SCOTSGAY MAGAZINE ================= ScotsGay is a monthly magazine for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals. Edited, printed and published in Scotland ScotsGay 80/- Heavy -Issue 35 - August 2000 ELECTRONIC EDITION ***Now available on the Web: http://www.scotsgay.co.uk/ How to Subscribe and Unsubscribe information is now at the END of the magazine. All Material Copyright (c) Pageprint Limited 2000. Permission is hereby given to distribute this material provided that this copyright notice is included and that distribution is specifically for non-profitmaking reasons. Distribution for profit must be done only with prior written consent of the magazine any deviation from this will be seen as an infringement of copyright. Hardcopies are limited to one per person for personal use only and such hard copies are subject to the same copyright restrictions as laid out above. The printed edition of ScotsGay is available by post at the following rates: 6 issue sub (UK & EC) 6ukp 6 issue sub (Overseas) 12ukp 12 issue sub (UK & EC) 12ukp 12 issue sub (Overseas) 24ukp Make Cheques and POs payable to 'Pageprint'or 'ScotsGay'and send them to: Subscriptions ScotsGay Magazine PO Box 666 Edinburgh Scotland EH7 5YW Inside this issue: Editorial - the real ale diet in action News Outdoor Sex with Garry Otton Granny Spice Nun Sense JOY Dance Chart ScotsDyke Scottish Media Monitor Edinburgh Sad Corner Glasgow Aberdeen Bi Vocal Edinburgh Fringe Reviews Edinburgh International Film Festival Previews International - with Rex Wockner ScotsGay Voice Personals ScotsGay's Meet Market Listings Helplines Venues ----------------------------------------------------------- EDITORIAL ========= So, I finally made it to the pages of The Times. And, unlike my appearance in another of News International's more downmarket titles several years ago, this time, News International actually didn't steal the photograph! The occasion of my ample form being the subject of a colour portrait in The Thunderbox was the Great British Beer Festival in London. An annual event which, strangely enough, features a wide selection of Britain's Queers. And, let's be blunt about it, the Cider Bar staff seems to largely consist of the cream (and clots) of Britain's Bisexuals and Dykes (and one camp but straight man). To my mind, there's more totty wandering around on both sides of the bar than at most Pride events! The fact that I have invariably had a modicumette of Old Grungington's Fartpot may cloud my judgement a little, but please leave an old man to his delusions! Anyway, it seems that the nature of the photograph (including as it did two hairy fat bastards swilling beer) upset some of the high heid yins at CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. You see, CAMRA has become concerned at the stereotype of hairy fat bastards as real ale drinkers and has been keen to encourage an alternative view. Bearing in mind that CAMRA is one of the few national organisations where women are represented at all levels without any requirement for 'affirmative action', it's perhaps unfortunate that snappers do tend to flock round us hairy fat males at beer festivals. But I can, at least, claim to be presenting alternatives by showing that not all pooves drink Pseudo Bavarian Poof Juice! CAMRA's attitude is a bit like those who think that camp queens and drag monsters should mute their voices and dress sense so that 'normal' homosexuals can be seen as the bog standard thing. Diversity is important, even if Donald Gorrie wants the Scottish Executive to specify the 'correct' Pantone colour for the Saltire. But we have to accept that the press will always choose what they want from that diversity when it suits their purposes. We should not respond by curtailing our Diversity. And we should be proud of what we are. No doubt the redoubtable Robbie Campbell will have a moan at me about my harping on about 'fat bastards'. But, Honey, I've paid for the food and drink that have made me the man I am. As Heather White says, "It doesn't happen overnight". I'm a fat bastard. I have no problems with it. And if anybody does have a problem with it, they can fuck off or we'll sit on them! John Hein johndunedin@drink.demon.co.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our cover photograph is Alexander Varona from the outstanding Cuban dance troupe, Danzabierta who are appearing at the Gateway Theatre. Unfortunately, you won't be able to see El Pez En El Asfalto (Fish In Asphalt), which closes on the 15th but El Arbol Y El Camino (The Tree In The Road) runs until August 28th. Spectacular! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS ==== Insert Coin In Slot And Pull Knob --------------------------------- Condom vending machines are to be installed in a number of Edinburgh venues in a move by Gay Men's Health intended to stop waste and ensure that condoms are always available. The 20p per vend machines will dispense a single condom plus lube and are shortly to be installed on an experimental basis in Planet Out, the New Town Bar and No 18 Sauna. GMH had been concerned at the speed with which free condoms and lube have been disappearing from Edinburgh venues often leading to supplies running out too soon and there being none left. They claim that the vending operation will ensure that supplies are always available. It's claimed that some venues always ran out of lube significantly before condoms and this was seen as either an indication that unsafe sex was taking place or, rather more likely, that some sad people were using the contents of the handy packets as hair gel! According to GMH Gay Venues Project Worker Paul Robertson, "We're not operating this at a profit. Perhaps the small charge will ensure that gay men value the service rather than grabbing 20 or 30 condoms at a time when they know they're never going to use anything like that". A supply of free condoms will continue to be made available at Number 18, but when they run out, the vending machine will be available. If the experiment is a success, GMH intends to install machines in all the Edinburgh venues. Bulk supplies of free condoms and lube will, however, continue to be available to sex workers, and anyone who needs them, both from Spittal Street and direct from GMH. Meanwhile, Healthy Gay Scotland's free 'Condoms By Post' service goes from strength to strength from their soon to be revamped web site at http://www.hgscotland.org.uk/ Pride ----- Pride Scotland Chair Alistair Dinnie has unveiled the new logo for this year's Pride Scotland as well as releasing details of the postponed event which will take place in Glasgow on Saturday 2nd September. The Pride March will assemble at Blythswood Square from 11.30am and should move off towards Glasgow Green at Noon. Rather sensibly, in view of the time of year and the likelihood of rain, the Festival will take place indoors. It will be in the aptly named Old Fruitmarket in the Candleriggs and will run from 2-7pm. The Festival will be free and will feature a main stage as well as stalls and ancillary events. Artistes confirmed so far include Hazell Dean and Mary Kiani, but Pride Scotland are hoping for 'a big surprise' on the day! The event has been made available by sponsorship from Planet Out, Glasgow City Council, Centurion Spa and Clone Zone. Further details will be available over the next few days on Pride Scotland's web site at http://www.pridescotland.org/ Gay sex law struck down by European Court ----------------------------------------- The law that makes it illegal for men to have sex if more than two people take part or are present has been declared unjust by the European Court of Human Rights. A man from England, known as ADT, complained to the European Court after he was convicted of "gross indecency" following accidental discovery by the police of a private video of himself and other men having sex in his home. Although the sex was in private, because there were more than two people involved, it was illegal. On conviction, ADT was given a two-year conditional discharge. Had the group sex been heterosexual, it would have been completely legal. The European Court in Strasbourg ruled that the law and the prosecution breached ADT's right to respect for his private life, and awarded him UKP33,000 damages - UKP23,000 to cover his legal costs in England and at Strasbourg, and UKP10,000 additional damages. The law is the same in Scotland, and following this case, will have to be changed. In the meantime, the Equality Network has written to Justice Minister Jim Wallace and Lord Advocate Colin Boyd, asking for assurances that there will be no more prosecutions for this "offence". The case does not affect other parts of the law, and sex which takes place in public or in a public toilet will continue to be illegal. Tim Hopkins tmh@dcs.ed.ac.uk Conference on partnership laws ------------------------------ The title of this year's Equality Network conference is "Family values: what partnership recognition do we want in Scotland". Speakers will outline the legal situation for same sex partners here and in other countries, and the conference will discuss and develop options for Scotland. The conference is for all interested LGBT people and groups, and will be held in Glasgow during the Glasgay! festival, on one day over the 4th/5th November weekend. For more details, please contact the Equality Network on 07020 933 952 or at equality@diversity.org.uk Gap sites --------- Our Dundee and Moray correspondents are, it would appear, off on holiday. Which means that we are not able to bring you full details of Charlie's Rat or Bobby Russell's latest mount. We still have a vacancy for an Inverness correspondent. Could you be it? Phone 0131-539 0666 or e-mail: editorial@scotsgay.co.uk West Lothian ------------ West Lothian Gay Men's Health Project are to employ a new full time worker. The project currently runs a weekly group meeting as well as a free Cyber Cafe. Milestone --------- The Scottish Executive have refused to fund Milestone House, Scotland's only HIV hospice. However, Lothian Health Board intend to maintain at least some of its services during a three year review of needs. Respite care is unlikely to continue with the hospice concentrating solely on 'medical' cases. Flit ---- The Steve Retson Project have moved to new premises in the old Eye Infirmary at Sandyford Place. Arts ---- Body Positive Strathclyde has lifted some cash for its Art At Body Positive project from Glasgow Council's Social Work Department. Thespians --------- Barry Woods reports that Majick Men Theatre Company have reached deals with Buckhaven Theatre in Fife and The Drama Studion in Aberdeenshire which will allow them to employ 20 more people for Christmas productions. Tango ----- Pride Scotland URGENTLY requires volunteer stewards for the march - without sufficient stewards the Police will not allow the March to go ahead- so if you can help please contact Pride Scotland on 0131-556 8822 or e-mail us at info@pridescotland. org leaving your name and contact details. All stewards will receive a Pride Scotland T-shirt, a meal voucher, and a free drink. We may also be able to assist with travel expenses. Fringe Last ----------- This award, for the biggest load of old cobblers on stage in Edinburgh in the hope that it will cause its winners to critically reappraise their approach to art, has generated quite a lot of interest and needs a long report. We haven't got space for it in this issue so we will be reporting in the next issue. This also gives us the advantage of being able to consider more shows. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- LETTERS ======= Hiya luv, Only Ali here, don't get worried =) Guess who managed to get the ScotsGay site up onscreen in EasyEverything today?? ME!!!!! Wanna know how to do it?? Read on..... 1) On opening Netscape Navigator, Select the 'Edit' menu followed by the 'Preferences' option 2) From the list of options select 'Advanced' then 'Proxies' 3) From the main box select the option 'Direct Connection to the Internet' 4) Click OK Not only can you access the ScotsGay site, you can also look at all those lovely boys that happen to be on-line as well ?=0) he he he Hope this helps you John, took me 3 hours to work that out!! Hope to C U soon. Alistair niniev@hotmail.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------- LEWD AND LIBIDINOUS =================== Garry Otton Scotland's media have allowed themselves to get particularly excited over "the prospect of gay sex in public" (Scottish Daily Mail), gay men being "allowed to kiss in public" (Record), and even "sex acts in public" (Scottish Sun). Scotland on Sunday's Gerald Warner thought Labour were introducing legislation "...To allow homosexuals to engage in intimate behaviour in public, even in the presence of children, and to legalise 'cottaging'... A father taking his small boys into a public convenience could find them confronted by one of Joe Orton's human 'pyramids', but would have no legal redress..." The Scottish Sun's Jim Sillar's thought this was going to bring down the Labour Government. Contrary to media propaganda and misinformation, The incorporation of the Human Rights Act 1998 into Scottish law is unlikely to have much impact on the acceptability of sex in public places. Whilst numerous laws have been unfairly used to prosecute gay men, (for example, Section 5 of the 1986 Public Order Act, introduced to curb football hooligans and used against two 19-year-old gay men who were arrested and charged after kissing each other in a London street in 1988), only gross indecency, part of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 applies exclusively to gay men. Challenges in the European Courts have been centred, however, on Article 8, infringement to a citizen's right to a private life. It was a group of men having sex together in someone's home that infringed that ruling, not their right to have sex together in public! In Scotland, it is largely the sexually repressed media that conspire to enforce the conservative approach to sexuality in all our lives contributing to a society that attempts to express sexuality and hide it all at once. Of the charge that Scotland is sexually repressed there can be no doubt. Look at Section 28, a crusade orchestrated by fundamental religionists that resulted in 'don't discuss sex' posters all over the place and quotes from the Bible in newspaper editorials. When the idea of holding a fair of erotica at Glasgow's Scottish Exhibition Centre - held successfully in several European cities, including London - was first mooted a few years ago, nearly 2,000 protests flooded in to Glasgow City Council. The press referred to "red faces at sex shop show of 'depravity'" and gave a disproportionate voice to the outraged. Father Tom Connolly, a moral spokesman for the Catholic Church thundered: "The motto of the city is 'Let Glasgow flourish by the praising of God's name and the preaching of his word.' Erotica has no place in that. We have enough problems in this city without importing this depravity". Another spokesman declared his fear that if the exhibition went ahead, others would label Glasgow "a capital of sleaze". Reverend David Anderson, general secretary of the Evangelical Alliance frothed: "It is going back to an uncivilised state of savagery" and Ali Syed, chairman of the