FOREVER
1st September 2026
Issue 58
WITH PRIDE
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Words From The Editor
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It was Adam All! For those of you scratching your heads, they are a very popular drag king, and I highly recommend looking them up online.
A cheeky, almost-burlesque performer, with colourful makeup and hair I have yet to figure out what to do with.
Not a lot of people quite understood at the time why I had a blue moustache, but I still had a good time. It will be amazing one day to see many more kings at Pride events, perhaps even myself being one of them.
Rushing towards the toilets, a familiar person walked past me.
These days, I work as a therapist for Bowleaze Cove Holiday Park & Spa, but I have also been Sukulele, a musical comedy performer who played a couple of Pride festivals back in the day, an actress, most recently starring as the characters Tia and Gina in the series ‘Not Another Holiday Park!’ (available to stream) and, most recently, I am Arthur Footlong: The only drag king in town (to my knowledge).
I mime along to songs, uncomfortably move across the stage in the way of “dancing,” and create/use amusing props
A couple of years ago, after putting Arthur on hold for many reasons, I was travelling back from Stanmore and stopped at a service station.
I first tested the waters as Arthur back in 2018, going out locally for a hen night on one occasion and attending Bourne Free with friends on another.
I do miss it.
Fortunately, they were still there when I came back, and I sheepishly approached them.
It could definitely be said that I am not one for staying in one lane. I have spent most of my life navigating through interests, seeing where I ended up.
If I can ever get over the fear of singing in public again (longish story), I might even revisit my musical ways on stage.
There is even a vlog on YouTube for the latter.
We talked about king things, and I even got a photo with them.
hometown of Weymouth, but the messages were often ignored or rejected.
The proof is there that people love to see kings perform, but we are rarely given the chance to do so.
Within minutes, they replied and gave us the green light.
The response to the show has been positive, and I look forward to making some history.
@arthurfootlong
For years, I reached out to local venues about putting on a King show in my
Arthur Footlong
On a whim, I recently tried one last time, contacting Rendezvous, one of the town’s largest and most popular nightclubs.
Leaving them to it, I exited the service station, got back in my car, and carried on along the motorway on a little high.
Unfortunately, kings aren’t widely recognised these days, especially in Dorset.
Hurrah! So, on 9th October, we are putting on Weymouth’s first-ever drag king show, featuring some of the many talented drag artists I have had the pleasure of meeting and convincing to travel down.
That interaction resulted in me deciding to dress up as Arthur to attend a drag show a week later, catching the attention of fellow lovely camp king, Dandy Issues, who was hosting.
This subsequently led to them getting in touch months later about performing in my first ever show.
I have only had the opportunity to perform twice as Arthur, both at sold-out shows produced and hosted by Dandy in Bournemouth.
If you have any bald patches, it’s a good idea once you’ve spread the top dressing to add some grass seed and your lawn will quickly recover from the sun’s ravages.
Then spread a generous layer of top dressing, (available in bags), over the lawn in piles – a bit like you’ve got lots of mole hills.
Then using a flat surface such as the back of a rake spread out the top dressing throughout the lawn.
It will fill any holes or depressions you have, and it will also feed the lawn and once it has rained it will quickly disappear to the base of the grass plant.
That’s how mine is and it’s only a year old but one thing that will help it recover quickly is adding a covering of top dressing. This is the perfect time of year to do it especially as the rain finally seems to have returned.
The forecasters are already saying next year could be the hottest on record so it’s best to confront the issues rather than try and deny what’s happening.
Sponsored By
I’ll start with the lawn and unless you’ve put
First cut your grass fairly short and use a box to take off the clippings.
lots of water down yours will be looking rather scorched and patchy at best.
Gay Gardeners UK, Plants, Seeds and surplus Exchange Group
September 2026
There will still be the usual tips and jobs to do but more of an emphasis on how to mitigate some of the effects of extreme sun on the garden and what plants are drought resistant.
I’ve mentioned for a few months now about how extraordinary this year has been from a heat and so sun point of view and the lack of rain for the garden so starting with this month there will be a bit of a change to this gardening insert.
