certainly quite inarticulate and I therefore was not able to reply to it. The other reacted to my affirmation that the nationalist right wing had highjacked St George's flag and insisted that this was only a media driven perception of the situation. This is where I have to apologise I think. I like to try and be fair and I think that in my hurry to get to the quirky bit of news that post was all about (that St George is the Bridegroom of Jesus and therefore could potentially be the patron saint of same-sex unions), I produced a rather shoddy bit of writing and rather caricatured St George's fans. I would say however that when the perception of people claiming allegeance to St George might be media driven, a gene...

I have just been helping Slightly put in English this letter to newspapers I wanted to send. I thought I would share it with you, as these are my views too. I recently came across a press release for the new Liberal Democrats Youth and Students group anti-homophobia campaign called "HOMOPHOBIA IS GAY". Enclosed were badges bearing that same slogan, and A5 leaflets asking people to sign a petition against homophobic bullying at school. As a member of the LGBT community, I find this a very praiseworthy initiative. As a communications consultant, however, I have to point this out as a very badly thought out slogan. At best, it sends a conflicting message (isn’t “homophobia” a sort of contrary to “gay”?). At worst it re-enforces the current trend that the word "gay" refers to something “bad” or “naff”. Following the recent controversy around a BBC presenter's use of the word "gay" in accordance to some apparently justifiable new meaning of the word in play...

Update The Gay & Lesbian Humanist Association has learned that an evangelical Christian politician, Rev George Hargreaves, the leader of Operation Christian Vote, a fundamentalist Christian political, will be seeking a private prosecution of members of the Gay Police Association in relation to this. Link . At the same time, we learn that Stephen Green has been cleared of the public order charges after handing out anti-gay leaflets, but now plans to take civil action against the police for infringing on his freedom of speech. Link . Gay campaigners have welcomed the decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) today that the Gay Police Association (GPA) will not be prosecuted for a controversial advert linking religious statements to homophobia. [...] The protests against the ad were led by Christian Voice whose leader Stephen Green faces trial on Thursday for public order offences after handing out homophobic leaflets at this year's Cardiff gay pride. Further details @ pink...

Letters From Guantanamo , presented by Gavin Esler was broadcast on BBC Radio Four on Wednesday 27 Sept 2006, repeated Saturday 30 Sept 2006. Listen to the programme here (40MB Mp3 file, 43 min). Guantanamo Bay is the world's most controversial prison, the heart of George Bush's "war on terror". Over the past few months the BBC has obtained access to the biggest cache of letters to come out of Guantanamo from someone still detained there. He is known to the Americans as Enemy Combatant Prisoner 345, Camp Four, Guantanamo Bay. His employers - the Arab TV station Al Jazeera - call him Sami al-Hajj, a cameraman who was picked up on the Pakistan-Afghan border almost five years ago. And his young son Muhammad, who is just six years old, hardly knows him at all. 'Abuse' Sami's story emerges in his own words, through the letters he has sent out and which have been through the US censorship process. Here's a flavour: "Who are these people who are held in...

PeaceOUT UK is Europe’s first gay hip-hop festival. Friday the 20th October 2006 The DiTch Bar 145 Shoreditch High Street London E16JE www.peaceoutuk.com Tags: London , Hip hop , gay , LGBT , GLBT , lesbian , bisexual , transgender , rap , PeaceOUT .

Death In Venice and other stories by Thomas Mann A collection of portraits where most people will recognise a bit of themselves, or a lot, as I did already with Tonio Kroger... The title story about an older man falling in love with an adolescent and loving him from afar, is, of course, one of the classics of gay literature. Tags: book , books , reading .

St George , as patron of England and all its flag waving morons (most of them are, let's face it), has, for the past few years, been highjacked by football fans (mostly) and the nationalist far right. This morning was presumably a news starved day. Not wanting to annoy people any further with the Brown/Blair saga, the Today Programme had a short slot ( listen here (4.88Mb Mp3)) with Clive Paine, some pernickety local historian, defending BBC Radio Suffolk's decision that St George is ("foreign",) not English enough and should be replaced as patron saint of the country with St Edmund, forgetting in the process that there is very scant evidence of dear George's existence anyway. This choice of St Edmund, whose sole claims to fame seem to be "a home-grown, defender of the homeland, saint" and to have (unsuccessfully) fought the invading Danes (like the BNP is now fighting the invading immigrants, one can't help but think), does not strikes me as the m...

