Category: Birmingham Gay Village
Urinal Encounters: Revised and Reloaded
Originally published last year as four separate blogs, this reedited version is presented here as one 'Eastenders' omnibus.
I've had some odd encounters at urinals.
No, not like that!
Well… Yes, like that, but not always.
Once, I was stod at a pub toilet, getting on with the job in hand, when an olive-skinned guy with a heavy dark beard came and stood next to me.
Even in gay venues the etiquette is that men don't tend to talk while taking a pee. The same rule of awkward silence that applies to lifts and the waiting room of an STD clinic applies. The urinals are not the place for idle chitchat. Yet, on this occasion, I became aware that the bearded guy kept casting glances in my direction. This isn't an uncommon occurrence in the lavatories of a gay bar, in fact it's pretty much standard practice. The unwritten rulebook of gay toilets deems talk forbidden, but peeking and downright lechery perfectly acceptable.
Unexpectedly, my urinal companion dared to disregard the convention of not talking and, in a strong Middle Eastern accent, commented, "I like your colour."
I thanked him, assuming he was referring to my hair, as I am ginger with flecks of grey, which I like to think of as 'Salt and Paprika'.
He now had my full attention, "Pink?!"
Being fair haired and light skinned, I do develop flushed cheeks after a few beers. It was undoubtedly the oddest compliment I have received, but so sincerely meant that I was happy to take it.
A Sicilian friend once told me about spending a holiday on the nude beaches of Italy, surrounded by his naked countrymen.
"It sounds like heaven," I swooned.
For me it would be a beach full of exotic looking men, for him it was like looking into an infinity mirror.
One another occasion, my partner and I were visiting Brighton and were having a meal in The Lion & Lobster, a large corner pub situated on the opposite side of town from the city's famous gay scene. Inevitably, after a few pints, I needed to use the bathroom.
There were only two porcelain urinals in the Gents, tucked into a compact alcove.
I was immediately struck by the management's curious choice of décor. Each of the three walls that made up the nook were covered in an assortment of mirrors, of all shapes, sizes and styles. They filled the walls from just below waist height to ceiling. It looked like the designer had raided every Poundshop and thrift store in Brighton and Hove for mirrors.
As I stood there, admiring the eclectic collection, another customer entered the gents and squeezed in at my side, awkwardly brushing against me in the tight space.
"I was just wondering the same," I said. "I've never seen myself pee from so many different angles before," then added with a wink, "or other people for that matter."
I must have been feeling particularly emboldened by those two pints, as this wasn't a gay venue, yet I still flattered him with, "By the way, Not bad!"
The guy gave an uncomfortable laugh, "I'm laughing mate, but you know it's with fear, right?"
"That's alright," I responded. "I'm blushing… and I can see it in every mirror."
We exchanged pleasantries as we washed our hands then both left the toilets, chuckling as we returned to our respective partners. I bet his girlfriend didn't let him out of her sight again.
I never did confess that the angle of the mirrors meant that I couldn't really see anything. I didn't want to disappoint him.
On another night out at The Golden Cross in Cardiff, I barrelled into the pub toilets and stepped into the only available space at the long communal urinal.
A friend's boyfriend was stood on my immediate right, so I greeted him with a friendly, "Hello… no peeking!" I glanced to my left and noticed that the lad stood there was very cute, so leaned over and cheekily told him, "You can peek if you want… I've just peeked at you."
The lad let out an exasperated, but good-humoured sigh, and said, "Now I'm not going to be able to go!"
We men are a delicate bunch and can be so easily put off our stride.
"Come on," I teased, "you can do it."
"There's a que forming."
"Now I'm under pressure!"
"Let's see who manages to pee first," I suggested.
He rolled his eyes, "Great, now it's a competition!" I started to urinate, my amber stream rattling noisily off the metal trough. "A competition that I've just lost."
He still hadn't managed to go even as I zipped up and left.
He responded, "I suck,"
Taken aback by his unexpected candour, I countered, "Well, that's good to know, but more information than I was expecting."
He was Welsh, but this was one regional name that I was not familiar with.
"NOOOOO!!!" He cried, "Not 'I Suck'! My name is Issac."
That made far more sense, although I must confess to feeling a tad disappointed.
The most farcical predicament I have found myself in, happened back home in Birmingham.
We all know that nightclub toilets aren't always used for the purpose for which they are provided. It doesn't matter whether the club is gay or straight, there will be people taking advantage of the facilities for a quick sexual encounter.
The guy stood next to me at the urinal of this particular club, made it quite apparent that he was up for fun. He didn't have to say anything… it was out there and obvious.
I glanced back down at his aroused crotch and said, "Not that shy, clearly!"
He considered for a moment then nodded his consent and we both stepped into the waiting cubicle.
