Pink Sauce

Went to Spain for the first time (Barcelona). Spent most of my time alone but am used to it so not really bothered. Have virtually written off about £6000 now paying back someone else's debt. Feeling better about myself though there are precious few reasons for that. Got back to a gym. Spent too much time online. Got cut off by a best friend. Lost a father. Easily found a nice (though badly-paid) new job which will vanish at the end of March 09. After that... Roll on 2009!

It's amazing that a celibate man wearing a dress has the gall to say such things . Is it just me or are his statements becoming more and more ridiculous (and desperate)?

Another day, another preview. And another tale of obstinate willpower, although this time it is only fiction. Danny Boyle’ Slumdog Millionaire is, very loosely, adapted from Vikas Swarup’s novel Q&A and tells the story of Jamal Malik and his brother Salim, two kids from one of India’s biggest slum in Mumbai. Jamal is about to win 20m Rupees on the TV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? but has just been roughly bundled off to the local police station on suspicion of having cheated. After a little “persuasion” he finally tells his story and how he knew the answers to the questions has been asked so far on the show. Each question kick starts a flashback to an episode of his life, most of which include violence and abject poverty. Through this we learn of the love hate relationship between the two brothers and of Jamal’s quest to be reunited to the love of his life, Latika. A few months back, Radio 4 Woman’s Hour had aired a 5 part radio adaptation of the book that I had greatly enj...

Talk of "the family" being undermined, the Christian minority uniting against gay people, a legislative proposition that will take rights away from a section of the population, a hotly disputed vote, high profile politicians (including republicans) coming out against the proposition. This must sound very familiar to your average Californian only just a month after Proposition 8, which took away gay people's right to marry, was voted in. This is however not about Proposition 8 but about one Proposition 6, which was introduced 30 years ago. The aim of this particular Proposition was to ban gay people in California from public service positions simply because of their sexuality (this targeted teachers particularly). Last night I was lucky enough to go to a UK preview of the soon to be released film Milk . Gus Van Sant's latest film, starring Sean Penn, retraces the last 8 years of the life of American gay rights activist Harvey Milk, who came down in history as the first...

What's new, you'll ask me. Well, this morning, I ticked another box of that long list of things a gay boy must do before he dies: I got topless in the middle of Selfridges! How gay is that?! This historic moment took place in front of the counter of the Sienna Cafe in the basement to be precise. And it wasn't gratuitous either! While (I don't think) I have never actually bought anything there (Shock! Horror! Should hand out my pink card now or can I keep it a bit longer?), I have been spending quite a bit of time in that haut-lieu of gayness over the past three or four Christmases; singing carols and other light-hearted ditties to the shopping masses. This morning we were there before the opening to serenade the staff as part of Good Morning Selfridges, as sort of pep talk where news and sales results are passed on to the floor staff by managers. This wasn't our most glorious moment to be honest - no warm up or rehearsal, a bad sound system and the conductor behind ...

Excellent!

No comment needed. The MSNBC website offers transcripts of the programme here and here (MSNBC blog).

Israeli police have had to restore order at one of Christianity's holiest sites after a mass brawl broke out between monks in Jerusalem's Old City. Fighting erupted between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Christ's crucifixion. Two monks from each side were detained as dozens of worshippers traded kicks and punches at the shrine, said police. Trouble flared as Armenians prepared to mark the annual Feast of the Cross. Read the full article and see the video of the fight and members of each side blaming the other, on the BBC News site, here .

4 years and 580-odd posts later! The (highly unoriginal) first one can be viewed and relished here . (I thought this picture of a cake with a fairy was appropriate, considering.)

Yesterday in addition to the presidential elections, California voters had to express their views on a variety of "Propositions". Questions that can be put to the vote if one million signatures are gathered to support them. One of those propositions was Proposition 8 which was originated by Christian organisations and aims to ban gay marriage from the Californian constitution after the Hight Court of the State allow it back in June. 18,000 couples got hitched since then, thanks to this change in the law. The battle generated by the amendment was quite high-profile and much more heated than they normally are for these things. Many celebritries (such as Brad Pitt, Steven Spielberg) and even companies (Apple and Google) "came out" against the Proposition, some even donating money. In total close to $70 million were spent by both sides of the argument to promote their views ($32m for the supporters and $38m for the opponents). The results of last night's elections w...