Pakistani Media Relations Committee said: "These people are capitalising on human weakness and frailty". The exhibition was banned. That the voice of superstitionists, helping to organise over 4,000 letters of protest, should be sought over and above gays speaks volumes on the roots of sexual repression in our society. Sex on the streets? Up until now, councillors have dismissed any suggestion the city had a "problem with prostitutes", whilst supporting a virulent police campaign to rid its streets of them. Not until after hundreds of arrests, repeated convictions and the murder of seven female sex workers did one of its councillors, John Moyne admit reluctantly in front of reporters that he "may have been wrong". Now, in a curious dichotomy, and in what has been described as "a step forward," police are being employed to both protect and arrest sex workers at the same time. In the thirties, the Glasgow's street gangs used to turn out the gas lamps in the tenement close and enjoy the classic 'knee trembler,' up against the tiled walls. Frequently under the noses of the tenants and police who turned a blind eye. Gay sex is still frequently performed in private, outdoors. This is not quite the contradiction it first seems. As in any other major cities in the world, there are parks and open spaces where men cruise, seeking sexual contact with other men. Far from there being any thrill attached to discovery of the vague and discreet fumbling that rarely goes beyond oral sex, participants desperately fear discovery. Going back to someone's house is not always an option for the many married men who seek an emotionally detached sexual encounter. In his book, 'Erotics and Politics', sociologist, Tim Edwards writes: "Public sex is paradoxically only public to the extent that it is not practised at home", and added, "local councils and police authorities deploy prison-like restrictions of these activities. The history of 'cottaging' (and cruising) is, in fact, one of increasing sexual regulation whilst sexual activity has constantly widened and spread further into other areas". In Holland, the needs of men, straight and gay that seek discrete sex are incorporated in planning urban developments and in the summer, not everyone heads for the duned beaches for ice cream and donkey-rides. Amsterdam's main gay beach is at Zandvoort with other gay beaches Bergen Aan Zee and Scheveningen are also within easy reach. It is not moral police or heterosexuals straying off the beaten track that constitute a problem for users, but a particular thistle used to keep the dunes together. One enterprising salesman trawls the beach selling tweezers. There are numerous 'gay' beaches in Scotland, There are three near Glasgow: at Prestwick, Gailes and Stevenston. Outside Edinburgh, Aberlady is subject to heavy moral policing from rangers. Despite costly campaigns of moral policing at Prestwick, there have been very few arrests. Whilst in Holland, owners of a beach requiring users to wear clothing must seek permission; apart from Cleat's Shore on the Isle of Arran, Stevenston remains Scotland's only official public naturist beach. During the summer of 1991, a photographer caught a very private act that took place in one of the hollows in the dunes on Gailes beach. Scottish editions of The Sun attempted to snap up the photo of the recalcitrant young, married, police officer with his trousers round his ankles and promptly place it in the public arena. So much for advocating privacy. He was put under investigation and suspended from duty. Sex on beaches became a national scandal in 1937, when Mass Observation, surveyors of public opinion, employed 23 investigators to do an anthropological study of beach sex at Blackpool. In a half an hour before midnight they found 232 cases of petting. 120 cases of sitting down and embracing. 42 cases of standing up and embracing. 46 cases of lying on sand and embracing. 25 cases of sitting and kissing. nine cases of necking in cars. three cases of standing and kissing and seven cases of girls sitting on men's knees. After lines of observers had systematically beaten the sand dunes, one observer remarked: "When we began work in Blackpool we expected to see copulation everywhere. What we found was petting, feeling, masturbating one another". Interestingly, the research found only three cases of copulation. Prohibitive attitudes to sex al fresco are underpinned in Scotland by the media, police and a moribund church trying to define and regulate a code of behaviour. The police and local authorities apply authoritarian constraints, marshalling the population into practices, which conform to the political and social ideologies of the day. But the wearing of costumes on beaches has not always been so rigorously imposed. At the turn of the century, bathing naked was commonplace. It was a subject that inspired artists in the late nineteenth century, like Henry Scott Tuke whose pictures of boys bathing would raise a storm of protest in today's moral climate. There was also the internationally acclaimed impressionist painter, Seurat. His painting, 'Bathing at AsniŠres' perfectly captured boys swimming in the shimmering heat of a hot summer's afternoon on the banks of the Seine. While the National Vigilance Association busily mapped out "moral danger zones" like beaches, the Social Purity and Hygiene Movement set out to cover the nation's shame. Before women were allowed to join the police force, several thousand women patrols, initially set up by the National Union of Women's Workers and funded by the police, patrolled parks and open spaces, initially to "guide young and foolish girls" and save men from "women of evil reputation". By 1918 Sir Leonard Dunning, Inspector of Constabulary labelled them the "true guardians of the State in public morals". Glasgow's billboards were recently awash with one of them chasing a group of naked boys with a stick along a stretch of the Serpentine in London's Hyde Park, advertising the popular Scottish soft drink, Irn Bru. There is nothing new or exceptional about cruising parks, either. One observer recorded how in 1781 'Mollies' would sit along park benches in a gay cruising area in London and pat the backs of their hands. If you followed them, they would weave a white handkerchief through the skirt of their coat and wave it. In the eighteenth century at Sodomite's Walk, an area of drained marshland at Moorfields in London, police paid agent provocateurs to entrap men. In the sixties, tabloids followed men wandering round London's Hampstead Heath wearing "white polo-necks". There are numerous parks in Scotland's cities that offer opportunities for men to make an acquaintance with other men. In Strathclyde Park, a particularly homophobic part of Lanarkshire where Brian Souter recently held a 'Family Day', men have been meeting since Roman times. It was the site of a Roman Military Bathhouse. Soldiers would undress together in a room before moving into progressively hotter steam rooms, scraping off the dirt from each other and plunging into a cold bath. In the bathhouse, gay sex would have been commonplace. The emperor Elagabalus was said to have sent out emissaries all over the Empire to seek out men "hung like mules". Petronius wrote that in one public bath, a crowd gathered round a well-hung male and applauded! The grassy slopes of Queens Park on the south side of Glasgow offer panoramic views over the whole of the city. It hardly seems possible that this could have been the scene of one of one of the most vicious attacks and murders of a gay man. On the night of 2nd June 1995, a gang of three boys, aged between 18 and 20, and a 14-year-old girl went on a queerbashing rampage. The boys cracked the skull of one and critically injured another before jumping on 35-year-old Michael Doran. He received 83 blows to his body. They stabbed him several times in the groin, stamped on his face until they had broken every bone in his head and left him in the bushes, choking to death in his own blood. With their clothes still bloodstained, they joined their friends at a nearby party and bragged about what they had done. The last man to be hanged in Scotland at Barlinnie prison was for a similar murder that occurred in the same area in the sixties. The most famous park where gay men meet is London's Hampstead Heath. Here, after dark, condoms are available from glow-in-the-dark boxes attached to trees and TV and cabaret star; Amy LamE was once hired to provide some late-night entertainment for cruisers from a temporary stage. Another instance of 'public sex' is the pub 'backroom'. Although common in Europe and America they are not found in Scotland. In Holland 'Jack-off parties' and fully equipped backrooms are common. On the plus side, the sex is safe, controlled, condoms are available and everyone knows what's going on. The downside is, perhaps, that the sex is typically male: Furtive, hasty and of the unemotional kind found in most so-called 'porn cinemas' that straight men often nip into on their way home from work - (also common in many countries except Scotland). One of the earliest documented cases of sex in pubs was in London. Mother Clap was the landlady of a popular Molly House in Covent Garden before being raided by peace officers, (the police of the day). At the trial, a spokesman for the Society for the Reformation of Manners said he "found between 40 and 50 men making love to one another, as they called it. Sometimes they would sit in one another's laps, kissing in a lewd manner and using their hands indecently". Three of the regulars were hanged. Ms Clap herself was found guilty of running a disorderly house, pilloried, fined and thrown into prison for two years. (c) Garry Otton 2000 --------------------------------------------------------------------- GRANNY SPICE ============ Well summer was a cumin in... and how the delights of Glasgow Green should be savoured by all I say! Having just had a memorable experience in that department, I was walking my chien when I espied a handsome youth upon the grass sunbathing (yes sunbathing in Glasgow in August!) needless to say he struck up conversation with a pretty miss with her doggie and before you could say drop them, I was being well and truly humped on the riverbanks! Well indeed the surprise of it all... More surprising was what I observed during this late afternoon romp-a seal-a bloody great seal lying on its back (unlike me on my paws), and tucking into a fresh pink-fleshed great bloody trout! Well who said that the Clyde wasn't clean anymore (apart from my verdant humpings)? It's definitely turning back into a dear Green Place! Festival aglow with people from afar and I hear that No 18 is doing a bomb-I am told that it is without doubt the friendliest and cleanest establishment north of Blackpool-well done boys-keep scrubbing. I am having not-so-nice reports about continued threats to gays in certain endroits in the West-do be careful and remember it is always A.Y.O.R. and you cannot say that you have not been warned considering the homophobic tabloids-but a little fairy tells me that certain gay types are more than putting themselves at risk by being exceptionally daring and provocative and that knives are being used to threaten gays. One pretty thug is on the loose and has relieved a few gentlemen of their wallets and cards-unfortunately two of them chose to phone me rather than telephone the police. They were out-of-towners and clearly selected because both were "indisposed" and didn't know Glasgow. So be careful! Make sure you are seen leaving bars when you are with a total stranger, and especially make sure bar staff can identify the person you pick up in a bar. On a lighter note I hear Austins continues to welcome a nice crowd and is busy and welcoming as ever-Des and Co down at the Court Bar would like to see some old friends now that we've all returned with suntans and new boyfriends and frocks from abroad. Lady Hamilton tells me they are all off for a rer terr in Spain next month. Look out Espana is all I can say on that one the sight of Des and Barbara in frocks must bring tears to a few Senoritas' eyes! Big John at the Waterloo tells me his Sunday sessions are on the up and up and all are welcome at that most broadest of churches. Talking of churches the Witchfinder and Poofbasher Winning seem to have been silenced a little when the Sunday Herald revealed that an alleged practising paedophile priest continues to serve within Winning's jurisdiction despite the authorities knowing about him and a report having been sent to the Procurator Fiscal. Well, well it seems the Clyde Street muckrakers are going to face up to their scandals this month what with the Nazareth House case hitting the courts at the same time, and I am told more spectaculars to come. As usual all Witchfinder could utter was a denial-but Her Eminence was notably silent, as was Whitewasher Pint-size. No doubt their dream machine will go into overkill yet again. But then they always do until they can "spirit" them away in time-honoured fashion. I hope that you have all got your wigs sprayed and teased and your frocks pressed nicely for Glasgow's Pride-not forgetting Lycra(tm) and leather jockstraps -- I wonder if anyone will be brave enough to wear their thong this year. I certainly have several old pairs of stockings (suitably stained), if anyone would like to wear them-you know how to E-mail me! One is at a total loss what to wear anymore with all this medication my weight has rocketed and I think I may have to wear one of Divine's old creations left to me in her will. On second thoughts, maybe our dear editor brought back some Liberty materials from Regent Street for me during his sojourn down south for the Bierfest and appearing in that illustrious rag Ye Olde Thunderer. Personally, I always thought that was his nickname. after copious pints of real ale! I slipped off to Montreal for a couple of weeks and will be writing in the next issue what you can get up in the language of love, Joual being French Canadian for "Horse French" Now I wondered why those lumber jacks kept going on about cheval. I thought they were referring to my riding skills... clearly they were talking about how those Canuks are hung! And God how! But there's another tale. For the moment I must leave you duty calls and the bairn is bothered with his teeth again (so am I-they don't fit right!). Look out for Lady Brenda in the park with her long evening gloves-God where will that woman stop! Go back to your sink woman! Love and safe fucks always Beti beti@drink.demon.co.uk ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUN SENSE ========= Dahlings! While the rest of us have been recovering from the excesses of Pride in London, Sister Athletica de la Bain, power hungry bitch and media whore, has ignored the bad back and hot flushes typical of someone her age and has been performing good works. For example, she and at least 200 look- a-likes joined in a Sing-a-long-a-Sound of Music for Waverley Care Trust. She belted out one sacred hernal after another, inspired by the Blessed Gay Icon Dame Julie, and helped to raise UKP503 in just 15 mins. Next, some ' brave' souls from Solas decided to jump out of a plane to raise money for Solas' Complimentary Therapies service (which is funded entirely by donation). Sister Athletica was on hand at the airstrip to offer support , and keep an eye on the jumpers' jackets, computers, printers, porn collections etc. while the brave souls were led away to their doom. Alas, her offer to show a group of fine young, tall, university lads a better way to use that training harness was declined. This all took place on Sunday 13th Aug and over UKP500 has been gathered so far. If you owe then pay up or we'll be round with a 'special' blessing. A generous friend has donated some CDs to the Convent of Dunn Eideann and we are flogging them for the same good cause . Elegies is the soundtrack to the 1993 hit show and will appeal to "angels, punks and raging queens"-we know you are out there! This delightful item can be yours for a trifling UKP6.99-all you have to do is mail sister.athletica@dunneideann.thesisters.org.uk. First cum first serviced. If that doesn't appeal, why not give Shona at Solas some cash anyway? Sisterly blessings go out to artist Richard I Adam whose exhibition, Natural Allies, 'a culmination of eight years of multi media and multi dimentional artwork focusing on HIV/AIDS from a personal perspective' is at the Blue Moon Cafe until the 3rd Sept. It's well worth it. Bug of the Month: Herpes Simplex -------------------------------- Symptoms: Painful sores or blisters on or around the cock, arse, groin or mouth; tingling, burning sensation prior to appearance of painful sores, sometimes accompanied by low grade fever. Blisters inside and around the outside of the vagina, may cause a vaginal discharge, swollen nodes in the groin, malaise and fevers. Can cause problems during pregnancy and be deadly to new born babies. Appear: 4 to 14 days after contact. Sores go away and return occasionally. Exposure: Contact with fluid from open sore (even a kiss can expose you). Cure: No cure, but can be treated with Lysine, and Acyclovir (Zovirax(tm) is a well-known name for this) 'Bug of the Month' is ripped off from Play Fair, written by Sister Dana van Iquity and published by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc. in San Francisco. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DANCE CHART =========== 1 Underworld vs Bedrock Cowgirl JBO 2 Travel Pray Jerusalem (Christian West Mix) Quad 3 Corvin Dalek Poundz & Penz (Flatner's Deutsche Mark Mix) Convert 4 Datalife Living Dangerously Coded 5 Voodoofunkmasters Pi-machu Cool Beats 6 Agent Sumo Sunflowers (Peace Division Remix) Cirgin 7 Fortress Core Superstition UK 8 Condor You Can (Kiss My...) (Graeme L Remix) Additive 9 Parks & Wilson Feel the Drums EP: My Orbit/Drum Parade (No UFOs) Hooj Choons 10 Jark Prongo Sweet Little Thing (La Monde's Interpretation) Phantom 11 Northface Entity (Yekuana Remix) Pied Piper 12 Sister Bliss Give Me Music Multiply 13 Steve Lawler Rise'in (Main Vocal) Bedrock 14 Aurora feturing Naimee Coleman Ordinary World (Tarentella & Redanka's Dark Dub) Positiva 15 Yomanda On the Level (Original Mix) Manifesto 16 Chakra Home (Mara's Chooicide Dub) Earth Music/WEA 17 Sash! With My Own Eyes (Chris & James Gallery Dub) Multiply 18 Patrick F Screamer (Original Mix) Rosenberg Entertainment 19 V-Two Progressive Future Green Martian 20 Heads of State Debauchery Advance -------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCOTSDYKE ========= Best of Both Worlds ------------------- How many bisexual jokes do you know? The list of jibes, sneers, nudges and winks is endless. Confused, indecisive or just plain greedy are the descriptions that come up all too often on a night out with supposedly open-minded people. Let's face it, the gay community is hardly alien to lack of understanding, jokes and prejudice. So why is it that so many gays and lesbians feel justified in coming over all judgemental? One reason for all the prejudice and name calling must surely be as a direct result of the rise and rise of 'Bisexual Cool'. More and more people these days are choosing to be try-anything-once, experimental, flexible friends. Likes: snowboarding, clubbing in Ibiza, UK Garage. Sexuality: Undecided. It seems to be the only way to go for the up and coming Hip and Trendy. If half the Big Brother cast can do it, why can't you? When you take out the all mouth and no trousers brigade, the actual amount of sincere people struggling with their sexuality lowers dramatically. It's all very well wearing your supposed sexuality on your sleeve like a new lip gloss on a night out, but the actual image of bisexuals comes across very badly. Of course there is that increasing number of heterosexual men who use bisexuality as a pulling technique. To lure your average heterosexual or bisexual woman he will talk about his new found sexuality showing an open, caring, sensitive side that she never thought existed. More often than not, it doesn't! For longer lasting effect of course there is the heterosexual man who will tell all his female friends that he's bisexual, therefore giving him license to kiss, hug and stroke them as they squeal with delight at their almost camp friend - every girl should have one apparently... So, recognise any of the above? If you do, you've been had by a bisexual wannabe. These are just a few examples that really put bisexuals in a bad light. It may be one of these characters that have got you hot under the collar on a Saturday night. However, there is absolutely no excuse for plain prejudice. Bisexuals have come under attack from the straight crowd and the gays, making it impossible for them to fit completely into either scene. It seems like pure hypocrisy for those in minority groups to squabble and pick on each other. How can one group who face prejudice and abuse over their sexuality, then turn around and do exactly the same to another? The whole thing just smacks of double standards. But how long will the 'Bisexual Cool' media darlings get away with the pretence? Don't get me wrong, the more people in the public eye who are open about their sexuality the better. However, it's when 'Androgenous Don't Knows' go out of fashion and the backlash starts that we should really start to worry. Camila Pia camilla@drink.demon.co.uk The Dyke Fringe --------------- Once again the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has descended upon Scotland affecting us all in much the same way as does a parliamentary by-election. A small group of caffeine and alcohol-fueled hyper-active idealists believing that they can make some sort of difference in the world endeavour in an over-eager and often annoying manner to arouse the general public from our natural slumber of indifference. After a couple of weeks of hype and indoctrination we cave in and finally acknowledge their presence by reluctantly flicking through an obligatory copy of the Fringe Programme. But in this ever-growing journal the presence of Lesbian Theatre and Comedy appears to be ever-shrinking... Our famous Dyke comediennes, Rhona, Sandi and Donna no longer tread the Festival boards. Perhaps they have bigger "fish to fry" in the entertainment industry. Jackie Clune attempts to fill their Doc Martens. Her new show "An Evening With...." at the Pleasance Theatre is a light fluffy musical jaunt through the back-biting world of celebrities. Once again it is Jackie's fabulous voice (rather than her piercing social comment!) that win the audience over. In particular a great send-up of an All Saints song which after Jackie's remix becomes entitled "I want this to be number one at Christmas". Mel C is given a comical reprimand by Clune for not admitting to her real sexual orientation but Jackie's own sexuality is not mentioned once during the evening, Maybe that's no accident in a business (and indeed a society) that is still deeply anti-Lesbian. Clare Summerskill however in her one-woman show "FANTASY HECKLER" is refreshingly "Out". Her auto-biographical comedy monologues bring yelps of recognition from the audience. Her observations ring so true that it's an absolute must for any self-respecting Lesbian to see. But don't just go along with your girlfriend, take your Mother, your brother, your Gay male friends and your straight work colleagues along too. They're all guaranteed to relish Summerskill's charming humour and powerful writing. FANTASY HECKLER is on at The Komedia @ Southside until August 27th. Other "Dyke friendly" shows by performers include the fabulously talented Polly Phillips on at the Pleasance. Elaine C. Smith is on at The Gilded Balloon. Lynn Ferguson is appearing there too. Hazel O'Connor is on at The Claremont. Barb Junger is at The Pleasance and the ever-funny Viv and Jill are not to be missed at The Gilded Balloon. And if Festival Fever finally catches up with you and you too start believing that something going on a tiny dark room which is usually part of a community centre containing seven people including the cast is really an earth-shattering event then don't worry because in less than a fortnight the city will once again return to normal and all that will be left of this artistic whirlwind will be a few hazy memories and some mud-covered flyers lying in the gutter. Trixie trixie@drink.demon.co.uk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SCOTTISH MEDIA MONITOR ====================== Garry Otton Examines Sex Between the Sheets The spectre of the Daily Record's PervertWatch was back to haunt us. "NAME AND SHAME!" bellowed the News of the World. In Scotland, the tabloid just swept up the broken glass and got on with its next moral campaign. Evangelising against those sins of the flesh. "SCOTTISH NEWS OF THE WORLD CLEANS UP COMPUTER PORN IN SWEET SHOPS"! The moral vigilantes had found an "an evil scam to flood sweetshops with vile pornography... Smashed thanks to the News of the World". With pre-paid internet access cards sold to over-18s, "teenagers would have been able to watch every imaginable form of disgusting filth on their home computers... as well as gay sex scenes and many items too shocking to be mentioned in a family newspaper". Setting themselves up as Scotland's new Moral Police Force and after eight pages of 'Name and Shame' breast-beating, they found: "Shopkeepers in Scotland who agreed to stock the cards have been backing out in their hundreds after we exposed the evil scheme. One groaned: "I don't want to end up in the News of the World". Shopkeeper "burly" John Crowley in Dumbarton Road, Glasgow "quaked: 'I've been tipped off the News of the World are on to me over this. I've stopped dealing in the cards altogether. I want nothing more to do with them. Word among the corner shops is, 'Get rid of them or you'll have the police round'.' And a day after we bought UKP3 cards at Mo's and B&K Stores in Glasgow's Great Western Road, the shops stopped dealing in them". What would we do without the sweet News of the World, to lead us not into temptation? Tom 'Brigadier' Brown quietly reminisced over the Religious Record's PervertWatch campaign: "When the Daily Record 'named and shamed' Scotland's child sex offenders, we came in for the same kind of do-gooder backlash... I was astonished..." And demanded local authorities "provide innocents with protection". Do I take it he also meant those wrongly accused? "I wish people would leave me alone. I'm given a miserable time". Those were the tragic words of Sandra, a transsexual in Saltcoats, Ayrshire who was pictured in the Scottish News of the World after being shot at. "I went out wearing a pink top. Some binmen saw me in front of the grocers and jeered and juggled coconuts in front of their chests... Suddenly a pellet hit me near the elbow and I saw somebody run away... It was extremely frightening". Former Scots Guard, Ian MacDougall said it was safer being a soldier in Ulster than a transsexual in Saltcoats, otherwise, the tabloid appeared more interested in how hormone replacement "gave him a 40in bust..." With Westminster's defeat over repeal of Section 28, the tabloids fought over the trophy. Forgetting Northern Ireland - which never had Section 28 in the first place - the Religious Record cried: "...It leaves Scotland as the only part of the UK to abolish the law, which prevents local authorities promoting homosexuality in schools". 'Sophie' Souter told them: "It vindicates the Daily Record campaign". The Sun saw it as "a huge victory for The Sun's campaign to keep the clause in the Local Government Bill". The Daily Mail wrote: "Last night's landmark vote in Westminster marks a victory for the Daily Mail, which has campaigned to retain Clause 28 as a safeguard against gay propaganda being fed to impressionable minds". Lady Young was "delighted" and praised the Associated Press's propaganda machine: "The Daily Mail has played a great role in all of this and it has made a big difference in winning the argument". Religionists - even Jewish leaders - joined in the praise. The Sun juxtaposed its perceived high moral stance alongside a picture of topless Leilani, 20 from Bournemouth, sniffing: "The voice of decency and reason has spoken". A lot of people expressed amusement at the headline in the Scottish Sun: "STAGECOACH BOSS IN GAY VICE STING". What was there to be amused about? This was a 51-year-old married man who had allegedly attempted to call an escort agency to privately arrange sex with a black male escort. In a shameful example of police entrapment in Houston, Texas, the man was arrested and charged. There was some poetic justice in the fact it happened to be a Stagecoach senior executive. (William Hinkley, not Brian Souter, as the Sun headline implied). Hinkley, who lives with his wife and three children in Cumbria had apparently made a call to the escort agency and told the undercover cop he wanted 'all of it'. Hinkley was forced to resign. The Scottish Sun readers I asked were unanimous in their opinion that Souter "looked a prat". But the Sun supported Souter, did it not? Their readers looked blank. Pity Bruce Waddell just doesn't know how out of touch he is with his young readers! The Scottish Mail tried to defend Britain's breach of Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights ruling on an individual's right to privacy. 