Afterwards, as we readjusted our clothes, the guy motioned for me to remain quiet and listened at the thin door. He looked concerned and whispered, "There is someone out there."
"Don't worry," I whispered back. "I'll stand behind the door when you open it then you leave and I'll slip out once the coast is clear."
The door opened inwards and was on the side of cubical, rather than facing the toilet, so it was easy to flatten myself against the wall and remain concealed.
Unfortunately, as my brief acquaintance made his escape, another guy immediately walked into the cubical to take his place! This new fella closed the door and bolted it without turning around or giving my feeble hiding place a glance. He didn't notice that I was there and started to relieve himself. This stranger was completely oblivious to the fact that I was stood, flattened against the wall, merely feet behind him in what should have been his private space!
In the least threatening tone I could muster, I gently said, "Don't be afraid, but I'm behind you."
He reacted with amazing composure. I get startled if someone so much as speaks to me unexpectedly while focused on something as mundane as doing the washing-up, let alone being surprised by someone when I think I am alone in a confined space.
After that encounter, I'll be staying out of toilet cubicles, try to avoid further sitcom scenario and stop talking to strange men at the urinals…. Oh, hang on, maybe I'm the strange man?!
rainbowfrontline2020	Birmingham, Birmingham Gay Village, Boltz, Cruising, Gay, Gay Stories, Hook-ups, LGBT, LGBTQ, Sex, Sex Club	Leave a comment January 16, 2021 January 16, 2021 6 Minutes
I had sex in a cinema once (I know, shocking! Clutch those pearls), but this wasn't some fumble on the back row of the picture house… We moved in for the night.
Back in the early 90's, I met some guy in a bar. We flirted, enjoying that heady mix of nervous anticipation and lust, until one of us broke the stalemate and mustered the courage to go in for a kiss. He then asked me back to his flat in Dorothy Towers.
The morning after the night before, I executed my tried and tested method for finding out a trick's name when you don't remember. I slipped out of bed, on the pretext of going to the bathroom then popped into the kitchen to check his mail, which is usually stacked on the counter or breakfast table. It is a risky gambit, as you don't want to be caught in the act and look like you are prying, stalking… or stealing their bank details.
Having acquired the information I needed, I could now hop back into bed and confidently address my new acquaintance by name, although I always dreaded someone responding, "But, … I never told you my name." Or even worse, "That's my flat mate's name."
He had just finished a shift at The Electric Cinema, where he was an usher, checking tickets and flogging choc-ices. He told me, "I am just having one drink before last orders then heading back."
"Do they have a midnight showing?"
"No, but the manager likes to close up then watch a movie in peace," he explained. "He's going to put on Midnight Express. Would you like to join me?"
Midnight Express was a brilliant film. I loved it. To this day, I get an urge to recreate the scene where Brad Davis' girlfriend helps him relieve his pent-up prison tension by squashing her nipples against the glass partition in the visiting booth, whenever I encounter admin staff behind a reception screen.
The Electric was Birmingham's first cinema, opening in Station Street in December 1909 and is now the oldest working cinema in the UK, predating its namesake in Notting Hill, London, by around two months.
At the time of our private screening, it was managed by a dishevelled film enthusiast, who slept in the projection booth, possibly because he had nowhere else to go.
By the time Midnight Express finished, it was early morning, so my friend and I decided to take inspiration from the manager and spend the night in the cinema. We gathered cushions from the ratty sofa in the foyer and fashioned ourselves a bed at the back of the auditorium, where we spent a restless night.
I was due at work the following morning and couldn't be late for my shift but didn't wear a watch (or have a mobile phone in those days), so the only way I could keep track of the time, was to periodically emerge from the pitch black of the auditorium and try to estimate the hour by the hue of the sky.
It was during one of these excursions to scrutinise the dawn light, that I felt the urge to use the toilet, so groped my way up the unlit stairs to the first-floor gents.
In the disorientating gloom, I managed to open the toilet door into my own face. As I stumbled to the urinals, half asleep and nursing my bruised head, a shadow at the tall window caught my eye. I stifled a scream. Silhouetted in the orange light of the streetlamps, was a figure stood on the external window ledge. For one awful moment I though the manager had had enough of his existence of slumming it in a projection booth and was about to end it all by throwing himself onto Station Street.
I realised with relief that it wasn't a real person after all. It was just one of several mannequins that adorned the facade of The Electric Cinema at that time… but it didn't half give me a fright.
In retrospect, it would have been a challenge for a jumper to top themselves from merely one storey up, presuming that they could even leap far enough to avoid dropping ineffectually onto the entrance canopy.
I bet that ratty old sofa, from which we fashioned our love-nest, is long gone.