This picture of a vandalised fresco at the second edition of the Cans Festival, taken in Leake Street under Waterloo Station, has been used by Londonist to illustrate an article listing places to follow the results of the American presidential elections in London.

Well it's probably not something your mum taught you along with not speaking to strangers and brushing your teeth every night but it is probably something most people are aware of, these days. I thought I was too. That's until, earlier tonight, I started mixing in a mug 4 tablespoons of plain flour, 4 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of cocoa (actually Nesquik chocolate powder). I mixed that thoroughly and then added an egg. I mixed the stuff again. Finally I added 3 tablespoons of milk and 3 tablespoons of olive oil and stuck the lot in the microwave for 3 minutes. What is the link with the internet, I hear you say. Well, I found this recipe of the "mugcake" on the internet on a message board I am a member of. And while I am normal well disciplined, I decided try it out (probably out of boredom). The result (exhibits 1, 2 and 3 are shown below and were shot with my cheap newish camera which I obviously don't master yet!) was not exactly pretty to look at. ...

Rev. Peter Mullen has issued yet another justification, this time in a local newspaper where he is apparently a columnist. Thus showing, yet again, that he has no clue as to what he is talking about. I MUCH regret making some off-colour jokes about homosexuals on my website and I have offered a full public apology. I made those remarks and they are the responsibility of no one but myself. I repeat, I’m sorry I wrote what I did. However, I do believe The Evening Standard took my words out of context, although that paper did have the good grace to print my explanation of my intentions. To wit: I was not criticising individual homosexuals. I have never criticised them. I number many homosexual men and women among my dearest friends. I voted for the Homosexual Reform Act of 1967; and I would vote for it again today. This Act specified the decriminalisation of homosexual acts “between consenting adults in private.” “Between” means two. “Adults” meant 21. “Private” means in the bedroom – an...

This picture has been used by Londonist to illustrate an article about an Art Exhibition in Harrow where artworks showing nudes have been removed from public display.

To mark the 10th anniversary of the savage murder of her son, Judy Shephard has issued a statement available here . I had the privilege to hear her talk a few years ago and she is a truly inspirational woman, who has managed to make something positive out of such a negative event. Go Judy! To find out more about the Matthew Shephard Foundation and its work, visit www.MatthewShepard.org or www.MatthewsPlace.com picture of Matthew Shephard by Gina Van Hoof

Following my post about the comments the Rev. Peter Mullen made on his blog, here is some further interesting information. Someone from a social website I belong to, took the trouble to write to the London Stock Exchange to complain about Mullen and he received the following reply (I have no reason whatsoever to doubt that this is original): Thank you for your letter to Clara Furse regarding the comments of Peter Mullen, about which she has asked me to respond. Like you, we were appalled to read of Peter Mullen’s comments in Monday’s Evening Standard and elsewhere. We were also concerned to see him being associated with the London Stock Exchange. There are historic links between St Michael, Cornhill and “The Stock Exchange” of old, reflecting the fact that the Exchange was previously housed within that parish. However, there is no formal connection between the London Stock Exchange and Peter Mullen, and our company does not even have a chaplain. We have asked the Diocese of London tha...

At the end of August, I had to go back to France in an emergency for some serious family business. During a conversation with my mother where I was telling her about a friend of mine whom she also know and how he had recently signed the French equivalent of a Civil Partnership with his boyfriend (she didn't even know he was gay), my mother suddenly asked me if I had a boyfriend. Missing only just one beat, I emitted a laconic "no". She then, I think, asked me why I hadn't, to which I replied that it wasn't that easy. We moved on to something else. That was it: how I was outed by my mother. No drama, no fanfare, no tears or screams. Typical. Anyway, I just wanted to say (in case you hadn't noticed), I am a big poofter!

Rev. Peter Mullen is the chaplain to the London Stock Exchange and the rector of St Michael's Cornhill and St Sepulchre without Newgate in the City. Rev. Peter Mullen was also until recently a blogger. Sadly the result of his cyber labour seem to have been deleted but Google has thankfully cached some of it and I have saved a copy for posterity, just in case. The deletion of Rev. Mullen's writings might just have something to do with the fact that last week, the Evening Standard and then the Daily Mail published an article (the same article actually) about some of those very writings (even though the elements of said writings being quoted had been published in June this year, at the time of the blessing ceremony which took place between two members of the Church of England in St Bartholomew the Great - picture ). In the article, we learned what the Rev. thinks about gay people and what should be done to them: We ["Religious believers"] disapprove of homosexuality ...