'ADT' was arrested for participating in an orgy. He was awarded UKP33,000: UKP11,000 to cover legal costs defending himself in England, UKP12,000 towards legal costs in Europe and UKP10,000 damages. The Scottish Mail's editorial squealed: "The compensation culture will flourish as never before. The legal aid bill will explode. The courts will be clogged. The bitter irony is that ever-increasing rights for minorities damage the rights of the wider public. People who don't want terrorists living in their midst? Or who feel queasy at the prospect of gay sex in public...? Who cares? After all, they're only the majority". How fitting that the Record's Bob Shields should bitch: "Wouldn't it be a tragedy if we put Joan Burnie in a box and never saw her again?" No! Do NOT write to Old Mother Burnie if you have a problem. Contact us here at ScotsGay and we will put you in touch with a trained counsellor. Take the gay lad whose married boyf liked him in sussies. Old Ma Burnie wrote: "He's sick - and what is he going to ask you to do next?" He is not sick! At worse, a card-carrying closet. So SickBoy likes a bit of man-on-boy-in-sussies action? Better that than guilt-ridden cock-action sponsored by Tennants. For every camp she-boy, comfortably swishing through Jenners wearing pale lippy and blusher there'll be an action man who wants to fuck it. If there is pressure on SickBoy to be straight; so also are there the same pressures on Jenner's PinkBoy to conform. Having SickBoy on top, fucking boy-cunt before he meets his missus to play Mr Man is not the end of this relationship. It can move on. SickBoy does not want PinkBoy to be a woman, (Most women slob out in trackies like the rest of us and contrary to popular belief, do not walk around all day in fish-nets and high-heels). SickBoy is expressing his sexual taste at a given point in time. He needs to learn to express his emotions better and PinkBoy just needs to loosen-up in the sack. I always raise my glass to the talented people who put together a challenging drama for TV. It's not easy! It certainly isn't a case of "stir in the obligatory drugs and violence, punctuate it with four-letter words, loveless sex and McBob's your uncle for Auntie Beeb". If it were that simple, why, BBC Scotland would've commissioned Old Mother Burnie to write the script for the new Glasgow drama Tinsel Town. Come hell or high water, it was never, ever going to meet that old bird's exacting standards, now was it? "...May God forgive them although I am not so sure I can..." she moaned. "But someone has to take a stand against this wholesome slander of our second city. Someone has to say Tinsel Town is not on. Not that they will take a blind bit of notice. We only live here". ('S funny... I thought "we" lived in Edinburgh)? Come on, let's get to the nitty gritty... "No doubt those involved will... suggest I am shocked by TTs sex and swearing. Please..." So you're not, then? But. "...I recognise that the TV has a quota system and writers these days have to stick in the requisite number of four-letter words and copulations. And twice as many if it's based in Scotland". Fuck knows where she got that from! Oops, sorry! ...Goodness knows where she got that from! "Why can't someone, somewhere write about Glasgow and its citizens as they are? Why can't they write about us as normal?" She groaned. They do. It's called the Daily Record. And it's thoroughly dishonest. With so many gay men and women with kids - even if it is still fashionable to hang on to marriage for the sake of them - it comes as no surprise to find the nuclear family is becoming as rare as a Stagecoach bus at a pink picnic. Thank goodness there are books knocking around for kids who have 'two mammies' or 'two daddies.' Old 'Brigadier' Brown could not have sounded more clean and self-righteous if he'd just cleared his throat with Toilet Duck. Even though the book was 10 years old, LeslEa Newman's Heather Has Two Mommies spun the old fart's dickey-bow sending him into orbit. The Religious Record had been rummaging around for weeks for something to justify their bent campaign on keeping Section 28 and this was it. "You have been warned..." the 'Brigadier' grumbled. "What was warned about in the Section 28 controversy is beginning to happen... The book caused a storm of controversy when first published in the States 10 years ago. Newman was branded 'the most dangerous writer in America' and was accused of promoting a militant homosexual agenda". Brian Monteith was hurried on to explain: "Parents will be truly horrified by a book which is seeking to champion alternative lifestyles when surely we want to preserve children's innocence". Awww! A spokesman for Keep the Clause - Christ, is that still going? - added: "We are outraged..." Oh, and there's me thinking they liked it! "We warned repeal would lead to a flood of gay and lesbian propaganda within easy reach of children. This proves we were right." It proves nothing of the sort. It's tenth anniversary edition is being published across Europe. Turnaround, the UK gay distributors have, sadly, no plans to market it to schools. In his weekly homosexual column, Gerald Warner fanned the flames of his own unnatural obsession in Scotland on Sunday and watched Britain slide "into moral anarchy". Gay Ivan Massow's defection to Labour had got right up this poisonous stick insect's nose. 'Geraldine' bitched that Ivan "Whatever-your-name-is" had defected to Labour because the Conservatives were "beastly to homosexuals". Meeow! It sent him rushing out of the ward in his pyjamas, screaming: "New Labour is now the party of homosexuality. That is its defining ethos". And wondered if anyone should have been surprised if "...a cabinet in which homosexuals were represented at six times - six times! - their proportion in the general population would not promote a sodomite agenda". Shut it, 'Geraldine', before I work out the proportion of moral conservative and religionist columnists in Scotland on Sunday to those living in the real world. And tell readers how SoS couldn't give your paper away at the opening of a new store in Glasgow. But before the hastily administered medication had a chance to take affect he was off again with: "...The next tranche of legislative degeneracy... Plans to allow homosexuals to engage in intimate behaviour in public, even in the presence of children, and to legalise 'cottaging' - homosexual activity in public lavatories. A father taking his small boys into a public convenience could find them confronted by one of Joe Orton's human 'pyramids', but would have no legal redress. Under New Labour, Britain is not so much a society as a sewer". Pity we don't have any legal redress to stop 'Geraldine'. The incorporation of the Human Rights Act 1998 into Scottish law will not protect gays having sex in public places. Whilst numerous laws have been unfairly used to prosecute gay men, (for example, Section 5 of the 1986 Public Order Act, introduced to curb football hooligans and used against two 19-year-old gay men who were arrested and charged after kissing each other in a London street in 1988), only gross indecency, part of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 applies exclusively to gay men and gay men only. The Home Office has recommended the law be replaced with one dealing with sex in a place "that a person knew or should have known was likely to cause distress, alarm or offence to others in a public place". Challenges in the European Courts have been centred, however, on Article 8, infringement to a citizen's right to a private life. It was a group of men having sex together in someone's home that infringed that ruling, not their right to have sex together in public. 'Geraldine' should be relieved to know that it will still be lawful for homosexuals to submit, be tortured, beaten, chastised, belted, humiliated and treated differently in private. garryotton@bigfoot.com Garry Otton's new book, Sexual Repression, will be available next year. The Scottish Media Monitor web site is: http://www.bigfoot.com/~scotmedia (c) Garry Otton 2000 Cut It Out! ----------- Baroness Janet Young of Farnworth in Scotland on Sunday: "Yes I know a lot of gay people. Well not a lot, but I know gay people. Of course they are very charming, very gifted, very clever and I often think really very unhappy people". "Sex will bring Labour down," crowed Jim Sillars in the Scottish Sun: "'Do you support the abolition of Section 28, and are you in favour of open male sex in public toilets?' Unavoidable questions calling for unavoidable answers that will sway many a vote". In your dreams, sweetheart! The caption in the Religious Record accompanying their picture of former madam, Josie Daly, a disabled pensioner outside court in a wheelchair: "WAGES OF SIN". Katie Grant is another one of Scotland on Sunday's right-wing mouthpieces who can't get enough of it. In another column of repressed sexual ignorance she blasted: "I cannot but regret the passing of good old-fashioned hypocrisy", adding: "In order to try to stop teenagers having sex, it is not respect but fear that has to be instilled..." Associating sex with punishment? Is that how you like it, Katie? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EDINBURGH/DUN EIDEANN ===================== Edinburgh's gay venues pack 'em in during the festival month. Late licenses can mean a 5am finish to any frantic night. The gay one-nighter, on the other hand, loses big time, as greedy straight venue owners elbow them out for more lucrative festival parties. Still it's good to see 'proper' gay bars doing so well and after last month's JOY! special, it's with the gay twenty-four/seven that I'm going to concentrate this issue. Kicking off with the happy return of Ed to the Blue Moon Cafe. If you ken Edinburgh, you don't need me to tell you about the Blue Moon and its good reputation. You're guaranteed a friendly welcome in a comfortable atmosphere (smoking or non-smoking madam, sir?). The food in the Moon gets better and better, but it's the staff that really makes Scotland's oldest gay cafe so special. And our Ed, sadly off to France at the end of August, fits in perfectly. Bar owners sometimes don't take enough care of their main asset-the girls and boys behind the pumps who do all the work and make all their money. Good bar staff can turn 'just a regular night' into a 'real get your nipples out occasion' ((c) 2000, Damien Gilchrist). Another venue that currently seems to be getting it right is The Newtown Bar, Edinburgh's 'proper' gay pub. Veterans of the festivals will know the NB well; it's been there for years, long before the establishment of the so-called Pink Triangle. It has a loyal, slightly older, and somewhat male crowd of regulars, more often into leather and moustaches than not. But don't be put off. It really is very friendly. And it's nice to get away from the teenage teenyboppers every now and again. But it's Planet Out that consistently wins the friendliest pub in Edinburgh award, and is therefore Edinburgh's premier gay bar. Do go say hi to new boy Simon, yet more competition for fellow barman Alan in the cutest bar-staff sweepstakes. Oh, must say hi to Alan too actually, who by popular opinion, really should have won the Mr. Gay UK contest this year. (Yes I know this is all very superficial- but it's a review of the Edinburgh gay-scene in ScotsGay magazine, not a fucking manifesto for the happy future of all humankind.) You know, we got lots of great feedback regarding last month's JOY! Article, except for two or three people complaining about the continued use of the word 'butters'. Well sod them... Oh and in answer to the lovely e-mail from Rosy whom I met during a hen party in the increasingly batty Negotiants, yes, her name is Eli, she does work at the Gilded Balloon, and no, you can't.) Lots of enquires and e-mails received about where to pick up this mag. in Edinburgh. What follows is not an exhaustive list by any means but here goes- No.18 and Townhouse saunas; Shops James Thin, Waterstones, Bobbies Books, Virgin Megastore, Fantasies and Atomix; venues the Stag and Turret, Solas, the Cauldron, Holyrood Tavern, Hot Stuff, Nexus, as well as the aforementioned Blue Moon Cafe, Newtown Bar, and Planet Out. There are many more places in Edinburgh and across Scotland, and you can also check out the immensely popular website at http://www.scotsgay.co.uk/ Finally, a quick plug for Club Java, Alan Nichol's (nee JOY!) new club venture. It's mixed, it's very cool, and it's in Leith. Check it out if you're down that way (ken). It runs every Friday night from 5pm until 2am. Relax upstairs and dance yourself silly down the stair. Martin. mgwuk@hotmail.com ------------------------------------------------------------------- SAD CORNER ========== This collection of model airliners belongs to your Trypesetter and are part of an ongoing project to model every 'plane she's travelled on. They are all made from 1:144 scale plastic kits, although some of them have been considerably altered. The leftmost model in the back row is a Boeing 707-3K1C. When the decals have been made and applied, this will be YR-ABA (msn 20803) in Tarom's mid 1970s livery. Resin engines replaced the ones which came with the Airfix kit. To the right of that, covered in masking tape, is the first aircraft she ever went on-a British Caledonian BAC 1-11. This is the recently re-issued Airfix kit, which comes with 1970 British Caledonian decals-precisely the right year. The next model has also been made up exactly as the manufacturer intended. It's Minicraft's American Airlines Boeing 757-223. The nice shiny aluminium effect was achieved using Spray Metal. Moving on to the front row, at the left is a BAE 146-300, G-UKID, belonging to KLM-UK. This aircraft brought your Editor and Trypesetter back from London Pride in 1999. Two Revell 146-200 kits were needed to make this model, the second kit being used to make the fuselage plugs fore and aft of the wing. The tail decals were cannibalised from a Fokker-100 kit, and the rest is hand-painted. The original aircraft has now been painted bright yellow and operates for KLM's low-cost subsidiary Buzz. Front-centre is a Comet 4B belonging to Dan-Air. This is another Airfix kit made up with the supplied decals, although etched metal details have been added. The front-right model is her pride and joy. This Minicraft kit has been made up as Boeing 737-33V G-EZYI of easyJet-the aircraft on which the kit came back from London! The decals are home-made, the outline being laser printed on Xtradecal, a special paper, and then coloured by hand. The backlog includes a British Midland Fokker 100, a Sabena A330-200 (cut down from an A330-300 kit), a Brymon DHC Dash 8 (a resin kit which had to be ordered from Canada!) and another 737-300-Southwest this time. She would particularly like to find a 1:144 scale Jetstream 31/32 kit. E-mail: trypesetter@drink.demon.co.uk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GLASGOW/GLASCHU =============== Arse Bandit with Attitude I'm going to start my monthly waffle off with its usual heading just to annoy certain wankers on the UK Government website who devoted a whole forum to me and this column, complaining that I was a bad influence, and my monthly words of wisdom were a corrupting influence on children. Oh yeah? Like they might grow up to believe it's O.K to be a poof, and enjoy shagging the same sex without any feelings of guilt. Sounds good to me! Nice to know I've got enuff celebrity status to merit my own entry on the Government website. Eat yer hearts out all you wannabees!!! I think they're just pissed off about the Goldilocks in yer face and up yer arse public image. Yeah - like I really give a fuck? This will be my first column produced on the new Goldilocks computer, and the keyboard isn't worth a shit, so hopefully the Small Bald Ginger Editor will be watching out for missed or repeated letters. Going to have to get a bigger desk though, - got 3 computers, 3 keyboards and monitors, 4 modems, 2 webcams, printer and scanner and all the other related crap, so there's hardly any room for the beer! It was all getting a bit out of hand at times, due to the increasing number of websites and magazines I now write for. I've had a lot of you asking what the position is with Pride this year, as some sad twat is still putting round the rumour that it has been cancelled. Not so! It's going ahead as originally planned on Saturday 2nd of September, with the march leaving Blythswood Square at noon, then on down to Glasgow Green. The festival will then take place in the Old Fruitmarket at Candleriggs from 2-7pm, with various live acts on