Whenever I attend a screening at The Electric Cinema, which isn't as often as I should, I sit in their plush red seats, glance around the auditorium and remember when, for one night only, I was the coming attraction.
rainbowfrontline2020	Birmingham, Birmingham Gay Village, Flirting, Gay, Gay Stories, Hurst Street, LGBT, LGBTQ	Leave a comment December 9, 2020 December 12, 2020 3 Minutes
That Time I Took My Straight Mate to a Gay Sex Club
"I know a bar in Birmingham that you have never been to," I said with a devilish glint in my eye.
I was out on the town with one of my oldest friends. We have always enjoyed a pub crawl around the city centre. During one of these blurry nights out, we discovered a pamphlet showing the locations of over 100 venues renowned for real ale. The fact that neither of us drank real ale wasn't going to deter us and we enthusiastically adopted this map as our guide to new places and adventure.
For nearly a decade, that map has steered us to an eclectic mix of hostelries, from traditional pubs to swanky bars: We have enjoyed comedy shows; been entertained by backroom bands; mixed with city socialites and slummed it in many a delightful dive. Along the way we have discovered some real gems, such as: the jewel of the Jewellery Quarter, the Rose Villa Tavern, with its magnificent stained glass; enjoyed a vibrant night at the, now demolished, Yardbird; and savoured the old-style charms of the Queens Arms on Newhall Street.
It was on one of these pub crawls, that I made my cheeky proposition to Jamie.
We were in the Lamp Tavern, a peculiar little pub hidden in the gloom of Bartford Street. Those around us supped on guest ales, with robust names like Badgers Scrotum and Admiral's Arsenal, as we two heathens sipped on our 'least offensive lager you have on tap', as I am in the habit of requesting, "please".
"It doesn't feature on the map," I smirked, as the idea dawned, "but there is a place close by that we could go to… but are you man enough?"
Although no stranger to the gay scene, having been dragged into most establishments in the gaybourhood by me over the years, I had never dared to suggest this notorious men-only bar before… because Jamie is straight (Yes really, with a wife and kids and everything! Take that look off your face, I know what you are thinking, but properly straight, not bi, nor curious, closeted or 'oh go on then' after three pints… believe me, I've tried).
We met back in our twenties when we both worked at a local arts centre. I was on the box office and Jamie was a steward. I took quite a shine to him and we spent a lot of time chatting while he was enduring the drudgery of a quiet gallery shift. I even went as far as asking him out for a drink one evening. It was a while into our 'date' that the penny dropped, and he realised that my invitation was motivated by more than mere friendliness. Jamie began to babble about his girlfriend and made an excuse to leave.
Several months later, we were both at a house party, where he apologised for running off that night and confessed that he had invented the girlfriend in panic. From that day on we have been good mates. I was even honoured to be best man at his wedding.
As I rang the entrance buzzer at the club, I turned to Jamie and told him, "This is a private members club, so you are going to be asked to sign up. They take your photo and details, but it is just a formality, you are not going to be put on some gay fetish mailing list. "
We sat at the bar chatting with another customer, who was in Birmingham on business for a few days and Jamie predictably bonded with the straight barman, a chilled-out lad with an understated line in sarcasm.
"People are surprised that there are straight guys working here," the barman told us.
"It makes sense, I suppose," I said. "You'll spend your time pulling pints, rather than the customers."
"I had never been in a gay bar before I started working here."
"Talk about jumping in at the deep end," I exclaimed.
"I know! I didn't know where to look at my first naked event."
This open-minded barman quickly adapted to his new work environment and even got his younger brother a job there. His sibling was only 18 when he started and was an instant hit, particularly as he was cute, in a gawky bad-boy sort of way. Customers would frequently hit on him, but he would dismiss them with an entertainingly offensive, "Fuck off yer poof!"
One time, the lad bid farewell to a departing Eurasian customer with a cheery, "Kon'nichiwa."
After the guy left, I said, "You do realise that was Japanese for 'Hello'?"
He gave a dismissive shrug.
"…And he is from the Philippines."
"I like it here," Jamie announced after we'd been there a while, "and the beer is only £2.40 a pint. I'm coming back… but only with you!"
"Well," I said, putting down my empty glass, "you can't come in here and spend the whole time sat at the bar."
Jamie nervously gulped down his own drink.
"Come on, I'll show you around. Don't worry, there is hardly anyone in tonight, there will be nothing going on," I reassured him, as we embarked on the grand tour.
I showed him one of the group spaces, with its adjacent cinema then we walked around to the other side of the venue and entered the curved corridor, lined with cubicles, that leads to the darkroom.
"Don't worry, your eyes will adjust to the gloom surprisingly quickly," I told him.
As we turned the bend, we reached a sex sling in a cage… where an enthusiastic top was balls deep in his acquaintance. Jamie whimpered slightly at this unexpected hardcore encounter and shot out his hand to grasp mine with a grip so tight that it made me wince.