This picture has been used by Londonist to illustrate an article about Madonna .

One of my pictures of the recent trip to Catalonia has just appeared in the Pink Paper to illustrate a letter to the editor sent by another Choir member. The original picture can be viewed here .

I attended part of the " Stop the Fascist BNP " (British National Party) demonstration this afternoon before running off to West End Live where I was singing with the Chorus (for the fourth year I think). Although I have attended a few demonstrations, this was my first of this type and I have to say that I was left a little dubious. I think about 3000 people were in attendance of what seemed to be organised mainly by unions and as is all too often the case, irrelevant "causes" found themselves grafted onto the main theme of the event. I was pleased to spot a few (not many, sadly) rainbow flags. The photograph of the Pink Paper was in attendance but left with very little material of relevance. There was also a reference to sexism and homophobia on a particular set of placards and the leading float was also (rather incongruously) festooned the rainbow flags, reference to IDAHO and the pink triangle (see pictures). While I completely agree that it is important to fight...

The quire of the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great where the blessing ceremony of two gay priests took place last week-end and relaunched the quarrel about gay clergy in the Anglican Church.

Far the past couple of weeks, I have been on the job market again after two years being self employed. I have sent out close to a hundred copies of my CV to recruitment agencies with responses from only about five. Not a great success rate but nothing unexpected considering my previous achievements in this matter. I am not really expecting to hear from two of the said agencies. One of them was supposed to contact me again to schedule a registration meeting but the silence has been deafening since then, even after I gently nudged them. The other wasn't really for me (the seem to specialise in underpaid admin jobs in healthcare). I had an appointment to register with another agency at lunchtime today. I have been registered with them a couple of times before and I am always dealing with the same consultant. We've "known" each other for about 5 years now, I think. It is rather amusing to have that sort of ungoing acquaintance with someone in that big maelstrom that is L...

Londonist have posted a short article about Bike Week which is starting today in the UK. They forgot to mention the World Naked Bike , whose London edition is taking place today, but to illustrate their article they have use the above picture, which I took at the Cans Festival last month.

It all started by a Nothern Irish MP's comments in reaction to a homophobic attack. Lots of people were not impressed and Mrs Robinson MP is now being investigated by the police and might possibly be sued too by a local activist, who, like this youth worker, is not impressed. In the meantime, the MP's psychoanalyst friend, whom she claimed can cure people of their gayness rides the media hype with (surprise! surprise!) the support of the Christian Institute. If you are feeling (justifiably outraged by this sad story, you can click here to sign the petition to the Prime Minister to reprimand MP Iris Robinson for her recent comments. You have until 9 August to do like the 3748 people who have already signed as I write this. Pass this on...

“The power of the executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgement of his peers, is in the highest degree odious, and the foundation of all totalitarian government.” Winston Churchill

I am against the 42 day thing and other "erosions of our civil liberties" (all the more disgraceful coming from a Labour government) but I think that David Davies' stand down from his seat as an MP is nothing but a stunt and not a very clever one at that. First there is the cost involved in all this, the wasted money; then there is the wasted time for his constituents who noe find themselves without an MP for however long it will take for Davies to be re-elected. And that the bigger point, He has a majority of 5000, the Lib Dems have already said that they wouldn't put up a candidate and I don't think Labour should bother either (if nothing else but show up Davies), so Mr Davies is guarranteed to be re-elected... He is not taking any risk whatsoever. Unless perhaps the electors wake up and realise they have being conned. Would he not have been better able to carry on raising the issues he wants to raise by staying in his position in the Shadow Cabinet, rather than...

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin 42 day detention without charge

This week-end, together with thousands of other people of all ages and background (I saw a BBC political journalist, whose name escapes me, together with his family and also caught a glimpse of a former flatmate), I visited the darker recesses of Waterloo Station where The Cans Festival was taking place. Leake Street, a dismal little street under the station itself had been transformed for the bank holiday week-end into a street art gallery. The most famous artist on show was by far our local Banksy but there were people from all over showing either full on frescos or more humble efforts. Members of the public were also invited to wield the cans. I went there on Sunday and Monday morning (and will probably return in a few days to see how the images fair when left to their own device) and took about 200 pictures, a selection of which can be viewed here . Enjoy.