Lavender has tolerated, and thrived, in my south facing front garden and has not had much water.
When you remove them from the planter or garden just place them in a suitable pot and trim the top and they will grow well indoors so you get extra value from your bedding, and they cheer up a room.
Mulch is an important part of reducing water loss and you can top up in the autumn or wait for spring but to make it work you need a good thickness of bark to the surface of the soil.
Keep your greenhouse tomatoes etc.
It’s a good time to think about new spring bulbs as they need planting soon and a good idea to do before applying mulch.
Remove any perennial weeds first before adding the mulch.
The sun will give the fruit extra sweetness so maybe turn over some of your garden to fruit production if you get full sun.
One thing the sun has done this year is reduce the number of weeds in the garden.
Left – A current photo of one of my Dahlias which have been subject to south facing full sun but they love it as they are native of Mexico.
They also like lots of sun to be successful.
The one area that might not be true is the pond thanks to the dreaded blanket weed.
Bulbs can tolerate full sun and always brighten up a patch of the garden before other plants take over the show.
If you’ve grown Impatiens and New Guinea Bizzy Lizzies as summer bedding, you can turn these into indoor pot plants if you want to.
There is no rush to dig them up as we are supposed to get another heatwave in September apparently!
growing as long as you can to get that late fruit to ripen.
Drought Resistant Plant Focus
Right - also a current photo from the greenhouse showing my bell peppers just turning from green to red.
The bees have loved it and on a warm day I’ve had the bonus of the smell from the oil which is said to be very soothing so perfect for planting alongside a path or walkway.
Crab apples and Mountain ash have done well this year and have bumper crops of fruit which are very attractive to us in several colours but are vitally important to birds for food going into the autumn and winter.
Fruit does well in hot summers but a lot of them need plenty of water. Victoria plums, Apples, Pears, Figs and Strawberries, (and lots of others), have done well this summer and given bumper crops and they all produce nice decorative flowers in the spring so you get both benefits.
It’s important not to do this too late as you don’t want the grass growing too vigorously going into a frosty period so September is as late as you should try this.
They do need lots of water though.
Remove this as much as possible and it will die off in the winter, but it clogs up pumps and can stifle a pond if left unchecked. It grows amazingly quickly in bright sun.
Don’t forget the sun cream when working in the garden.
Spread the heavier jobs around the garden such as mulching over several days else you may pay for it with a sore back.
They don’t get too big as trees go and if you have the space would be a great addition and you will have the pleasure of seeing lots of birds visiting them.
Right – Just to show you can still have some fun with extreme sun so long as you can still add water to the mix. Some people have managed very tall versions of the sun flower this year.
No frozen assets indeed this summer, more like burnt assets!
Left – The Ice Plant or Sedum spectabile turn pinky red in September. Butterflies love them and they can take full sun as they have with me.
Now is a good time of year to take semi-ripe cuttings from favourite plants. Just keep away from direct sun and water if they look on the dry side.
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When they find paradise in a local village and carve out their own lesbian community, tensions simmer with the local residents.
On the southwestern coast of Lesvos Island in Greece lies the small agricultural village of Eressos which is the birthplace of Sappho, the first female poet to write about love between women.
Lesvia chronicles 40+ years of lesbian identity and conflict between the locals of a small village on the Greek island of Lesvos and lesbians who arrived searching for love, freedom and community.
With both groups claiming ownership of lesbian identity, filmmaker Tzeli Hadjidimitriou—a native and lesbian herself—is caught in the middle and chronicles 40+ years of love, community, conflict, and what it means to feel accepted.
For centuries, Eressos had been isolated from the rest of the world but in the mid-1970’s, women from across the world began to arrive, in search for Sappho’s traces.
Lesvia
The women lived on the beach, there were no separations of class, country or ethnicity.
But in the middle of the 1980s, more women flocked to the island, including filmmaker Tzeli Hadzidimitriou, a lesbian born and raised on the island.
Photo by Bea Uhart
Since the 1970s, lesbians from around the world have been drawn to the island of Lesvos, birthplace of the ancient Greek poet Sappho.