We hastened our pace and dashed back out into the main bar.
I have always been irritated by the silly twinks who giggle and twitter like schoolkids, but once we were back in the light, we both doubled over in hysterics. Seeing it from Jamie's perspective was an eyeopener.
Now, while Jamie certainly is not the first married man to spend an evening in a gay sex club, I suspect he is one of the few to go home and tell the wife.
The next morning, I received a tongue-in-cheek text message saying, WHERE DID YOU TAKE MY HUSBAND LAST NIGHT?!
At least, I assume it was meant 'tongue-in-cheek'. She has allowed him to go out with me since. Although in future, I think we will be sticking to the map.
rainbowfrontline2020	Birmingham, Birmingham Gay Village, Brum, Cruising, Darkrooms, Fetish, Gay, Gay Stories, Hook-ups, LGBT, LGBTQ, Sex, Sex Club	Leave a comment November 18, 2020 November 29, 2020 4 Minutes
With ever tightening restrictions on hospitality, job losses and venue closures were inevitable, but I was deeply saddened to hear the announcement that Eden Bar was closing its doors for business after 13 fabulous years. I suspect, it will not be the last to fall.
Grindr has noticeably had an impact on the gay scene over the last decade, with many preferring to cruise from their sofas rather than socialise in bars, which is the equivalent of ordering in a convenient takeaway, compared to going out for a good meal. Apps remove the thrill of the chase, while takeout results in soggy calamari. Either way, both lose their bite.
Birmingham's scene was facing further pressure from inner city development, with a glut of generic apartment builds encroaching on Southside and driving established gay businesses out. The fact that the vivacious nightlife was what made that area so attractive to buyers doesn't seem to register with planners or the landed gentry that apparently owns the area. More money in real estate than the pink pound.
Many venues had seen customers dwindle and several had closed already. Unit 2 and The Core were early victims of those building developments, while Boltz had been served notice in preparation for demolition next year. The Jester had died a lingering death and the owners of The Wellington had sold up, leaving that charming Victorian corner pub, with the cheapest hotel rooms in town (including breakfast) and its own backroom theatre, empty and boarded up.
The first lockdown hiatus hit hard, but the scene bounded back, adapting to government restrictions and tempting people in with promotional offers and innovative socially distanced events. They even negotiated permission to close the crossroads of Hurst Street and Bromsgrove Street at weekends so The Loft and Missing could increase capacity by spilling out onto the streets for alfresco dinning and drinking. Shame Birmingham council dithered about giving the go ahead until the end of the uncommonly good summer, when the weather had started to turn.
The terrible knife attack that hit national headlines back in September and a less widely reported incident where crumpling masonry fell from the façade of Equator and Sidewalk, much to the surprise of afternoon drinkers chatting on the pavement below, did little to bolster footfall, but the area was surviving.
In October, the scene was dealt another blow, when the UK government classified Birmingham as Tier 2, introducing additional restrictions on the hospitality industry. Households were now banned from mixing and a crippling 10pm curfew was imposed. We were now regularly home well before midnight, getting an unwelcome glimpse of what straight people's lives are like. It'll be fidelity next.
Unlike its straight equivalent, where people think they have had a lovely night out if they have managed to catch an early bird special in their local Toby Carvery, the gay scene barely got started until 9 o'clock. Glamorous didn't even open its doors until midnight. When you walked through the doors of a busy gay venue you were hit by a tsunami of noise and heat, laughter, passion, music and often a tirade of abuse from the resident drag queen, but Tier 2 meant that the gay scene had effectively been neutered. This latest lockdown is the ultimate kick in those, already tender, bollocks.
Eden Bar, one of the Birmingham scene's most popular venues (Sssshhh, don't tell the others), announced its impending closure on Thursday 22nd October, 'Like many small businesses, 2020 has stretched Eden beyond belief,' the owners, Garry and Cal, said in a statement. 'A reduced capacity to 25% then further reduced to 10% under Region Tier 2 has meant we have decided to bite the bullet.'
There was an outpouring of shock and support on social media. We have lost something special. A sparkle has fallen from the gaybourhood's Rhinestone Rhino (which is a real thing by the way and stands atop Wynner House, from where it keeps a twinkling eye on the antics below).
I had been an irregular visitor to Eden since the days it was the traditional White Swan, but truly fell in love with the place several years ago when we got to know the bar's brilliantly bolshy barmaid Marie… and her legendary mother Moira.
My partner and Marie were casually chatting over a fag (they were smoking, not just astride one) in the garden of Eden, when she tutted, "Oh, I've got to go. There is a customer at the bar." She returned moments later, explaining, "Its ok, he was just stood at the window watching Asian guys arriving at the wedding venue opposite."