And thank you for everything you did for London and its diverse population.

A vote against this effete and frivolous Tory is a no-brainer by Polly Toynbee, The Guardian , Tuesday April 29 2008 Ken Livingstone has relentlessly worked to improve London’s lot. Boris Johnson is running only for fun and fame. Vote for Ken

With the current debate raging in the media and in Parliament around Alistair Darling's budget and his decision to remove the 10p rate on income tax, I thought I would resuscitate this post I originally published on 27 march 2007 as an interesting angle on the controversy. Last week, with the approval by both Houses of Parliament of the Sexual Orientation Regulations was of course a very important and much publicised time for the LGB community. That same week might however have other less obvious and less auspicious consequences for at least some members of our community. The big news for the Country, last week also came from Parliament. Gordon Brown, Prime Minister in waiting and current Chancellor of the Exchequer was delivering his budget for 2008 and to some extend two to three years beyond that. The big headline, widely reported in the media, for what everybody assumes to be Brown's last budget, was the announcement by Brown at the end of his speech of a cut of 2p in the...

Comments on the Evening Standard website regarding Boris last week: We should stand up for Boris. So what if he has no grasp of detail and his management experience is limited to editing the Spectator magazine. He is a jolly funny chap and will be an inspiring ambassador for London. - Martin Clerkenwell, London I’d rather he spent £100M on new Routemasters than another penny on minority ethnic interests. - Squiz, Islington Doesn’t matter, I would much rather Boris spend the money on Routemasters unlike Ken who squanders our taxes on ‘focus groups’ for immigrants or visits to third world dictators. - Kyle, London So what if Boris got his sums wrong, I’d take someone who admits his error over someone who gets his team to lie for him so he doesn’t have to come clean… - St, London Boris all the way. He is funny and not politically correct which is great. - David, Lincoln Johnson - or to give him his full name, Boris LOL!!!! what a legernd!! Johnson!!! - is a TV character loved by millions ...

The BBC's (very quick) response to my complaint about that comedy programme the other day : Dear [Zefrog] Thank you for your e-mail regarding [sic] I am sorry if you were offended by the content of 'Happy Mondays: The Don't Watch with Mother Sketchbook'. I can assure you it's never our intention to deliberately upset its audience. As you're no doubt aware and the programme title itself suggests the content often 'sails close to the wind'. However we can assure you the programme isn't intended to gratuitously shock and the humour contains no malice. As a public service financed by the licence fee we must provide programmes which cater for the whole range of tastes in humour. We believe that there's no single set of standards in this area on which the whole of society can agree, and it is inevitable that programmes which are acceptable to some will occasionally strike others as distasteful. The only realistic and fair approach for us is to ensure ...

"If we go back to the beginning we shall find that ignorance and fear created the gods; that fancy, enthusiasm, or deceit adorned or disfigured them; that weakness worships them; that credulity preserves them, and that custom, respect and tyranny support them." Baron D’Holbach , Système de la nature , 1770

Last week, BBC Radio four premiered a new late night comedy programme entitled Happy Mondays , meant to be "showcasing new ideas in comedy". The first episode was reasonably good featuring a diverse array of comedian including the black gay comedian Stephen K Amos . This week's episode, The Don't Watch with Mother Sketchbook , "a celebration of the 30th anniversary of an imaginary sketch show", was sadly not at all as funny as last week's. If I am honest I even found it rather offensive. There was a sketch meant to be the only surviving copy of an old sketch from this imaginary show dubbed in Zulu, featuring a man and woman hopefully really talking Zulu must as likely as night just making things up on a background of canned laughter. Nothing very funny there at all. The most offensive part, in my view, however, was found right at the beginning of the show during the introductory speech where a former member of the imaginary team, Peter Wellet, was said ...

The local elections are only a few couple of weeks away now and the debate is slowly heating up. It's time for people to finally make there choice as to who they vote for. Londoners have to choose between no less than 10 candidates, although it is widely predicted that the election will be played out between the candidates of the three main political parties; all three of whom are rather strong personalities. Although I already pretty much knew already who I was going to vote for, I took a short online quiz a few days ago. The results (as reproduced below) given to me by Vote Match didn't yield many surprises (if any): Ken Livingstone (Labour) Siân Berry (Green Party) Lindsey German (Left List) Brian Paddick (Liberal Democrats) Boris Johnson (Conservatives) Alan Craig (Christian Peoples Alliance / Christian Party) Matt O’Connor (English Democrats) Winston Mckenzie Gerrard Batten (UKIP) Richard Barnbrook (BNP) In order to help voters make up their minds, many interest groups ha...

