Pink Sauce

In reaction to the flurry of gayed-up corporate logos, the Hornby story earlier this week, and a visit to my local Sainsbury's this morning, I ponder the subject of corporate pinkwashing and how sticking a rainbow in the (real or virtual) window is no longer enough to show support.   This morning, as I reached the tills in my local Sainsbury’s, I noticed a string of bunting bearing (pictured) the colours of the Progress Flag and proclaiming the company’s proud support to the LGBT+ community. A cursory look around showed no other evidence of this support being displayed in the shop. My immediate, and perhaps ungrateful, reaction was that not only most customers would most likely not notice the thing, it also felt rather tokenistic and half-hearted.   There was a time, perhaps ten to 15 years ago, when seeing a rainbow flag in a business you visited would be something meaningful, something feeling daring and perhaps slightly dangerous. It was in any case an occasion r...

It was the Friday before Easter - Good Friday - when everybody is sad but is looking forward to eating lots of chocolate in a couple of days. As he waited for the Easter Bunny to bring him his well-deserved chocolate eggs, little Keir decided to go to church. Because that is what nice people do on that day. No one is sure why he decided to go to that particular church, because it is quite well known that this is not a very nice church; one that didn't like fayries. Perhaps it was because all his posh friends - Theresa, Boris, Charles and Camilla - had visited that church before him and he wanted to be more like his posh friends.  So little Keir decided to go to that church, even though some of his best friends were fayries. And to make sure that everyone knew what a good boy he was, he decided to make a video for his social media. In the video, he explained how he liked what the church people did, and what a wonderful example the church was. You could even see him praying with the ...

I could carry on tinkering with it until Christmas and beyond, I'm sure, but I think the time as come to stop and let my short story go and live its stunted life in the big out there.  Plenty of Time For James, this grey morning of July 2005 is like any other, as he wakes up, gets ready and walks to the tube station to catch his train to work. Until he makes a mistake.   It is 3,400 words long and should take about 30min to read.  To mark the occasion I've created  a webpage  that includes my previous effort (and hopefully, soon, future ones). All in one place, now! This also has a feedback form, which I invite you to use should you kindly grant me time to read my work. The feedback can be given anonymously, so no excuse!  Enjoy!  Health warning: The language I use in this story (quite different from that of the other one) is not going to be to most people's taste. Readers of English tend to prefer simple language. This isn't simple. It's full of adje...

I spent Christmas Day 2017 at a friend's place. After indulging in all sorts of delicious foods he had prepared, we lay in a mild torpor on his sofa, half watching television. One of the programmes unfolding before our bleary eyes happened to be the festive Dr Who episode, which included a scene in the trenches of the First World War during that infamous football match in 1914. This was, of course, in reference to the celebrations of the centenary of the war. In any case, this somehow imprinted itself into my subconscious and within the next few days, a story presented itself to my mind. Over the following months, I endeavoured to commit it to electronic paper. This is my first completed attempt at writing fiction. I am grateful to my first readers, Eddie, Sue, Richard, Russell and Andrew, who were kind enough to say positive things about the story, and also provided input and feedback. It is, I think, now time to release it unto the unsuspecting world, 104 years to the day a...

"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.", wrote Isaac Newton in 1675. It wasn’t an original thought even at the time but as we reach the middle of this year’s LGBT History Month, and as some wonder what the need is for such an event, this quote seems particularly apt.  Although, as in so many cases, evidence is scant, Newton seems likely to have been at least romantically attracted to men. A possible proclivity, which, like that of so many other prominent figures, is either not discussed or actively maintained in the recesses of the darkest closet by an interested or downright hostile society.  Further than this, however, the quote epitomises the situation of any LGBT person living in the UK in 2018. It is a cliché but we do indeed stand on the shoulders of giants; people who have had the courage to speak out and push for laws and mentalities to change; for us to be in a position to live our lives more or less as we please (although, as rese...

I managed to get a press pass for Pride London again this year. This gave me access to a loo in a nearby hotel at the end of the parade(!) but more importantly to the pit at the front of the main stage where my arms got thoroughly burned by an unusual appearance from the sun. The dwindling number of fundamentalists protesting the parade (there weren't even 20 of them this year!) would probably remind me that that's one gets from pride: the burns of hellfire... I'm glad to report that no debacle like that of last year with Boy George took place this year and that the artistes with whom I shared my images on Twitter have been very gracious about it. Some have even asked for permission to use the images. On Sunday, to finish a gay old week-end in style, I was at Tate Britain for Queer Britannia , a mellow and relaxing tour of the newly hung galleries, highlighting some of the gay-friendly pieces on display. Again pictures were taken... ( full flickr set ) Full Pride se...