"Was he ginger?" he asked.
"Yes. How did you know?"
He rolled his eyes, "That'd be my other half."
From then on we looked forward to her banter and incomparable crudeness, although Marie did confess several months down the line, that she had formerly been on her best behaviour, as she thought we were gentlemen. Ha! How little she knew.
Last summer, my partner underwent a major operation. When he had sufficiently recovered for a gentle outing, Eden was the first place we went.
I had just settled him into chair in the garden when Marie appeared and grabbed his shoulders from behind with affectionate gusto, causing him to jump out of his skin.
"He has just had open heart surgery," I remonstrated her.
"Oh my God," she apologised, enveloping him in a robust hug, causing him to yelp in pain.
"And my chest is still healing," he gasped weakly.
Marie dropped her head, held up her hands and slowly back away, muttering, "I'm so sorry. I'm going now… I'm going."
We love her.
We went along for Eden's bittersweet last hurrah, hosted by the brilliant La Voix, who is one of the best drag acts I have ever seen. Glamorous and sassy, as to be expected, but also a talented singer and mimic, with genuinely funny material and banter to rival a stand-up comedian. Britain's got talent indeed.
She welcomed the audience with, "Well, here we are in Birmingham… at three in the afternoon." Then dropped the mic from her generously painted lips and mouthed an exaggerated, "What the fuck?!"
We could all relate to this sentiment, being a crowd more comfortable partying at 3 in the morning than 3 in the afternoon, but, despite the early doors, it felt like old times.
The most blistering barb came when La Voix caught venue owners, Garry and Cal, glancing at their phones, between operating sound and lighting, "Thank you for your full attention. What are you two looking at? You on Rightmove searching for a new pub?"
We were regaled with anecdotes about past antics in the venue, reminiscing about the time they hosted a Birmingham fetish night, "We got into the spirit of things and all tried to dress accordingly, but the only rubberwear Gary owned was a verruca sock and swimming cap. It wasn't a good look. I won't tell you where he wore the sock."
She targeted one audience member, emulating his gothic Eastern European accent, then mimed rapping on a door and hollered, "Housekeeping," causing a guy several seats up from me to choke on his drink and spray the fella in front with a shower of beer. Don't worry, I am sure the alcohol killed the Covid, besides Corona is the last virus I'm worried about contracting in a room full of that many gay men.
Social distancing was adhered to by the letter and all tables were situated two meters apart, as per government guidelines. As for the spaces in between…
"It's like a Trump rally in here," my partner commented as we entered the marquee.
Two police officers did wander in to perform a spot check, gave a cursory glance around and left. It was a wise move not to be too pedantic. Emotions were running high and I suspect if they had quibbled over social distancing the place could have gone off like another Stonewall.
La Voix ensured that those emotions were ramped-up for the end of her set, with a tear-jerking rendition of Total Eclipse of the Heart. The lyric, 'Together we can make it to the end of the line' had never been so poignant. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.
Paradise lost. The end of an Eden.
Ironically, Eden was packed to its restricted capacity from the moment it announced its closure until tearfully ringing their final last orders.
I assume, barfly and quiz night devotee, Kelvin Bacciochi is still chained to Eden's bar, refusing to leave, like a suffragette, but belting out show tunes. In truth, Kelvin has sadly claimed that he can't see the point of returning to Brum now Eden has gone, but I don't think we have seen the last of him. He is like Jason from Friday the 13th, he just keeps coming back. He prefers to think of himself as Cher, forever doing a farewell tour, or as he is fond of saying, "I am like syphilis, once you have me you have me forever." I wish the same could have been said for Eden. X
If the gay community wants the rest of these places to be there when this Hell is over, then we need to keep showing support. From December 2nd (or whenever those goal posts move to) go to afternoon drag at The Village Inn, enjoy the Sunday roast at The Loft, gather at Equator and Sidewalk again, catch weekend cabaret at the Nightingale, munch on muffins at The Fox (That's not a typo, I do really mean muffins, they do baked goods… besides it's not just a bar for ladies that like ladies anymore). The power of the pink pound will be more important than ever.
Hard times are ahead, but the Birmingham gay scene will rise again, like Coventry from the ashes. No, better than Coventry, cos Coventry is a bit shite. Sorry, anyone that lives there, but you know it's true.
Let us hope the twinks of the future ask what it was like during the pandemic, not before. We want and need the scene to be around for us and the next generation.