"We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another." Jonathan Swift

”The greatest tragedy in mankind’s entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion.” Arthur C. Clarke

Five years ago, the War on Terror (TM) kicked off for good after weeks of toing and froing at the UN and demonstrations around the world by millions of people. Five years on, things don't seem to have improved much. The world is still and dangerous place (probably more dangerous as a result of this war) and hundred of thousand of people have died seemingly for nothing. I took this picture on the Embankment during the anti-war demonstration on 15 February 2003 which brought together 2 million people to the streets of London, making it, I think, the biggest ever demonstration in the UK.

I attended the launch of International Day Against Homophobia ( IDAHO ) at the London College of Fashion, Rootstein Hopkins Space last night. A very interesting evening with a couple of very strong testimony from Uganda (by Pastor Kiyimba Brown) and Irak (Ali Hili – Founder and Coordinator of Iraqi LGBT). Speakers also included, amongst others, Linda Bellos OBE, Louis-Georges Tin, founder of IDAHO, Sue Sanders, someone from Unison and from Amnesty. Seeing a cabinet minister (Barbara Follett, Minister for Equality, who, incidentally, was one of the best speakers of the evening) dancing to a silly song about baking crumble (the lyrics went like this: Everybody’s good at cooking something/and I’m good at cooking crumble/In fact, I’ve got one in the oven/would you like some? YES, PLEASE! ) while waving a small glitter ball over her head at the end of a metal coat-hanger was probably also worth the trip in itself! Four of the mayoral candidates were also present (or their representatives: ...

I had a "date" last night. Someone who contacted me online and asked to meet for a drink. We met up the Royal Festival Hall. It proved to be another disaster to add to my ever expanding list. All the more crushing as an email chat during the day had been fairly promising. Basically, we couldn't find anything we had in common and the conversation languished into a series of clumsy reciprocal questions about our lives. YAWN. We lasted one hour (which was quite good I thought) and packed it in. I was supposed to attend something similar on Tuesday but thankfully got invited to a performance of Brief Encounter at the Haymarket Cinema. I canceled the "date" and I don't think I am going to pursue a reschedule, in light of last night's events. The show was thankfully really good fun, using a mix of music and film to create a fluffy concoction. More than a retelling of the film, it is a homage to it and a way to acknowledge the long-lasting lovestory between th...

I learnt a nice new saying the other day that seems to be describing a lot of my life at the moment: I must be a mushroom because everybody keeps me in the dark.

A couple of days ago, I was helping Slightly to prepare a lecture he gave for LGBT History Month. I knew there was going to be a sound system on the night and thought I would quickly put together a playlist of gay songs to play in the background while people were arriving. In doing my selection, I have deliberately moved away from the usual disco and dance anthems which are supposed to be favourites in the community but ultimately only speak indirectly about our experience. Since the event, I have done a little research and my (non-exhaustive) list has now grown to 55 songs, all of which directly and explicitly talk about the gay, lesbian, bi or trans experience. The only possible exceptions to this being three same-sex duets. It is interesting to notice, by the way how, many songs with a Trans theme seem to be out there. The last four tracks at the bottom are two songs with and a translation. The list of songs can be found below in blocks of 10 and in alphabetical order by artist fir...

This afternoon, I went to the Imperial War Museum (next door to where I live) to attend one of the two screenings of Sex and War , a documentary directed by Annie Paul in 1998 for the BBC's Timewatch series, the museum had scheduled to mark LGBT History Month. The film uses the stories of British servicemen who fought bravely for their country during the Second World War and the example of the Dutch Army which started to welcome gay people in its ranks from 1994 to explore the arguments in the debate around the legalisation of homosexuality which was taking place in the UK at the time of the making of the film. The film includes testimonies from gay (and straight) men from the three services as well as a particularly prejudiced interview with Air Chief Marshall Sir Michael Armitage, the former head of military intelligence (his view are reproduced in the contemporaneous links below). The ban on gays in the UK armed services was official lifted in 2000. The film was very and, with ...

The fourth edition of Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans History Month got on the way today. Learn more about the month here or find an event near you here .