the main stage, women only space and various stalls. Bearing in mind the time of year, it's probably a good idea to hold the festival indoors, although we'll all probably miss all the half naked bodies that were all over Glasgow Green 2 years ago. It is also hoped that some of the scene venues will also arrange events on the day, hopefully without ripping off the punters too much by putting up their prices, and jacking up the entry charges. Centurion Spa will be one of those sponsoring the event, providing a video for the raffle, and supplying T-Shirts for the stewards. At the time of writing, no final decision has been taken on whether Trade will be coming back to Glasgow. They stopped playing the Arches recently, and although there were plans to move to Slave, no official decision has been made as yet. I've taken the piss out of you lot for a long time for being dumb enough to fork out UKP13.50 just to get through the doors of a club, and it seems the message was getting through. Trade wasn't doing nearly as well as it used to, and the rip-off door price was undoubtedly a factor. I heard so many of you complaining that it was a good club night, but you were getting a bit pissed off about the increasing door price. I'm surprised actually - I always thought you club bunnies (sheep) would pay over the odds for any old shite if the PR people convinced you it was good enough. By next month, there should be another gay pub for you all to frequent, and remember that you heard it first from Goldilocks. I've met with the guy fronting the setup, and despite my initial scepticism that it might be just another rumour, he assures me that it IS definitely going to go ahead. I'm sworn to secrecy on the venue, but can reveal that it is in the pink triangle, and should be opening as soon as they get the entertainment sorted out. The bar will be straight owned, but with a gay manager and staff to keep you all happy. The intention is to open 7 days a week, with live entertainment every night, and at the moment, they're on the lookout for new acts etc. So, there you have it - another bar right in the heart of the pink triangle. That reminds me - I must get hold of Mrs Grumpy and find out the latest on her new club. Slave will be open all day for their Pride Party on Saturday 2nd of September, and will also be holding a foam party on Tuesday 5th Sept, so leave all the designer label stuff at home, or at least wear the fake stuff you all got down the Barras. It seems my Ed has been getting phone calls asking for more details after I mentioned a certain darkroom in Edinburgh recently. Just goes to show how half the scene think life revolves around sitting in some overrated, overpriced bar talking shite with their stupid pointless friends while the rest of us are out shagging anything that moves. Which reminds me - I bumped into Betty B in one of the saunas, and she was complaining that celebrity status was counting against her in the shagging stakes. Not a problem for me! I also had a phone call from Stella recently. As most of you will know, Stella played the circuit for some years up in Glasgow, then got himself a boyfriend, got married and went down to Blackpool to live. Anyway, he's been asked by G1 (the old Tin Pan Alley) about running a gay night on Tuesdays again, and although nothing is definite, he sounds interested. I don't know what would happen if it went ahead, with Planet Peach, G1 and Slave all chasing the Tuesday trade. Oh for the good old days when Tin Pans used to pack in 350 people on a Tuesday night, without all the bloody straights that invade the clubs nowadays! Pity that Tin Pans went downhill so fast - it used to be a fucking good night out in the early days. Here's hoping Stella can resurrect JoJos or something similar. I had a peek at Ms Hutton's copy and noticed she's been on about number 18 sauna again. As you know, I spend a fair amount of time at The Townhouse, and I'd just like to point out that not all ScotsGay columnists spend all their time slutting it about in Edinburgh. Obviously Betty and I DO, but some of the others are too bloody prissy to get on with some serious shagging. Just goes to show that despite a combined age of 110, we can still show the dumb twinkies with all their image and attitude bullshit a thing or two. Last month, I printed the name, address and home phone number of a guy who had a homophobic website. The website is now gone, as he has obviously realised not to fuck with Goldilocks. Just goes to show how people like him are prepared to incite violence and hatred as long as they don't actually have to face the gay and lesbian community. They're not so brave when their identities are exposed. Wanker! I'd better give another plug for the The Glasgow LGBT Centre annual Fˆte on Saturday 26th of August from 1pm onwards. If you have any unwanted goods you wish to donate, get in contact with George on 0141-221 7203, or leave a message with one of the volunteers on the front desk. There will be various stalls and stuff and the Cabaret will run from 3.30 to 7pm, with a disco from 8pm onwards. Last year was fairly busy, so hopefully this year will be the same. No doubt there will also be some celebs lined up too. SNIPPETS AND WAFFLE >>> Spin Doctor Stu asks me to remind you all that Hype@Media will be having strippers every Monday night during the month of August. Check this place out - it's a beautiful club, and although it's not as busy as Planet Peach (or Planet Pish as some of you cruel bastards now refer to it), it's a good atmosphere, and entry is free. Stu is now also doing the DJing over at Slave on Tuesday nights, who also have strippers on the first Tuesday of the month. >>> The GGLC has now been renamed the Glasgow Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgendered Centre. Bit of a mouthful, but that's how you lot like things. >>> The Boogie Bar has now closed down, which is a shame as it was quite popular with the scene at the weekends. >>> The Steve Retson Project have now moved to their new premises at 6 Sandyford Place, where they can now offer same day HIV testing among their other services. Contact them on 0141-211 8601. >>> All you sunbed queens will soon be able to top up your tan on the soon to be installed vertical tanning cubicle which Centurion Spa are installing. Being coin operated, you can use the tanning both without having to pay to get into the healthclub first. Bloody good machines those - The Townhouse in Embra have one, and they're so fast! Well, that's about it for this month. It's now 5.30am, time to get this off as it's overdue (again). Gossip, filth, boyfriend application forms and death threats to the usual address... Happy shagging! Goldilocks. PS Fuck knows what photo of me the Ed intends using this month. He's threatened to use something embarrassing - all part of the plan to ruin my image and reputation, cos I get WAAAAAAY more nookie than he does! (It's the quality that counts. Ed.) PPS I was chatting to this guy recently who seemed to think that us long haired guys only shag other long-hairs! No wonder I'm still single if you lot are dumb enough to believe that! Website:- http://www.gay-glasgow.co.uk E-mail:- goldilocks@gay-glasgow.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABERDEEN/OBAR DHEADHAIN ======================= Oww! Hangovers are pretty grim as a rule, red wine hangovers are slightly worse, but I reckon the worst hangover you could ever have is a Mudd Club hangover. No matter whether it's two pints or twenty pints, you know you're going to feel like shit the next day, and sure enough, today is no exception! It was a fitting end to what has been, all in all, a bit of a mad one over the weekend! Still, wandering about town in this weather does make me feel slightly better, especially when all those legs come out! It would seem that Aberdeen has a new mixed venue, in the form of Morgan's on Market Street, formerly Nicky Tams. I've been hearing quite a lot of positive feedback, mainly from the younger crowd, and welcome the fact that we've now been given a little bit more choice again. With Club 2000/Madison/whatever-it's-gonna-be-called just along the lane, it's obviously going to be a popular pre-club bar. It will be interesting to see how things develop over the coming months. Up the road at the City Bar things seem to be picking up once more. There seem to be more women out than ever before in Aberdeen, which will no doubt please some of the people I know! There were some extra visitors over the last week or so, probably due to the Aberdeen International Youth Festival - something that does much to brighten up our otherwise dreary city! I guess with the students returning soon, the pubs and clubs will see slightly bigger numbers. The Mudd Club seems to be busier than ever these days. Reports from one of the door staff suggested that there were over 800 people - on a Monday night! Mind you, with beer at only a quid a pint (if you dare...) it tends to be a popular choice with skint people, and, if you're like me and spend all your wages in two days, it's quite handy. Apologies are due to Scorgie, who pulled me up for not realising that he is now a resident DJ in the club - apparently I gave the impression that it was for one night only! I'm not often right, but I'm wrong again! With work and whatnot, I haven't actually been down to "the club" for a while, so there's not really much I can say. Hopefully when I pin Brian down (not literally) I'll be able to find out the truth behind the rumours and put you all out of your misery. Well, for those of you all who don't like me 'cos I write shite, fear not, for there is hope over the horizon. As of next month I will be joined by a co-writer, and we'll be taking it in turns to slag everyone off. Honestly, you don't know how lucky you lot are - you could have Goldilocks back, and he usually goes for the jugular if he isn't happy about something! Until the October issue, I bid thee all farewell. I'm going off to bed to sleep off the rest of this bloody hangover. Gus gus@drink.demon.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE NICE BIT ============ The 18th UK Bisexual Conference is a long weekend of fun and frolics for bisexual people of all ages and genders, their friends, partners and allies. It includes all sorts of activities from discussion workshops and guest speakers to live music and discos. Last year it was a hugely successful event held at Pollock Halls in Edinburgh. This time it's in the Oak House and Owens Park buildings of Manchester University. The date? Thursday 24th August to Monday 28th, over the same weekend as the Manchester Mardi Gras. The international Bisexual Conference IBC6 and 18th UK BiCon are a combined event this year. The original team behind IBC6 in the Netherlands had to cancel at relatively short notice, and the UK team have agreed to incorporate an International programme into an already planned BiCon 2000 event, so the programme will be a little different from a 'normal' IBC. This could well have the makings of the most exciting BiCon yet! It's not a strictly bisexual event which helps, given the debate over what constitutes being bisexual. BiCon defines itself as being a bisexual gathering for "bisexuals, their partners, friends and allies". Provided you have come with an open mind about bisexuality and respect the different lifestyles and values of the people there, it really doesn't matter whether you are gay, straight - or even bi! Single Bass will headline the music programme which also features the return of Mark Northfield, who played a blinder in Edinburgh last year. As well as live music, there'll be standup, discos and social events. There will also be a barbecue, weather permitting-this will be held in Manchester after all. Friday night will be live music night; Saturday discos; Sunday standup. Social meets will happen each day for different disparate groups or communities. Accommodation is totally self catering but don't panic as there are 3 supermarkets within about 10 minutes walk, and an assortment of takeaways within 5 minutes which stay open until around 5am. The whole thing has been organised by Jenni Yockney (the Top Dog), Kerry, Kate, N'Ha Ysabet, Sandra, Marc and Jean and many many others. The speaking-and-signing team from 1999 of Marcus and Howard are set to return, so you can all look forward to another go at memorising lots of rude sign language (those of you at the Edinburgh BiCon will know what I mean). You haven't got long left to book, so go to their website or write as soon as you can. Next Issue- All the news and gossip from BiCon2000! bicon@bi.org http://come.to/bicon/ BM BiCon, London, United Kingdom WC1N 3XX (send an SAE/IRC). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FRINGE REVIEWS ============== ScotsGay's reviewers have been out and about during the first week or so of the Fringe. Here's what they have to say about the shows they've seen. *Scott J. Reid *scottjreid@drink.demon.co.uk Stewart Lee's Badly Mapped World Pleasance, until 28th August, 8pm A delivery any more laid back would see this capricious, sometimes self-deprecating, but always amusing guy disappear off the back of the stage. Lee meanders his way through a highly-original, one-hour set with the twin themes of geography and travel acting as dubious linchpins. On the way, you'll learn about a distinctly off-beat antipodean tourist attraction, have the sticky subject of platypus sex broached, hear about the irony surrounding John Denver's untimely death, and have nonsensical nursery rhymes dissected at length. And did I mention a poem entitled 'My penis is like a thermometer'? The deadpan delivery is carefully measured - Lee knowing exactly how far to stretch an idea before hitting us with the decisive punch-line. Wonderfully observational, this genuinely funny bloke has a beguiling stage presence and pretty cute looks to boot. For discerning students of cerebral comedy, Lee's Badly Mapped World is acid trip meets slide show lecture - only one you're guaranteed not to fall asleep through. Go see this stalwart stand-up dip into his melting-pot of mirth, down in the sweaty depths of the Pleasance Cavern, while you've still got the chance. The Erpingham Camp by Joe Orton Assembly Rooms, until 28th August, 4.15pm Hi De Hi descends into backstabbing, anarchy, and ultimately death, in Joe Orton's little-seen 1960s' holiday camp farce. Typically satirical and frequently allegorical, Orton's black comedy exposes, in vibrant glory, the class conflicts and clash of morals prevalent in British society during that swinging time. Sort of like Butlins with bite. A cornucopia of characters play out the fun. There's the stiff upper-lipped, eponymous camp director, clutching stoically onto the final remnants of Empire and of order, a padre with amorous leanings of a highly questionable nature, the obligatory limp-wristed employee who really puts the camp into holiday camp, a selection of rebellious sun-seekers, and Riley - the Redcoat protagonist played by the distinctive and gruff-sounding northern comic, Johnny Vegas. The Erpingham Camp may not rate as one of Orton's more notable theatrical outings, but this Fringe and UK premiere does at least feature a strong ensemble, and even if you do find this particular gay playwright's sardonic style overpowering, and his thinly-disguised