At the point of publishing, the British government have announced an extension of the furlough scheme, paying 80%. of the wages of employees adversely effected by lockdown, until March next year. Fantastic news, but If this had been decided a few weeks earlier, maybe Eden and others would still be in business.
rainbowfrontline2020	Birmingham, Birmingham Gay Village, Birmingham South Side, Brum, Eden Bar, Gay, Gay Stories, LGBT, LGBTQ, Lockdown	Leave a comment November 8, 2020 November 17, 2020 7 Minutes
Previous stories may have given the impression that my friendship with Nishant was purely platonic (See 'Finding the Gems' – 4th Jan and 'Nishant Mallick and the Half-Baked Scheme' – 17 May), but anyone who knows me will realise that the likelihood of that is nil to zero. There is no way I would be able to resist the charms of a cute, sweet natured, funny Asian lad with big eyes, broad smile and a delectably wobbly head. Besides, he is filth, total filth!
Within half an hour of our first meeting in my favourite men-only club, Nishant and I bound into an empty cubical, but after only fifteen minutes he asked, "Would you mind if we took a break?" It happens when people realise that they have abandoned their friends or partners for too long, want another drink or just want to see what else is on offer.
Forty minutes later, we had reconnected, chatted some more and dived into another cubical, but again, before the party was over, he asked to take another break.
Reading my perplexed expression, this time he explained, "I am sorry. It is not you. I am claustrophobic and can only manage fifteen minutes at a time in a confined space."
This quirk made him even more adorable.
The next time we met was at his student digs. It was conveniently located on my route home on a Tuesday and the size of his bedroom was less likely to bring on a panic attack.
When I arrived at the 1970s estate where Nishant lived, I was greeted by emergency services and a small crowd of residents making appreciative Ooooooh and Aaaaaah noises, of the type that tend to accompany a fireworks display. I joined the crowd and watched events for a while, equally enjoying the spectacle, then headed over to Nishant's apartment and rang his buzzer.
"Do you know that the block next door is on fire?" I asked when he came to the door.
"No, I did not know this," he replied, barely registering interest in the information or even glancing in the direction of the unfolding drama.
He motioned me to come in.
"How's your head?" I asked as we walked up the stairs, as he had posted a sorry looking picture of himself, with dried blood all over this hair, on social media a few days earlier.
"It is very much better, thank you."
"So, what happened to you?"
"It was all so ridiculous," he exclaimed.
I sensed a monologue coming on (Please read the following in a rapid Indian accent. It works better!).
"A friend had come over and we were planning on going into Birmingham for a night out. I decided to go to the shop around the corner first. I left my friend in my room and ran down the stairs. I have a habit of jumping over the handrail at the bottom of the stairs and landing in the hall in front of the entrance. I must have banged my head on the underside of the stairway and blacked out. The next thing I know, I wake up lying on the floor with blood pouring from my head!"
Apparently, this had all happened in the space of a few minutes. Up he got and off did trot, as fast as he could caper, and his friend was surprised to see Nishant stagger back into the flat, looking like something from the conclusion of Carrie, when he had only popped out to get a few snacks.
Instead of a night out, painting the town pink, they had spent the rest of the evening in A&E, making the swabs red.
"Soon, I was getting messages from my family in India," Nishant continued. "My cousins were texting me to say, 'Hahaha. We have heard that you got drunk and banged your head.' I told them, 'No, I was not drunk.'"
"My Uncle then messaged me to tell me to be careful how much I am drinking, but I told him, 'I was not drunk! I had not been drinking.'"
"Then my mother phones me and is shouting, 'Nishy, you are getting too drunk and hurting yourself!' She is very angry. Oh my goodness! Where are they getting their information?!"
By the conclusion of Nishant's story, we had walked up the offending stairs to his second floor flat and were stood in his hallway.
I had been warned by a mutual friend, not to expect a tidy flat, but I wasn't prepared for the level of mess that greeted me. It was like there had been a significant and highly localised seismic event in his bedroom… and the carpet was filthy!
I didn't want to be one of those guys that has sex with his socks on, but I didn't even want to take my shoes off! If I did go barefoot, I would have to determine a way to get from doorway to bed without touching the floor, like I used to amuse myself as a kid. I would weave a convoluted path across my bedroom, rolling on an office chair, swinging from wardrobe doors and balancing on a chest of draws, pretending there were sharks in the carpet. Other people did that, right? Right?!
Oh well. I would just have to kick my shoes off on the bed and worry about retrieving them later.
We had been playing on the bed for a while, when Nishant's phone buzzed. He picked it up and read a message.
"It is a friend," he said. "He is just around the corner. Do you mind if he joins us?"
"Is he cute?"
"Yes. I think he is very handsome."
"Sounds good. I'm up for it."
Several minutes later, the door buzzer sounded and Nishant slipped out to let his mate in.
The guy walked into the bedroom, mumbled a cursory greeting and proceeded to sit in the corner of the room playing games on his phone. When Nishant had asked if his friend could join us, I had expected a hot threesome, not an audience! Although, 'audience' would be overstating it, as he barely looked up from his mobile device. It was all a bit weird.