Saturday marks the opening of an exhibition organised by Foyles and the Gay Photographers Network. It will showcase the works of some of the GPN's members around the themes of Literary London, Travel, Love and Marriage and Mind, Body and Soul. I'm very proud to be among those whose images will be featured. As I also have an image in a show celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Pink Singers , this marks the fourth exhibition in which my work has been displayed. And I have more plans for later in the year... So if you find yourselves in Charing Cross Road in the next five weeks, drag yourselves to the gallery on the 3rd floor and (hopefully) enjoy our works. On your way down, you can stop at the cafe for a nice sit down and a cuppa and enjoy a few more works from some of our members. Beyond Words Gallery at Foyles, Charing Cross Road 29 June to 03 August Admission free more info: here and here .

Gaydar's new Find Him feature Apps for smart phones have become all the rage, we all know that. You can get one for just about anything. And while they are an effective tool to reach customers for any brand wanting to appear modern, they do present a big problem for developers and to a point for users: The need to comply with whatever rules the owner of the shop/OS carrying your app decides to impose on content and format. There are also fears that apps could lead to a ghettoisation of the Web, where it is no longer possible to move easily from one platform to another. From a gay user's perspective, perhaps the most obvious manifestation of those restrictions on content, are the policies on levels of nudity allowed in geolocated "dating" apps; policies, the implementation of which has been known to be patchy and inconsistant, not to mention, for the developer, (no doubt) costly to enforce and police. It is therefore interesting and perhaps not altogether surp...

Below is a non-edited version of my first comment piece for Gay Star News. Just like in the UK, marriage equality features high up on the news agenda in France. And like in the UK, the most vocal voices against equality come from the right and usually with a religious flavoring. From the fringes of the main conservative party, Sarkozy's UMP, there have been various mentions of paedophilia, incest or zoophilia as possible consequences of a change in the law. Brigitte Barèges, Christian Vanneste and François Lebel are the main culprits here. A handful of Mayors have warned that they would disobey the law if it passes, and refuse to perform same-sex ceremonies. Christine Boutin, who had already distinguished herself by the virulence of her homophobia during the parliamentary debates on PACS in 1999, has called for a referendum on the subject. So far so sadly familiar. Religious leaders have, of course, also made themselves heard, none more vocally than the Catholic Archbish...

UPDATE : Since I wrote and published this, I have been made aware of the fact that things may not be quite as they have been reported in the press (and I saw several reports before taking to my keyboard). It's seems that Carey didn't quite say what everyone says he did . Of course much of what I argue below is still relevant but some of it is now also wrong. An amended version of the post reflecting the above has been published in PinkNews . Yesterday during a fringe meeting of the Conservative Party Conference, a 1000 or so Tory militants gathered to hear speakers vituperate against marriage equality, thus showing the world that, ten years on, Teresa May's Nasty Party is alive and well. Aside from David Burrowes, the backbench MP for Enfield Southgate, and former MP Ann Widdecombe, Lord Carey was at hand to share his views on the subject. And the former Archbishop of Canterbury, the once leader of the established Church of this country, could not resist getting on his...

The following piece appeared in PinkNews.co.uk and was later picked up by i . The Daily Mail, there’s a surprise, is leading the charge against Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg about the supposed “fury” at the use of the word “bigots” in a draft speech to describe opponents of marriage equality. The offending word has now been replaced by “some people”. The new version of the speech was delivered last night at a celebrity-studded event marking the end of the consultation on proposals to extend civil marriage to same-sex couples. Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, is quoted in the Mail as saying that “many Christians and non-Christians […] will be highly offended to be called bigots” adding that they “should not be treated in such a way”. While he stops short of making his usual deluded claim that Christians are persecuted in the UK, this is clearly the subtext here. He also has the gall to claim that he is “totally for equality” while in the same breath saying that sam...

As the Catholic Church produces yet another letter try and bolster support among its flock for its opposition marriage equality, the BBC (Radio 4 in any case) is giving the "news", once again, much prominence in its news bulletin. This has prompted me to make the following complaint. I am very disappointed by the way the marriage equality debate is covered across the BBC news channels. It seems that the subject only makes it to your headlines when a religious body (usually the Catholic Church) somehow acts to oppose the proposals. Certainly no similar coverage, if at all, is given to positive news from supporters of the proposition. I am not simply talking here of having someone criticising the actions of said religious body when the news is reported. In any case, the propositions only concern civil marriage, the views of religious bodies are therefore not directly relevant to the whole debate and should certainly not be given such prominence as you deem fit to give them...

I spent most of Saturday taking pictures of Pride London - World Pride, having been commisstioned to do so by VisitBritain. They had arranged a press pass for me, which gave me access to the press pit at the front of the crowds on Trafalgar Square, just next to the main stage. At first all was going pretty well, though I had to fight with the light that was forever changing, but when the turn of Boy George to get on stage arrived, we (the assembled togs) were asked to sit down by a member of the security team. This was in my view unjustified and unpractical. This also meant we had to shoot the artists at difficult angles. After spending many hours sorting out the results of my day of shooting and editing a selection of the 1000 or so images I had taken, I posted some on flickr as I usually do and tweeted some of them. One of my tweets was about the pictures of Boy George I had taken and included his tweeter name. Not long after, I received a response from him. And not a posit...