At first, the local inhabitants felt pride that these women had come to pay tribute to the great poet, born in their lands.
The documentary is based on archival films and photographs as well as contemporary filming.
Many of the local children came to consider lesbian relationships as natural and local women appreciated the freedom of the foreign women.Great changetook place.
Peccadio.Film
This was a radical experience, offering them absolute freedom from the prejudice they had experienced at home.
The materials are combined with personal testimonies and excerpts from the director’s diary, who records the story of lesbian community of Eressos through her personal experience.
Some villagers sided with the lesbians, identifying with a persecuted minority.
Hetero normativity was turned on its head.
Today, a stable lesbian community of women from across the world lives in Eressos.
In the 1990s, lesbians began to rent rooms and buy houses.Hotels and restaurants opened run exclusively for and by women.
A lesbian bar opened in the middle of the village square.The conservative villagers of Eressos embraced the new economic force.
At the same time, it led to open conflict with the local inhabitants, who felt threatened by the lesbians.
Filmmaker Tzeli Hadzidimitriou is one of them, spending half of the year in the village.
Expressing larger social and political developments, they proudly claimed the right to be called lesbians and to express their identity.
Lesbian Space Princessis one of the titles in the Sapphic Summer collection on digital platforms Oher films include Lesvia,Thirst, My First Summer, Stud Life, Anais In Love, Permission, Cocoon and Carmen & Lola. Full details can be found on www.peccadillo.film
And so the most anxious, self-doubting princess in the GAY-laxy must climb aboard a deeply problematic spaceship, pick up a fabulous gay-pop runaway and hurtle across queer space on the most chaotic rescue mission ever attempted to save her ex!
Multiple award-winning Lesbian Space Princess is a mad-cap animated adult queer comedy, written and directed by Emma Hough Hughes and Leela Varghese Winner of the Teddy Award and a recent Nominee for seven Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award.
After Kiki is kidnapped by forgotten incels of the future, the Straight White Maliens, Saira must leave the comforts of gay space to deliver their ransom: her royal labrys (the most powerful weapon known to lesbian kind). Only problem is… she doesn’t have it!
Peccadillo Pictures: www.peccadillo.film Facebook/Instagram/YouTube/ @peccadillopics
Daughter to the flamboyant lesbian Queens of Planet Clitopol is, introverted Princess Saira is devastated when her bounty-hunter girlfriend, Kiki, suddenly breaks up with her for being too needy.
His God had been appeased and would turn a benevolent blind eye… again.
Hear it first hand from the second city @ talesofthesecondcity.com
One evening, a satisfied driver dropped me home, after a detour to a shadowy side street, but as I got out, he insisted, ‘You must forgive me.’
That fourth Uber encounter of the week had the cheek to ask for a five-star review and a tip.
There are furtive glances in the rearview mirror.
There is pattern. The driver picks you up in the gay village and casually enquiries about where you have been on your night out.
He literally needed forgiveness to forgive himself for the act we had just performed.
I used to tell them a few spicy titbits, but now respond, ‘Well, pull over and I’ll show you.’
Oh, to return to those times when nature’s credit card was widely accepted.
He could now return to wife and family relatively guilt free.
You rattle off the names of a few venues on the scene, making sure you drop in a reference to The Fountain or, in bygone years, Boltz.
Driver then asks, ‘What happens there?’
This was not some passing remark, like you might ask forgiveness for forgetting someone’s name, failing to pick up dog food on your way home, or passing wind.
He was cleansed.
Back in the day, you could frequently blag a free ride home. Unfortunately, these days, payments are processed automatically, which means you perform tricks and still have the indignity of being charged.
‘That’s the fourth Uber driver I’ve blown this week,’ I announced as I arrived home at 3am.
‘No,’ he implored, laying an earnest hand upon my arm, ‘you must forgive me.’
And I wasn’t even trying… this time
I said the words.
That’ll do nicely.
‘Nothing to forgive,’ I casually replied.
His request was desperate.
Tales of the Second City – Misadventures on Birmingham's Gay Scene
Uber Rides
‘I did all the hard work,’ I told him. ‘You should give me a tip.’