At one point, something in my repertoire caught his attention, because he glanced up, watched briefly, subtly nodded his approval then returned his attention to the game he was playing.
All in all, it was a very odd last encounter with Nishant before he returned home to India, but I wish there had been more meetings. I enjoyed his quirky company and would have loved to have known him for longer. I am sure there would have been plenty more tales to tell.
I sat on the bed, pulled on my clothes, managing to retrieve my shoes without too much difficulty, and thought, I wonder if the flat next door is still on fire?
rainbowfrontline2020	Birmingham, Birmingham Gay Village, Boltz, Brum, Gay, Gay Stories, Hook-ups, LGBT, LGBTQ, Sex	Leave a comment October 11, 2020 January 9, 2021 5 Minutes
I awoke to several missed calls and numerous messages asking if I was alright.
It transpired that during the early hours of that Sunday morning a disturbed individual had gone on a knife wielding rampage across the city centre of Birmingham, attacking eight victims and leaving one poor twenty-three-year-old lad dead.
Initial reports focused on the attacks on Hurst Street and made it sound as though the incident was a homophobic hate crime, but as more details came in it would seem that this stabbing frenzy was motivated by nothing but the individual's unhinged state of mind and that Birmingham's gay village was just unlucky enough to be on his route of carnage.
I immediately responded to the messages that I had received and sent out many others to people that I knew or assumed would have been out on the scene that night. Messages pinged back and forth across the city all morning as the stunned gay community checked in with each other and reassured everyone that we were lucky enough to be safe and unscathed.
One friend promptly replied to my message, confirming that he was OK, but attached a screenshot from a news site, showing Clonezone on Hurst Street swathed in ribbons of hazard tape and guarded by a barrage of police officers.
IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE I WILL BE GOING TO WORK TODAY, he messaged.
NO, I replied, BUT ON THE PLUS SIDE, YOU WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT SHOPLIFTERS.
Another guy I know, had been in the vicinity of the attacks only fifteen minutes prior to the incident, but, put off by the queue at Glamorous, had decided to grab a kebab and head home to Clydesdale Tower, one of twin tower blocks overlooking the gay village (locally known a Dorothy Towers or Fairy Towers, depending on your age). It was from the vantage point of his flat that he watched in shocked bemusement as the emergency services responded en masse.
"I didn't know what was going on, but there were police coming from everywhere," he told me. "The St Johns Ambulance practically took the Holloway Circus roundabout on two wheels and then a police helicopter appeared and began sweeping the area with search lights. I watched for ten minutes or so, until I remembered my kebab was getting cold."
Lord_harborne of Instagram posted a poignant picture of himself and his three mates, who were all new to Birmingham, enjoying a 'wonderful night… until it turned into a war zone.' I hope his friend of a friend, Michael, is recovering well. X
I had been in two minds about going out on that Saturday night, particularly as the evening got going and various venues began posting tempting images on social media of happy people enjoying drinks in the sun. Fortunately, I decided to take advantage of that good weather by staying in and having a barbeque. I planned on going out on the scene on Sunday afternoon instead… a plan I intended to stick to.
When I got to Birmingham's Southside district, it was all eerily reminiscent of Lockdown. The roads were quiet and the majority of businesses were shuttered up. Every entrance point to the gaybourhood was cordoned off, with dozens of police officers in attendance. If you had a uniform fetish, this was the afternoon to be in town. The crossroads at the heart of the sealed off gay village was busy with a forensic team, clad in their white coveralls, systematically gathering evidence.
Several news crews were stationed at either end of Hurst Street. Suited presenters paced the pavements quietly mumbling through their reports in preparation for going live.
It put me in mind of the first few evenings following the anti-LGBTQ demonstrations at Anderton Park Primary. I had wandered over to chat with the news teams in attendance and find out which TV channels they were from, under the pretext of offering hot drinks.
"We are fine for drinks," one female reporter thanked me. "We can make our own in the OB van. We've even got a pizza delivery due any minute."
I ascertained that she was from the local ITV station and, never one to miss an opportunity to flirt, even vicariously, cheekily asked, "Next time could you send Des Coleman (Central News' funky weatherman and occasional correspondent)? He's hot."
"And straight," she laughed.
"Oh well," I shrugged, "but when you get back to the studio, tell him he has an admirer in Balsall Heath."
Back at the police barriers on Hurst Street, I was relieved to spot one of the barmen from Missing, safe and well.
"Hey, how are you? Were you working last night?" I asked.
"Yes. It was terrible. I had just sent two lesbians out to get me something to eat from the takeaway across the street when it all happened. They burst back into the pub, barred the door and told me my food would have to wait."
"I was in that takeaway at the time," a voice piped up from behind us. "I heard the commotion outside the door, so I rushed out, naturally not wanting to miss out on a drama, but when I realised what was happening, I spun around and ran as fast as I could in the other direction."