politics occasionally overwhelming, simply sit back and revel in some highly enthusiastic performances from the whole cast - providing, that is, you can cope with Vegas's at times impenetrably thick accent. Cocktales by Northern Theatre Company Hill Street Theatre, until 28th August, 11.40pm The press release and cruisy-looking poster may suggest you're in for an hour or so packed with "violent, cruel and dirty" encounters, but in actual fact we're presented with a thought-provoking and surprisingly cathartic play which manages to intertwine a fair amount of raw gay passion with other more sensitive issues. The pivotal character, mid-life crisis-ridden Phil, is caught between that familiar feeling of self-loathing, and the thrills (and spills) of sado-masochistic sex. We learn about him through a series of revealing soliloquies, and hear of his 20-year platonic relationship with cancer-stricken faghag Vicky. Only she seems to be looking for a bit more. Both roles are played proficiently, as are the characters of sixty year-old George and ultra-cute Gavin, his 21 year-old lover. But it takes the twisted and nihilistic Steve to expose everyone else's shortcomings and deep-seated emotions, and bring things to a climax (in more ways than one!). Essentially a dark tale centring on the love/sex dichotomy, and the frailties and deceitfulness present in most human relationships, there are lighter moments as well, such as the sight of queens quarrelling about the merits of Garbo, and the father-like George occasionally chastising his young partner regarding bouts of untidiness and lethargy. Can a forty-year age gap ever work, I wonder? This is quite a challenging and ambitious production by the Northern Theatre Company, which they pull off admirably. Although questions remain unanswered and characterisations are never fully developed, the probing nature of Cocktales will undoubtedly cause many of us to confront our own personal skeletons. Changeling Rooms by Changeling Theatre Company C Venue, until 27th August, 12.00 noon Choose wisely from the 'menu' and you'll be rewarded with a nice bit of flesh in this quirky and fast-paced piece of theatre - basically a sequence of short plays, back-to-back, selected at the outset by members of the audience. Nice idea, but it makes the whole thing a bit tricky to review - you're unlikely to see the same line-up as I did. Various linguistic lashings, voyeuristic vignettes and saucy set-pieces were among the morsels served up to a small audience the afternoon I visited C's new Chambers Street venue. Show highlights were 'Piggy', an amusing sketch about a gay couple getting the better of one of our straight cousins sitting between them on a bus, and 'Speedos', billed as "teenage naughtiness...with a twist of tight swimwear". If that doesn't whet your appetite, try requesting 'Beach' where the trunks are cast aside completely! Taken together, I'm not so sure of Changeling Room's effectiveness though. The young cast are certainly spirited and sharp, but the aftertaste remains one of disappointment. Although the sizeable basement theatre and a midday slot can't help in producing the right atmosphere, I felt some of the material was rather underdeveloped, or unnecessarily concise in nature. While expecting something a little more daring and innovative, there's obviously plenty of creative energy around, and I guess if you don't like a particular piece, to some extent you've only yourself to blame for choosing it. Go suck and see - at around a fiver a time it's probably churlish to criticise too much. Scott Capurro Pleasance, until 28th August, 9pm The Bitch is back! Yup, for the squillionth time the San Franciscan stalwart is visiting Edinburgh, leaving no stone unturned with his barrage of catty, at times downright barbaric, outbursts. You have to understand, Scott actually enjoys offending people, and no one is safe from his venomous tongue - overweight, black talk show hosts, wheelchair-bound ex-Supermen, and even our beloved Queen Mum, bless the "old Nazi cow". OK, so some of the material, particularly the anecdotal stuff concerning his family, may be wearing just a little thin, but you can always count on Scott to remain delightfully non-pc and characteristically irreverent throughout his all too short set. Gay, straight or bi ("can't you just choose a team?"), Scott manages to pack them in every year. He may not be treating Fringe-goers to the play promised in the official programme, but you still have the opportunity to witness this "jealous, nasty cunt" running at full pelt in familiar stand-up mode until the end of the month. Visit the Pleas', don't pretend to be offended, and, for heaven's sake, don't sit in the front row if you want to keep your best cargo pants on! Soft Boy By John Binnie Performed by West Lothian Youth Theatre The Stand, until 16th August, 3pm It's a short Edinburgh run for award-winning writer John Binnie's new play. Which seems a real pity, as this delightful and engaging tale of teenagers facing up to the big bad world is one well worth seeing. There's nothing overtly homo about the play's content, but the subject matter - teen angst, sexual awakening, confusion and isolation - possesses a common allure. West Lothian Youth Theatre, responsible for last year's successful 'Friendly Fire', bring the humour, pathos and astute observations to life via some consistently professional-looking and candid performances. Throw in some Shakespeare and a little bit of Steps and you end up with a contemporary little gem that best illustrates the true essence of Fringe theatre. Nobody, regardless of their age, should depart disappointed. Craig Hill's Alive With The Sound Of Music Gilded Balloon, until 28th August, 8.45pm I don't know how he fared sorting split ends or giving a short, back and sides, but the day Craig Hill left the salon was the same day the big, bad world of comedy gained a new star. This 31 year-old, hugely-huggable homoboy is a natural with the very mixed crowd. Playful, even a wee bit cruel, but never nasty, Craig revels in the banter. Tacky family weddings, nonsensical pop lyrics and the vagaries of an East Kilbride upbringing (where a vegetable steamer made a fitting biscuit tray) are some of the diverse topics tackled in a matchless manner, the irony and the jocularity balanced to perfection. Last year Craig played out the final twenty minutes of a triple-header comedy bill, in 2000 he's been rewarded with this, his first one-hour solo show. And he richly deserves the extra exposure. Mixing musical send-up (how's about Shirley Bassey singing the Smiths!) with side-splitting stand-up, the view from this particular Hill is looking pretty rosy indeed. Six-star stuff. Saved By Sex Peppermint Lounge at Gilded Balloon, until 20th August, 1.15pm Melvin Hayes. You'll know him if you're a fan of the cult TV series "It Ain't Half Hot Mum". You know, that Beeb classic with the disparate bunch of khaki-clad military-types in. Only Melvin (aka Bombadier 'Gloria' Beaumont) tended to prefer a low-cut dress to the regular battledress. Well he's back, almost stealing the show again in a likeable little bit of Fringe theatre. In the highly appropriate setting of GB's Peppermint Lounge cellar bar, Melvin dons the drag and the false eyelashes once more, to play the character of Maybelline - owner of a tawdry London bar. It's there that we meet neurotic slapper Margi, her naive half-brother Barry, and Ron, the Lenin look-alike gangster with a secret or two up his sleeve. And, as we discover, it's not just the cocktails May serves up that possess the odd twist. As hinted at, this is by no means a one-man (or should that be one-tranny) show. Everyone in the cast is given the opportunity to shine - chiefly through some delightful scriptwriting and subtle comedic touches. I guess Melvin's star billing, and the chance to see him revisit the old frock cupboard, will be the reason many folk head along to Saved By Sex. They won't be disappointed. And neither will those less blinkered, simply out for a bit of afternoon escapism. A warm welcome to the Fringe, Melvin! Puppetry of the Penis Pleasance, until 28th August, 11.10pm What's the best way to get bums on seats at Festival time? Stick a naughty word in the title, of course. But rarely does that generate any sustainable success. This show, however, happens to to be one of those rarities. The title really shouldn't need any further explanation. What we get are two Aussies (who else?), devoid of strings and virtually propless, doing some especially weird and wonderful things with their appendages. Dick tricks on offer include: 'The Eiffel Tower', 'The Fan', 'The Loch Ness Monster', 'The Emu' and 'The Eye' ('docking' fans please take note). I hasten to add that none of the above involve anything beyond the strictly flaccid, though you might be amazed at how far the average scrotum can stretch. Or maybe you won't. The climax (so to speak) is the boys' 'Hamburger' trick - a sight well worth waiting for. Apparently for one eager soul, following the opening night's show, it all proved too much and his desire to emulate this particular feat of dick-based dexterity resulted in a swift ejection from the Pleasance courtyard! Exhibitionists aside, for those wanting to cop a full view of the arousing action, the whole routine is relayed via a giant video screen at the front of the stage. Nice. Like the guys themselves state: "It's very wrong." It's also very inventive, and very, very funny. Silly, yes, but sure to be a Fringe sell-out. Poet in New York by Pig Iron Theatre Company C Venue, until 27th August, 12.35pm One-man, physical dance-theatre with a hint of surrealism may not be everybody's idea of how to spend their lunchtime, but this superlative, energetic solo show from Fringe regulars Pig Iron is one which should hold global appeal. The poet in question is gay Spaniard Federico Garcia Lorca, and the production tells the story of his seminal 1929 visit to the Big Apple. The part, or rather 11 individual parts, are played in a physical, fluid and at times poignant manner, by company member and co-writer Dito van Reigersberg. Don't look to Poet in New York for absolute biographical authenticity, this is more about Lorca's artistic awakenings, portrayed in an imaginative, impassioned, often brutally stark, fashion. The poet's struggle to accept his own sexuality provides a running thread, chiefly through his obsessive love for artist Salvador Dali and an amorous encounter with fellow poet Hart Crane. A great deal of the naivety and wonderment upon encountering the vibrant and vertiginous face of New York City is also imparted. Reality and fantasy blur in this passionate and peerless piece of dance-theatre. Without doubt, a small-scale tour de force. Probably the best and most unique thing I've seen at this year's Fringe. Simply Barbara: Still On Honeymoon Pleasance, until 28th August, 6.30pm (some dates 10.40pm) Simply Barbara? No, simply Steve. Steven Brinberg that is - the uncannily accurate-sounding Barbara Streisand impersonator who returns to Edinburgh with his occasionally mocking tribute to big nose herself. The shimmering frock (an exact replica of the one the real Barbara wore to the Golden Globe Awards), some outrageous nail extensions, a slightly dodgy wig - all help to augment this unparalleled simulation. But it's that note-perfect voice and flawless mimicking of Barbara's mannerisms and attitude which totally beguile. Throw in Steve doing Barbara doing Julie Andrews, Billy Holliday, Ertha Kitt and Cher, and you realise that you're staring a unique talent square in the face. Brimming with vigour and passion, this campest of cabaret is nothing less than masterful stuff, though those who find the musical style and lyrics of the great woman herself just a tad grating and sycophantic, should perhaps stay away. Philistines! Bent by Double Edge Drama C underbelly, until 27th August, 6pm Martin Sherman's harrowing play, set in 1930s Germany - when decadence turned to persecution for the country's homosexuals - takes on an extra, haunting quality in the eerie, echoic bowels of C Venue's underbelly theatre. The first half of the performance takes place in promenade, as you follow the actors around from scene to scene. This really does put you, literally, at the edge of the action, and dramatically reinforces the story-telling process. The balance is played out in front of a seated audience in an adjoining theatre space, but is no less powerful because of that. Indeed, the developing relationship between Max and his fellow inmate, amidst the brutal isolation of Dachau concentration camp, is the abiding memory most people will take home after seeing Bent. The struggle to witness love and honesty triumph over evil and oppression, in the face of an intolerant and frequently hypocritical regime, is one entirely relevant, even today, in our supposedly more enlightened epoch. The casting is first-rate. Little, if any, of the power, horror, tenderness and sporadic humour inherent in Sherman's script is lost - despite the actors' lack of years. If you've only ever encountered the celluloid adaptation of the play, you're likely to come away from this Double Edge Drama production with a heightened enthusiasm for live theatre. *Jim Darby *jimdarby@drink.demon.co.uk Cinderella: The Remix by Turbozone The Quad, Old College If you're like me then as a child you always felt that Cinderella could have done with a few more flame throwers, helicopters, fireworks, guns, bombs, funkier ball gowns and the such like then this is the show for you! This is an excellent reworking of the original Cinderella tale but bought very much into the new millennium with the aforementioned flame throwers and live DJs. As with any panto Cinders gets the price, but this time by shooting down the Ugly Sister's helicopter with a very, VERY large gun! Way to go Cinders! The Fringe programme has this filed under dance and physical theatre and you'd better believe it. The performers are excellent with a wide variety of skills ranging from motorbikes to trapeze work. All perform brilliantly to make this a highly memorable show. This show will unfortunately have ended by the time most of you read this but if you get the opportunity to see it , I'd strongly recommend it. Island by Trestle at the Pleasance The body of an old woman is found on a traffic island. She's been dead for two months. What happened? Trestle return to the Fringe with another of there excellent pieces. This is in the traditional' Trestle style of mask work and no dialogue. However, don't let that put you off as their work is very accessible. The play explores the events that might have led up to a pensioner being left alone on a traffic island. From encounters with workmen as she tries to find a gap in the traffic to various flashbacks to herself as a child, a lover and a mother we she her history and how she ended up in her current situation. For such a serious subject matter Trestle are able to perform the remarkable trick of being able to make the story entertaining, witty and captivating but without trivialising it. No mean feat! The Barretts of Wimpole Street Trestle Pleasance Trestle's new performance, based on Besier's text but with updating, more research work and the inimitable Trestle style. Elizabeth falls in love with Robert but her