I felt quite papal.
This was required.
Works like a charm.
This was redemption.
Fin
Nearly 15 years ago, Fin entered the world, followed by rainbow🌈glitter and enough sass to always keep us on our toes.
He was in awe of me when I did my make up, he always had an opinion (good or bad) on the clothes I wore and loved dressing up in feminine clothes from as soon as he could walk and talk.
We are Fin, Tom and I, Ellie. A family from the UK that wanted better for our son, so we made a life changing decision to move abroad for a better life!
I knew from a very young age that Fin could be gay.
The confidence Fin displayed was beautifully heartwarming. He knew who he was from a very young age and I have always been his biggest supporter and protector.
Let me take you right back, me and Tom met nearly 18 years ago in the UK. Tom already had the boys all under the age of 5 so what the hell was I letting myself in for? Fast forward a few years and we decided to have a child of our own.
Fin organised a pride day at his primary school because he wanted to be represented and the head teacher had conveniently forgotten that June was pride month.
But, if there was any negativity at his primary school, it didn’t bother him in the slightest because I’ve always allowed him to be who he is! And sat back to let him explore how he is.
had but mainly by adults passing comments - not his own age.
As he grew, you’d expect some bullying or unkindness towards him, which he
So, we searched elsewhere.
I needed to get his mental health in a better place.
Reform was growing in popularity, there was increasing hostility towards the trans community, and I started to question whether this was really the right place for Fin.
I was not prepared to sit back and watch my son be eaten up by mental health issues and a fear of the world.
You can’t put him in a box; his personality and creativity will always fight to escape!
As a gay child being forced to act the same, do the same and wear the same as everybody else was never going to be Fin’s right environment.
This made life a little harder for him especially at secondary school. And this is where we noticed his sparkle fading.
Fin soon sorted that and turned up at school in the biggest rainbow skirt and lilac wig you’ve ever seen.
After trying to work with his school and feeling like they were failing him over and over, that led us onto our next journey: home education.
Tom & Ellie
Which got Tom and I thinking… Where are his people? We considered America for all of 10 mins because a certain someone became president again.
I feared for what his future could look like if we stayed.
It became apparent as Fin got older that he was neurodivergent and had a stammer.
Fin age 11 years at Leeds Pride
A few things were happening in the UK.
In a small countryside school of 120 pupils, over 20 parents complained about the ‘celebration of pride day’ to the head teacher.
Ellie Gran Canaria
A life for Fin where I can see he has a future, around his kind of people!
We found Gran Canaria in 2024. And that was it! We got home, house went on the market, my hair and beauty business was up for sale, and we were planning a new life!
And as his parents, me and his dad cannot wait to see him become the amazing star he was born to be, and we will always be the one cheering the loudest from the sidelines!
We are currently 8 weeks into our new life and spend our evenings at the Yumbo centre - we’ve made friends, drag queens have gifted Fin wigs, people have invited us for lunch.
Watch out world, Fin wants to light up the drag stages when he’s old enough and spread joy and laugher in his future.
Fin with Michelle Visage
The community here is everything, and everything Fin needs in his life!
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LatinoLife Presents.... VIVA SOUND SYSTEM BLACK ON THE SQUARE A Free Central London Festival SAT 5 SEPTEMBER 2026 TRAFALGAR SQUARE, LONDON
If you liked our Viva Club Arena at LatinoLife in the Park, you'll love our Viva Sound System, a vibrant show featuring reggaetón, baile funk, merengue, Afro-Latin house, bachata, salsa, dembow, baile funk, amapiano and much more, in an exciting curation of the UK's best Afro-Latin DJs, MCs, rappers, singers, percussionists, animators and dance shows.
Celebrating 20 years promoting Afro-Latin music in the UK, Latino Life presents the headline show at BLACK on the SQUARE, the Mayor of London's flagship, FREE, family-friendly festival celebrating Black culture in Trafalgar Square.
Featuring Broken Pen, Ren2Faded, Erika Da Silva, Marco Santana, Baldo Verdu, DJ Jose Luis, Baile da Silva and much more. Full line up tba.
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