This post appeared in Pink News under the title " In defence of Pride ". In PinkNews today, Topher Gen writes to explain how he believes that modern Pride parades perpetuate an image of gay people as 'hedonistic, sex-crazed deviants', and that drunkenness and drag don't make the bold statement some might think. I think Mr Gen is quite mistakenly focusing on the wrong elements of Pride. It even seems reading his words that his only experience of such event comes from mainstream media coverage which does seem to linger on the more colourful and exotic aspects of the parades. Little, if at all, do we see the hundreds of "normal" people who do take part in the marches. The families, the pensioners, the volunteers with various charities. For them it's not an occasion to get pissed (that usually happens after the parades anyway) or drag up, it is a moment of affirmation and empowerement. For a few hours it's an opportunity to take the streets over...

Following the reading of an article on Pink News about the Catholic Chruch's opposition to marriage equality in Scotland, I decided a week ago to write an email to John Deighan, the Catholic Church's parliamentary officer. Contrary to my expectations I received a response though not really a reply within a day or two. I replied back with further points but I haven't heard anything more from Mr Deighan. Response and reply are copied below. Dear [Zefrog], Thank you for getting in touch. It is of course difficult to convey the details of our views in the media and I fully understand that it can be confusing to have arguments reduced to soundbites. It would be nice if we were given the opportunity for a full explanation of our views. Fundamentally marriage arises from human nature and is a consequence of the natural complementarity of male and female. This is the environment in which children come in to the world and provides the ideal environment (ordinarily) for the socialis...

The first vigil had been organised following the fatal attack against gay man Ian Baynham on the Square. This edition of the vigil now directed against hate crime in general but gathering mostly members of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) community. Speakers included Lynn Featherstone (minister), Brian Paddick (out mayoral candidate) , Ken Livingston (mayoral candidate), Elly Barnes (No1 in the Independent's Pink List 2011), Sue Sanders (co-chair of Schools Out and LGBT History Month), and Stuart Milk (nephew of Harvey Milk). There were performances by a choir made up of members of London's three LGBT choir (London Gay Men's Chorus, Pink Singers and Diversity Choir) and the London Gay Wind Orchestra. No representent of the current mayor was present. Two minutes silent were held at 8pm followed by the reading of names of LGBT and disabled victims of hate crime. Other vigil were taking place simultaneously around the country, including at the Occupy London camp outs...

Following the reading of this article on Pink News about the Catholic Chruch's opposition to marriage equality in Scotland, I decided to write the following email to John Deighan, the Catholic Church's parliamentary officer. I really hope I get a response to this question I have been asking myself for a while. Dear Mr Deighan, I was interested to read an article reproducing one of your recent statements about the possibility of marriage being extended to gay couples in Scotland. According to this article, you said the following: “Bishop Tartaglia was forthright in his assertion that proposals to legislate for same sex marriage would be harmful to society and to the government." The fact that same-sex marriage would be harmful to society or various variations on a similar theme are one of the main argument cited by its opponents. These are however never accompanied with any reasons or explanation as to how exactly marriage equality would be harmful to society. What would it...

Another year and another Pride have gone. My 10th Pride in London. Like last year, I was walking with the London Gay Men's Chorus but for some reason it all felt a bit underwhelming. And I am not even sure why as no noticeable difference springs to mind. My pictures of the day can be found on flickr, here . Previous sets of pictures: Pride London 2007 Pride London 2008 Pride London 2009 Pride London 2010

In the Open Letter sent out 7 June regarding the Gay Free Zone case, a number of gay and feminist activists closed by saying: "The East London Mosque claims to have no responsibility over those who speak there. The East London Mosque also claims to be opposed to the 'gay-free zone' campaign and homophobia. We demand that the East London Mosque live up to its stated word, take ownership of its platform and stop allowing its premises to be used to promote gay-hate campaigns." Salman Farsi, Communications Officer from the East London Mosque, speaking to the Guardian responded by saying: "Any speaker who is believed to have said something homophobic will not be allowed to use our premises, whether that is us organising an event or someone else. As for the condemnation of homophobia, our director has gone on the record on this." We, the undersigned, welcome the East London Mosque's statement that they will no longer allow their premises to be used by homopho...

We learned this afternoon that an 18 year has been sentenced to a £100, ordered to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge for placing stickers in various parts of east London, designating them as "gay-free zones". The stickers caused a lot of controversy in the area and even more discord within the LGBT community but thankfully nothing serious came out of it. The affray is probably already much more than what the people behind the stickers were expecting to achieve. Nevertheless, already I have seen people commenting that the sentence isn't enough, that is is a "f*cking joke". It seems to me that it is on the contrary about fair and probably quite close the maximum of what it could have been for the charge of public order offence of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour. It seems to me that £200 is quite a lot for someone who is on the dole, particularly as punishment for something they didn't even think was wrong. At the tribunal, Mohammed Hasn...