father, who rules the entire household with a rod of iron, mustn't find out. Worse still, her sister also has a secret love. Trestle's play follows what follows. The performance is based on a mixture of mask work and ordinary' acting. This enables a great combination of performances each reinforcing the other. The performers more than rise to the occasion and are able to demonstrate their abilities to great effect. Specific mention must go to deaf actress Paula Garfield. All her work is performed using sign language and what really sticks out is just how well integrated into the performance this is. Her portrayal of Elizabth's maid Wilson is particularly fine and stands out from an already superb cast. Soft Boy Stand Comedy Club A new play from fringe gay favourite John Binnie. John's earlier work was characterised by some great fluffy work about growing up gay and some more serious material about Aids. His latest work shows he's broadening his horizons: this one doesn't have an explicitly gay (or lesbian) character! West Lothian Youth Theatre bring to lift a play about the pressures of growing up. Its a coming of age play, not just of a single person but of a group. As with quite a few communities they more or less know each other through school or siblings but still have many issues to face with life, love, work and friendships. The action takes place over a few days as the situations develop. As with real life there isn't a specific beginning or end and the play is a slice through a few key days of some friends. As with all John's work the story is told with sympathy and compassion but without becoming sickly sweet leaving you with a nice warm feeling inside. Miss Peggy Lee: Cocktail Hour For those of us who love Peggy Lee this show is a must. It's a biography with songs: lovely combination! Kate Dimbleby stars as the singer herself with a live band to perform many of Miss Lee's best songs. The songs are interspersed with details of Peggy's life told in the first person. A delightful combination! Kate's voice really does manage to sound very like Peggy's and the band back her up perfectly. For those of you too young to know why Peggy Lee is she was the Madonna of the 40s, 50s and 60s. Her silky voice and sassy lyrics inspired a generation (or two) and many of us still enjoy her music today. Go to the show and learn! Double Lives at the Netherbow Two plays for the price of one, both monologues. The first is about Tom Wendelbury: is he a serial killer or not. It's modeled on a kind of death bed confession but Tom keeps on changing his mind about who he is and what he's done. Every time the story changes: sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. There are repeated echoes of previous statements but with details changing all the time. What, if anything, is the truth? The second play is "Lady Bracknell's Confinement''. This is a brilliant sequel' to Wilde's "The Importance of being Earnest''. If you're a fan of Oscar's play then this really is a must. It's a great follow on from the original, starting exactly at the end of the end of the original. It is very much a homage to Wilde's original play but takes the confusions over parentship even further, very much in keeping with the original style. It turns out that Lady Bracknell is actually a man: this follows on from a series of misunderstandings, coincidences and social climbing that would have greatly appealed to Wilde. The story of how a young man residing under a fishmonger's came to be married to Lord Bracknell and become a father is one of as much complexity as it is humour. Whatever happened to Bette and Joan C. Set during the filming of "What happened to Baby Jane'' we find Bette Davis and Joan Crawford sharing a dressing room and arguing over their lives. This is part documentary (they both talk about how they got to be where they are) and part story (they argue over the film and how they live their lives now). The play centres around how the press expected them to hate each other and, being stars of the time, they were expected to do what was expected of them. However, this doesn't mean that either of them is happy with the situation. The play works very well. We have scenes with just one of the actresses and others with both interacting. Switching from monologues about the past to arguments about the present creates a three dimensional story about two gay icons. For added value Joan is played by a man. And well. *Martin Powell *martinp@drink.demon.co.uk Somebody to Love Blow Up Theatre Pleasance I'm not sure which came first in this story performed in half mask (ie the mouths are visible and can be used), the music of Queen or the story. It tells of the life of three people and their relationship. With some of the finest acting you are likely to see in Edinburgh a table, a bench, and a couple of screens become a cemetery, a room, a disco, a car, a river bank, and a box at a theatre. Performed with very few words it looks at last as if Trestle may have some competition when it comes to theatre using masks. Unfortunately while the acting was brilliant I didn't find the writing up to much. There wasn't really a story leaping to be told, but well worth seeing none the less. New Boy Pleasance This is superb. It tells of a precocious 17 year old, Mark, his friendship with a new boy at his school, Barry, Mark's elder brother Dan, and Barry's sister Louise. Add in the French teacher Mrs Mumford and Barry's ability to shag anyone he wants and you have all the material you need for a wonderful play. And that material is handled brilliantly with a series of one liners delivered at a cracking pace as we learn more and more about the development, prejudices and sexual orientation of these young people. The humour is delivered so fast that if you laugh you may miss the next line. Although comic there is much serious matter to provoke thought. Theatre at its best. Solo Royal Shakespeare Company Pleasance This is a tale written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz of 5 different women thrown together by working in an seedy London club as table dancers. They work for a strange man, Marco (Peter Pacey), and the play takes us through their lives over a period of a month. Played in the Pleasance Cabaret Bar, imaginative use is made of the limited space and at times one feels as if a member of the audience at the club while at other times the action takes place in the dressing room. A first rate production from a company new to the Fringe. A Slacker's Opera Royal Shakespeare Company Pleasance A 15 minute show is well worth the risk. I needn't have worried. The show consists of the RSC's door keeper, Julian Fox, entertaining us. He comes on stage with a deadpan expression and confusingly tells us he wants to be more like Madonna. He then takes us through songs about such meaningful topics as sandwiches costing UKP2.40. And as for the dance - words fail me. It has to be seen to be believed. This man is seriously funny. Later he shares with us his holiday snaps - the holiday was taken on London's Jubilee Line extension. These are just the highlights. A truly wonderful show. Rejects Revenge Theatre Company, The Bicycle Bridge, Pleasance Rejects Revenge have a reputation for doing light hearted yet first rate theatre. This marks a new departure, being about sieges through the ages. It was impossible when watching it not to think of former Yugoslavia. Directed by KAOS's Xavier Leret it tells of a group of people in a city. Although only a three hander they play an enormous number of characters and at times it was difficult to keep up with who was who. Amazingly into such a gloomy subject they manage to inject some humour. Particularly memorable were a couple of inappropriate songs, one on someone about to be killed and another about killing off the animals at the zoo. Not what I was expecting, but there's nothing wrong with that. Plenty of good material to get one thinking. I Know What You Want Komedia Productions Komedia@Southside Penny (Sarah Mann) who can't stop talking invites Tony (Michael D'Cruze) whom she thinks is an ex-alcoholic writer to move into her flat. Most people in the audience found her amusing. I found her annoying. Some time later we are introduced to Joan (Stephanie Price), her flat ate who is not entirely happy about the idea. Gradually we learn more about them as their relationship develops. What also develops is sense of the surreal as the characters move from seeming perfectly normal but a bit odd to the utter bizarre. Like the best April Fool stories this happens so subtly that you don't notice until it is too late. Excellent writing by Jim Madden and impressive performances by the cast. The Woman in the Dune Shakti Garage Theatre At one point I thought the lights had failed but on reflection I now think that Shakti, who has a remarkable ability to mould her dance to the space, had decided that the light from the fire exit sign was adequate to light the scene. Consisting of parts where Shakti dances on her own and others where she is joined by two other dancers we see a programme of 6 linked dances. The Woman in the Dunes is a woman who like sand is free and her freedom allows her to shape her life. Prelude (The Dawning) sees her emerge from the sand. As well as the music we hear her moan. She picks up and drops sand and the others come to life. We move through Existence (Dance of Sisyphus) to Entrapment (Dance of Fear) most of which is danced with Shakti trapped in a net by the other two dancers. These are followed by more intricately choreographed dances with Eros (Dance of Love), Enchantment (Possession/Defiance/The Spell), and culminating in the frenetic Ecstasy (Total Abandonment). Quite an hour of stunning superb dance. Sodom Sophistical Theatre Hill St Theatre It seems Sophistical Theatre were not overhyping their work when in the programme they say "for 300 years nobody has dared to stage this obscenity" written by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, who died of syphilis at the age of 33. However the efforts of the director to make this out as a very deep work won't wash with me. It is in essence a bawdy tale around the theme of Bolloxinian, King of Sodom, who decides to ban heterosexual sex in favour of sodomy. Yet much of the piece is about heterosexual sex, men's failure to sustain erections, and premature ejaculation. What of the performance? The acting, production, and use of space were first rate. I do however have one criticism: there was one scene which contained nudity which seemed to have been put there so they could say "contains nudity" in the publicity. It was out of step with the rest of the production and either there should have been more nudity or none at all. Should they have done this play? If, as claimed, that nobody dared to or was allowed to then emphatically yes. If however it was a play that nobody thought worth doing then no. On balance I think I say "well done". Lulu in La La Land Rosa Mei Dance Company St Brides This year St Brides decided they were not going to programme the venue but just make the space available for use. What happens? In from New York flies this dance company with one of the finest dance works I've seen in the last few years. This probes human frailty and neurosis and is accompanied by a well thought out soundtrack, which as well as speech included works by Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson at one end to the Blue Danube Waltz at the other via what sounded like Marvin the Paranoid Android singing Bicycle Made for Two. A series of separate dances repeating the theme with some interesting and thoughtful use of lighting on unusual structures. Towards the end one of the dancers reappears in a not instantly recognisable Superman type costume and the music is back to Anderson's "Oh Superman" and you would almost believe people could fly so flowing was the movement. Marvellous. Dancescapes UNLV College of Fine Arts Garage Theatre Five separate dances and a clever pause (not billed as such). The first, Area 51, was itself in several sections and was about UFOs in the Nevada Desert. Alien bodies emerge from a large sheet representing their craft. This is followed by an ingeniously lit piece in which a US air force man is seen removing his protective clothing. After a few more sections we move onto a bit where they do a dance in rubber costumes which cover their whole bodies including head and feet. Very funny and very good. We move onto September, a piece of solo dance ably carried out by Katie Curran. Then comes Lady Nicotine, a mixture of dancing and smoking. Then comes the pause. Four dancers come on stage in normal clothes, 2 in the company T shirt, sit down and face the audience, saying they don't think much of the dance, no movement. This caries on until someone sticks his head out of the side and says "It's OK, you can come off now. We've changed." After Don't Talk so Much comes the major part of this work Tribto Ma with narrative adapted from Ma Rainey, a Harlem poetic work by Sterling Brown. A series of songs and dances. I enjoyed the lot. Wondering Hans Z Theatre Company Rocket Venue 124 This starts off with a 70 year old Hans Christian Andersen in 1815 and with flashbacks we see him as a child growing up and his love of stories. There is some clever interworking of events in his life such as (possibly fictionally) meeting the heir to the throne and the story of the Emperors New Clothes and relating his failure as an actor to the story of the Ugly Duckling. There is then a long period spent dealing with Hans travelling round Europe being financed by childhood friend Edward and the letters between Hans, Edward, and Edward's sister and Hans future wife Louise. Then Hans returns, kisses Edward, is seen doing so by Louise who says in effect "marry me or I'll ruin you both" and the play ends. Hang on a minute, we all know about Hans' stories yet the sexual side of his life which could have been developed throughout the play is just thrown in at the end. A great pity as there is a wealth of material here and some good acting, yet somehow it doesn't come together. The Zero Yard The Riot Group Garage Theatre The two shows US based company The Riot Group have previously done in Edinburgh consisted of three actors usually standing in a row delivering lines to the audience. It was clear on entering the theatre that this one was going to be different. Four bodies visible on the stage with bright lights pointing straight at the audience and loud music. The music stops and one of the bodies gets up goes over and rapes one of the others. We soon learn we are in the yard of an American maximum security prison and get to know about some of the history of the three prisoners, soon joined by a fourth, and their relationships with each other and their guard. A good attempt to bring alive the brutality and horror of such a place. Unfortunately I think some of this meaning was lost flying across the Atlantic as we are not so familiar with the nature of American prisons. This remains however a powerful piece of drama which is well worth seeing. The Riot Group were one of the few companies on my "must see" list for 2000. They are on the list for 2001. W*rn New Venture Productions Roman Eagle Lodge At first I thought this was going to be a candidate for the Fringe Last. Billed as a show about domestic