Spending time outside of London, away from civilisation, brings out the worst in certain persons. You'll need to follow that link and read the post if you want to understand what follows. Yes, it is me in the picture but I was only LOOKING at the books. Slightly, on the contrary "liberated" two of them AND it was his idea in the first place. Ok, I admit I just didn't find anything I found interesting. The reassuring thing is that, considering the (pungent) quality of the punters of the place, the staff would probably never imagine that anyone would be interested in...erm..."liberating" any of those dusty old things on the shelves. The Churchill first edition ( Painting as a Pastime ) Slightly picked up is probably worth about £30 though... Not bad for £5.50 for two meals outing! There are three more shelves for us to explore... Tags: London , books .

Last week, the "Muslim world" rallied in anger against Pope Benedict XVI and forced him to apologise for comments he made the week before about the relation between violence and Islam during a speech ( edited version ) he made in a German university. Death threats against the Pope, attacks on Churches, burning of effigies of the Pope, his being equated to Mussolini and Hitler and the killing of nun and her bodyguard followed. In my mind this “incident” around what the Pope said is like the one surrounding the Mohammed drawings earlier this year : politically orchestrated by people in the "Muslim world" who have an interest in keeping the animosity against the western world alive. The fact that it took a month and a visit by local Muslims to the Middle East to start the cartoons crisis seem to indicate this. It only took a few days in the Pope's case but the fact that there is a delay seems conclusive that some sort of manipulation is happening (I also think ...

Here are the posts to this blog I could have written, had I not been such a lazy bugger. In consequence, you will only be able to read samples of them. I can hear a general sigh of relief. Tomato Teaser Monday 18 September This afternoon, I attended a photoshoot for one of Slightly's projects. About a year ago, he launched a blog mixing food recipes and pictures of hunky guys. The blog has since been so successful, that he decided to pitch it to a publisher. The shoot is part of the process of creating the proposal. This involved £20 worth of tomatoes (about 4/5 kilos), a semi-naked man (complete with tatoos), a photographer and the inevitable hangers-on. Below is a short video of the shoot: Thames Festival Fireworks Sunday 17 September This week-end was Ken's Thames Festival . It involved, some sort of fun fair on the South Bank, and performances. There was also a night Carnival, which for me mostly meant delays for the bus I was on coming from Regent's Park from a picni...

It seems that old stories on this blog are coming to haunt me today (see previous post). Do you remember this ? It seems that there won't be a trial after all. I haven't heard from the lawyers again, so I rather thought that much. Apparently , Mr Cole and the papers involved came to some sort of (financial) agreement. Tags: football , soccer , gay , LGBT , GLBT , sport , bisexual , homophobia , Ashley Cole , gay rights .

Remember this ? If you didn't believe me, check THIS out (10.5Mb Quicktime file). You kinda need to know what I look like to "enjoy" that, I agree... Well, it looks like the whole thing is now finished and with a website. You can see the site and view the trailer at: www.theplansofman.com . My first reaction after seeing the trailer, however, is: "ok I know all I needed to know, why should I bother to go and see the film?".... Tags: London , film , gay , LGBT , GLBT , extra , Plans of Man .

I am back in London after a good if tiring trip. I will try and post more in the next few days. In the meantime, you can see some of the 240 or so photos I took during my three days in Turin by clicking on the picture above. Enjoy. Tags: London , history , gay , LGBT , GLBT , lesbian , bisexual , transgender , homophobia , gay rights .

He who dresses in green is confident of his beauty (Italian saying on the Chorus tour T-shirt). I am currently away with the Chorus . Normal services will resume after our return from Turin (Wednesday 13th). Tags: Turin , Torino , gay , LGBT , GLBT , Italy , singing , London Gay Men's Chorus , Settembre Musica , choir .

On tuesday , I blogged about the two new free evening papers in London, telling how I thought thelondonpaper was better, in my view than London Lite . It seems that the "bloodbath" is still going on on the streets of London. On Wednesday night I once again found myself on a bus to rehearsal with the Chorus and if anything there seem to be more people handing out free papers (both titles) than there were on Monday. A witness to this was the state of the upper of the bus home! I dutyfully picked up a copy of each paper to see whether my observation of the other day were still holding. Just like a swallow doesn't make spring, an issue obviously does not make a newspaper. I have to say, London Lite did not disappoint. It is just as bad but then again, this is the result of years of experience. The recipe is tested and in no danger of dilution. I was not so pleased by what thelondonpaper was offering, however. Two days had been enough to turn it into a parody of its rival, ...

