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Letters from London: Gay Capital of the UK

Canal - David C. Dawson

London is without question the gay capital of the UK, in terms of the size of its LGBT population. But what about outside London? This will be contentious. Brighton is generally considered to be the gay capital of the United Kingdom. So says Wikipedia. The seaside city of Brighton and Hove on the south coast of England has the largest LGBT population, outside London, in the UK. That’s according to a city census in 2014. Brighton is like the US’s Provincetown, or Germany’s Berlin. It’s had a long history of welcoming LGBT people. Back in the nineteenth century, during the Napoleonic wars, there were many soldiers stationed in the area.… Continue Reading Letters from London: Gay Capital of the UK

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Letters from London: Fetish Fun

David C. Dawson

It’s the great London clean up. One by one, fetish clubs for gay men are closing across London. Places where men who like leather and other fetish gear can meet and – play. In the 1980s there were more than a dozen fetish clubs in London. Now there are fewer than five. The latest to close was XXL Club on the south bank of the Thames. It had some of the best music. And on a Saturday night it would be packed with beefy bears in leather harnesses. No more. Before XXL closed, Bloc South in Vauxhall became victim to the relentless ‘progress’ of building development. And before that, a… Continue Reading Letters from London: Fetish Fun

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Letters from London: Pride and Progress

Pride - David Dawson

There’s a lot to celebrate this year. Fifty years since the Stonewall riots in New York. This was a major landmark in our history. It’s an event that led to decades of change around the world. Now, it’s not only legal to be LGBTQI in 125 countries, but we can get married in 32 of them. Of course, that means there are 70 countries where being LGBTQI is illegal. And nine countries where it’s punishable by death. We’ve still got work to do. Here in London, I attended Pride at the end of June. My boyfriend and I held hands as we walked through Soho, and later along the South… Continue Reading Letters from London: Pride and Progress