violence we have five actors - 1 man, 4 women - on stage in white masks. They move about and the man starts making marks with lipstick, representing blood. Am I going to have to sit through 60 minutes of this? Luckily not. The masks came off and with very few props (always a good sign), we are rapidly led through a couple meeting, marrying, having 3 children, then we slow down. For the rest of this play is about a woman trapped in a loving relationship with a man who is jealous and becomes increasingly violent. Light entertainment it isn't. A powerful piece of well crafted and at times frightening drama it is. My only minor criticism is that I found it implausible that the man did not become violent until he was in a family with three children, but none the less a credit to the Fringe. Island Trestle Pleasance I think Trestle are starting to take the piss. They have long been in the position where they could turn up at the Festival, do a brilliant show, and walk away with major awards. Too easy. Two years ago they did a show about blind beggars in half mask (which means they could talk), so they did it in an invented language. This year they really went for an almost impossible work in full mask. A woman was found in the middle of a road in the West Midlands in February this year who had been dead for two months but was so obscure nobody had noticed, so Trestle decided to do a show based on the life of someone like her. To make it more difficult they decided to do most of it as flashbacks where current events remind her of previous events in her life. To add to the old woman's confusion they merge current events with previous ones and present both on stage at the same time. Does it work? Don't be silly, we are talking about Trestle here, of course it works. I have been thinking about what music if any accompanied this and have no idea whether we watched this in silence or with noticeable sounds in the background. I think that speaks volumes about the acting. Wreck in the Living Room Workhorse Productions Roman Eagle Lodge I was persuaded to go and see this after being told it was a gay show. Really? I didn't notice. The strange title comes from the fact that this show consists of two short plays done one after the other. The Wreck on the Five Twenty-five is set in 50s America and tells of Mrs Hawkins and her 15 year old daughter Minnie who are waiting for Mr Hawkins to come home but for once he is not on the 5:25 train. A friend comes round and tells them he has come into a substantial sum of money. Where is he? It turns out he is outside the window trying to get a look on his life from the outside. So deep as to be virtually impenetrable, a criticism which cannot be made of the second play Naomi in the Living Room. This is so light as to be almost meaningless. A psychotic American woman, played as Ruby Wax on speed, is visited by her surprisingly normal son and his wife. It turns out their 5 children were killed in a car crash. It is later revealed that the husband is a transvestite and there are a few gags about this. Well acted, but why did this company choose this material? Beverley Utopia's Whores Komedia@Southside Now this is what the Fringe should be about. A superb monologue written and directed by Natasha Langridge and performed by Valerie Frances. It's the weekend and Beverley wants a fuck, but seems to be selecting worse and worse men. She meets Davey, a Welsh bloke who comes from a family of drug addicts, and much of the rest is predictable. Superbly delivered it gives a realistic portrayal of the attitude to life of a section of society today. Brilliant. Whacked! Halyon Films Gilded Balloon Oh dear, if only the people behind this had less money they might have produced a better show than Beverley. This is played in a small studio theatre so why the radio mike? There is film projected onto a wavy curtain which is totally unnecessary. There is music throughout. There is even a costume designer credited - Oscar winning Sandy Powell who can't have been cheap. All it needed was a stage and something for Annie (Sarah McGuinness) to sit on. Annie has been living with Ron, a gangster, for 4 years but Ron has been shot and killed. We hear about how they met, their lives together, their sexual turn ons (frighteningly, violence against third parties), and how it all ended which comes as quite a surprise. A superb performance and magnificent writing by Tony Thompson. It's a pity the technology got in the way of rather than enhanced the production. Rhymes Reasons and Bomb Ass Beatz Truly Fierce Productions Gilded Balloon I must admit the publicity was enough to put me off this show. I thought it would be an hour of rap music. What I didn't realise was that it was a show by Harold Finley who was the man behind the 1994 success Diary of a New York Queen. After opening with a not particularly good rap song he leads us through meetings with about a dozen different characters ranging from a guy in south London becoming a drug dealer, an American preacher opposed to gangster rap music, an American waiter who tells us about living with AIDS and loses his temper with customers, to a 106 year old Mississippi woman. As a vehicle for showing Finley's huge talent this works well. However as there seemed to be no common link between the characters it worked less well as a whole. Manon/Sandra Venue 13 This is an excellent production of a play by Canadian Michel Tremblay. It is about passion in its various forms. Manon (Laura Rees) is a religious nutter, totally obsessed with god. Sandra (Garrie Harvey) is a gay transvestite, totally obsessed with sex. They live next door to each other and the play explores the nature of their obsessions. Well worth seeing. Crucifixion Badac Theatre Company Hill St Theatre This is superb. Christ is reborn as Yehoshua (Steve Lambert) in Auschwitz. We see him strapped to a roller where he is repeatedly beaten. The Nazis have gained people's lands but they haven't gained their minds. If they can get Christ to denounce his father they will have won. It looks at why if a god exists he allows horrors such as Auschwitz to occur. Personally I've never had a problem with this. If you accept people have free will then some will do unpleasant things to others. However a god who allows natural disasters such as earthquakes which kill hundreds of thousands has clearly got a screw loose. Anyway this is a well written thought provoking play. I'm glad I had the opportunity to see it. Straight as a Line Frantic Redhead Productions Randolph Studio This excellent but tragic story tells of Paulie (Andrew Crawford) and his mother (Cherene Snow). Paulie's life is described by prostitution. He was conceived when his mother was working as a prostitute and he is now living with AIDS which he contracted when working as a prostitute. He is a young man in his 20s who is facing death but feels he hasn't lived. This play takes us through the final months of his life. A superb production which gets inside the lives of a son and mother in tragic circumstances. Decky Does a Bronco Grid Iron Scotland Yard Playground Committed to presenting theatre in unusual venues this one takes place in a children's playground. The "Bronco" of the title consists of getting a swing to go so high it shoots over the bar and goes all the way round. We meet a group of 9 year old boys and get to see the world through their eyes. I particularly liked the theological debate on the nature of stinging nettles and dock leaves and the difference between catholocism and protestantism, but all of this is to lull you into a false sense of security. The nature of this piece changes dramatically when we see the swing taped up. As adults we feel a smug sense of satisfaction as we know what is going on but these 9 year olds do not. However this only lasts until we meet the emotional sledgehammer waiting to hit us in the face around the next corner. What at first appears like a very light romp suddenly changes into something altogether more depressing and deeply shocking. The Fire is Alive Rimbaud Productions Roman Eagle Lodge This modestly claims to be "the only drama at the Festival this year which deals seriously with gay issues". I think there may be some other companies in Edinburgh who disagree with that statement. It deals with an older actor's love for a younger one and is told through Shakespeare's neglected play King John. We see the old actor in an institution at the end of his days, and with a series of flashbacks to him in a version of King John, which the director doesn't understand not seeing it as a queer play. He becomes obsessed with Arthur who doesn't want to have anything to do with him. This goes on for several years until eventually he is charged with killing the man he loves and ends up in the institution being cared for by a particularly stupid nurse. This is very much about the difficulties of relationships between people of different ages but I think the main problem with it is that you need to be familiar with King John, which I am not, to get the most out of this. ------------------------------------------------------------------- FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEWS ====================== *Camilla Pia *camilla@drink.demon.co.uk Dr“le de Felix Dr“le de Felix (Funny Felix) is definitely one to sit back and relax to over the summer. A bittersweet tale of one man's journey through France to find the father who abandoned him as a child. Felix is the epitomy of youth and positivity as he embarks on this journey, bringing happiness to those he meets along the way. Choosing romantic and often uncertain routes, Felix's journey has a beautiful, scenic backdrop and is filled with adventure and surprise. Although the racism he faces and the difficulties of living with HIV are apparent through the film, it is the positivity and excitement instead that are focused on, skillfully avoiding the tag of self indulgent weepie. Joyous, witty and utterly inspirational. The Jaundiced Eye The Jaundiced Eye is a gritty and hard-hitting documentary showing the 10 year long trials and emotional hardships that Stephen Matthews and his father have to endure after being accused of sexually abusing Stephen's son. Disturbing and harrowing tales are recounted as the men are sentenced to 35 years in gaol despite the lack of any physical evidence A balanced fair and thought provoking piece of work which brings truth and the whole justice system into question. An extraordinary miscarriage of justice and a deeply moving account of the effect that homophobia and prejudice had on these people's lives. Water Drops on Burning Rocks (Gouttes d'Eau sur Pierres Br–llantes) This is not one for the casual viewer. Set in the early 70's this film cries out to be dramatic, serious and tragic. It is made up of four acts of what can only be described as bizzare dialogues and sordid happenings. It is the tale of Leopold's relationships with Franz, Franz's relationship with ex-fiance Anna and a grand reunion of them all at the end with the additional presence of Vera, Leopold's transsexual ex-lover. If confusion, black comedy and despair get you going, then this is the film for you. --------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERNATIONAL NEWS ================== From Rex Wockner COE WELCOMES ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly voted in July to support the membership applications of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the condition that they decriminalize sex between men. In fact, Azerbaijan legalized male-male sex in May and the legislation will take effect in September. "We are extremely pleased with these developments," said Nico Beger of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA). "Eighteen months of lobbying paid off when the Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the Assembly insisted that the Assembly stand up for the rights of gay people in these countries." In the whole of Europe only Armenia, the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska and Russia's Chechen Republic still ban gay sex outright, ILGA said. Founded following World War II, the Council of Europe aims to strengthen democracy, human rights and the rule of law in its 41 member states. The European Convention on Human Rights is the most important of its many human-rights treaties. Violations of the convention are settled by the European Court of Human Rights. The Council is governed by the foreign ministers of its member states (the Committee of Ministers) and by representatives from national parliaments (the Parliamentary Assembly). GAY KOREANS STAGE FIRST SHOW Gays, transvestites and transsexuals in Seoul have created South Korea's first gay show, for an audience of mostly straight people and tourists. The nightly Hahahoho Show at the restaurant of the same name features nine gay men and nine trannies. "This is Korea's first gay show ever," founder Kim Jyung-kon told the Korea Herald. "That should tell you how far behind we are in social maturity. All the other countries, like the U.S., England, Japan and Thailand, have long since recognized the talent of gay members of their communities and used them to help build successful tourism industries." In between the show's two acts, the transsexuals spend half an hour answering audience questions about their lives. Photos of the show can be viewed at http://www.haho.co.kr/ B.C. PREMIER DOES GAY PRIDE The premier of the Canadian province of British Columbia, Ujjal Dosanjh, has made history by becoming the first provincial leader to participate in the gay-pride parade. "This is not about special rights for anyone. This is about equal rights for all British Columbians and all Canadians," Dosanjh told the National Post. The parade had 155 entries and the turnout likely exceeded last year's figure of 110,000. UNFINISHED WILDE PLAY FOUND An unfinished handwritten play by Oscar Wilde has been found in the library of the University of California by Wilde fan Neil Kydd. "A Wife's Tragedy" portrays a man who betrays his wife with another woman. It was written in 1892 when the gay Wilde's marriage to his wife Constance was in serious trouble. "Things were really building to a head in 1892 when he was completely besotted with Lord Alfred Douglas," Kydd told the BBC. Several days after the discovery, Wilde's grandson, Merlin Holland, told Reuters the play was not previously unknown. "Wilde scholars have known about this for years," Holland said. "It certainly has not been dug out of a deep and dusty vault. ... People are forever discovering new things about Wilde -- supposedly." HIV INFECTIONS UP IN ONTARIO The rate of HIV infection among gay men doubled in the Canadian province of Ontario between 1996 and 1999, according to University of Toronto researchers. Dr. Liviana Calzavara blamed safe-sex fatigue. "These people have been practicing safe sex for over a decade and every once and awhile they're going to slip, or else because they have been with a regular partner, they no longer feel condoms are necessary," she told the University of Toronto Bulletin. STUDENTS' GAY FLOAT DEFUNDED The Roman Catholic chancellor of Sydney, Australia's University of Technology has cancelled a $14,000 subsidy to students who were making a float for next year's huge gay Mardi Gras parade. Gerard Brennan said: "It is reasonable to sup