One of the members (who was obviously bored at work) spotted this bootleg clip of the Chorus rehearsing, on YouTube. We (yes, I was there) were doing a last minute rehearsal before our performance at the Royal Albert Hall for Europride 2006, The Show on 02 July 2006. Another member commented on this: There's nothing more beautiful than when a voyeur stumbles upon a gardenful of exhibitionists. What a shame this girl's commentary isn't transcribed - some of it is priceless (particularly their fondness for "the biker guy" wearing a "wifebeater".) My chief memory of that very fun afternoon rehearsal was watching tour buses go by and wildly point their cameras in our direction, and the old people who stopped to listen to us and smiled appreciatively - then backed away in horror and shooed the small children away as they learned of our slightly less G-rated intentions. Also spotted, a fleeting glance of the Chorus float during the parade at Pride, the day ...

From MediaWatchWatch we learn that Stephen Green, the National Director of the infamous Christian Voice , was arrested last week-end during Cardiff Mardi Gras. While I am pleased to see that Christian Voice should have recently disappeared from the BBC's radar (I like to think due to things like this ), and also that they are recognised for the homophobe that they are, I have to say I am slightly concerned by this arrest. Stephen Green is, despite what he claims, no friend of freedom of speech (He was at the origin of the furore when the BBC tried to broadcast Jerry Springer the Opera, trying to ban it) and I certainly don't like what he has to say. I had a very quick look at the leaflets (pdf file) he was arrest for distributing. The leaflets are a re-iteration of what the Bible has to say about same-sex (with the Christian Voice slant, of course). On the whole, however, the text is much milder and sounds much more sensible than Green's usual rethoric. It is interesting t...

The big news item in London for the past few days is the "bloodbath" started on the city's pavements and stations between the two new free afternoon newspaper. On my left, London Lite , produced by the people (Associated Newspapers) behind the Evening Standard , the Metro and the, I think now defunct, Standard Lite . On my right, Thelondonpaper , Rupert Murdoch's News Corp's latest. Yesterday was the launch of thelondonpaper , an event which had been preceeded in the past two weeks or so by a ad campaign on on bus stops around the capital. The ads features a the body of a black man or a woman in purple work clothes, holding a sign with a selection of slogans such as "We Live London", "Life Starts at 4.31" and the most interesting one from an LGBT perspective: "Wall Street - Old Compton Street". Yesterday evening, was first day back at school for the Chorus and I dutyfully found myself on a bus crossing central London just after rush ...

I was the outcast, the misfit, the weirdo. I was the kid at school reluctantly chosen (last) by the team. The one called "the girl" by the other boys because I did prefer playing with the girls. The one who wore home-knit jumpers. When I knew how to read, I took refuge in books; living other lives in other worlds, in other times, in the darkness of my room. I missed living my life in the meantime. I missed learning to live. I am the outcast, the misfit, the weirdo. The one who can't talk to people, who doesn't know how to. The one people don't talk to (not for long anyway). The one who doesn't appeal to the men he fancies and who would probably not find them appealing. I will remain the outcast, the misfit, the weirdo. Always. Alone.

The London Gay Men's Chorus has been invited to take part in the prestigious international music festival Settembre Musica in Turin, Italy. Sharing the bill with us at the festival are Peter Maxwell Davies , the London Sinfonietta , Les Ballets C. de la B. , the Philharmonia Orchestra , Les Arts Florissants , the London Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic , amongst others. We will be spending 4 days in Turin, as of Sunday and will be performing on the 12th at the Auditorium Giovanni Agnelli Lingotto (a 2000 seater, apparently more or less sold out already). We will also have a chance to visit the city and I think an after-show party is being organised. Expect pictures when I come back. Tags: Turin , Torino , gay , LGBT , GLBT , Italy , singing , London Gay Men's Chorus , Settembre Musica , choir .

We learn today that Mario Conti, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow, has spoken out in support of nine scottish firefighters who had been disciplined for refusing to hand out leaflets during a gay rights march. His fatuous arguments are, it seems, summed up by those two sentences: "The duty to obey one's conscience is a higher duty than that of obeying orders." "They were asked, while in uniform, to hand out leaflets during a demonstration where they had legitimate concerns about being the subject of taunts and jokes, and in which in some cases, their religious sensibilities would have been grossly offended by people dressed as priests and nuns lampooning the Church." The whole story is so preposterous that I don't really know where to start. I also find myself lakcing the energy to reply to such drivel. Yet again. The first quote, first. As members of a paramilitary organisation, firefighters can only obey their conscience and refuse to obey an order...