It turns out that this eyewitness was just visiting from Manchester for the weekend.
"Please, do come to Birmingham again. It's not usually like this," I assured him.
Apparently, the assailant tore down the length of Hurst Street and turned right at the T-juction on to Sherlock Street.
The lovely Michael, a gent of a man, always there with a welcoming smile and an abysmal 'dad joke', was working on the door of Eden at the time and saw him run by, pursued by two guys.
"What did he look like?" I asked, as no hint of a description had been issued at the time.
"I couldn't tell you," Michael replied. "I'm terrible at remembering that sort of detail."
"The police haven't released anything. Was he white, Asian, …?"
"Oh, he was Caucasian," Michael interrupted me emphatically, "as in black."
I let that go for a moment, but had to politley corrected him, "Sorry, but Caucasian means the opposite."
"See, I told you I was terrible at descriptions."
No shit Sherlock Street!
Despite a heavy police presence on the scene, people were understandably apprehensive about going out after the incident. The few venues that could open that Sunday evening were sparsely occupied and a sombre atmosphere prevailed.
But… fear and fun has always gone hand in hand on the gay scene… every gay scene: from those first pioneering publicans who defiantly opened their doors to societies' undesirables and the courageous clientele that faced prejudice and prosecution to frequent them; to every new chicken and chick that nervously embarks on their first gay adventure; and those that stalk the night, uncertain of what awaits them in that enticingly dark corner or alleyway they are beckoned into. We suck it up and boldly face the fear head on, usually with a withering retort for anyone that dares oppose us.
Just this week, my partner was taunted in the street with, the quite frankly baffling insult of, "You dropped yer dick!"
To which he immediately snapped back, "It's in your mouth!"
The abuser was at a loss as how to react and a passer-by mocked him with, "He blazed you, man."
My partner told me that the other response that sprung to mind was, "Yeah, in your mother!" Both work for me.
So, doll yourself up, grab your wallet, your keys, your phone, your condoms, your lube, your poppers and your mask (Christ, the list just keeps getting longer! I am going to need more pockets). Hit the town and paint it every shade of rainbow. I'll see you out there.
Love each feather and each bangle… and don't let the bad guys win.
Oh… You are probably wondering what the title of this blog means. No, I didn't fall on my keyboard. It is a Klingon proverb, in the original Klingon (obviously), and translates as: 'A running man can slit four thousand throats in a single night.' It sprung to mind as I read those disturbing headings in my newsfeed last Sunday morning and seems darkly appropriate. Fortunately, the disturbed attacker that ran rampage through the city centre was identified and apprehended within 48 hours and will not be running anywhere again anytime soon.
rainbowfrontline2020	Birmingham, Birmingham Gay Village, Birmingham Knife Attack, Birmingham South Side, Birmingham Stabbings, Gay, Hurst Street, LGBT, LGBTQ	Leave a comment September 13, 2020 November 10, 2020 6 Minutes
Grindr is a popular gay men's dating app… where dating is the last thing on anyone's mind (In fact, as I was writing that opening sentence a combination of a mistype and predictive text corrected it to the far more accurate 'the arse thing on anyone's mind'. Maybe I have 'prophetic text' installed?).
Most conversations on Grindr go from 'Hi', or sometimes the awkwardly accurate typo of 'Ho', to an exchange of cock shots in under a dozen messages. Not that I'm complaining. I wholeheartedly believe that this is what Grindr is there for. I get a little irritated with pithy profiles that whine, 'All anyone wants is sex on here!' or 'If you are only after hook-ups, don't message me.'. If you ain't after a shag, then don't go on Grindr! It is like boiling a kettle then moaning that the water is too hot. That's what it's there for.
Despite the bracingly direct approach Grindr encourages, I do like it when someone manages to show a glimpse of their personality. My favourite profile admitted on behalf of us all that, 'These are our best photos guys… it's all downhill from here'.
My own profile reads something like: 'I like guys that are darker than me, but as I am ginger that isn't hard to do.' If you spot me out there, say 'hello'… and send pics.
I have one gambit that tends to wean the men from the boys. When asked for that ubiquitous cock shot, I sometimes send a photo of me stood next to a friend's chicken coup proudly holding a feathery bundle of poultry (it is actually a hen and not a cock, but let's not quibble). This can sometimes result in an instant block from the nonplussed recipient, but if they can't take a joke, then it's no great loss, but more times than not it results in a good bit of banter.
By the way, while on the subject of 'cock shots', I know a woman whose surname tragically is Cockshott. To make matters worse her first name is Gaynor. Gay Cockshott! GAY COCKSHOTT!!! The poor woman is named after those images that we bander about like bonbons. She must dread registering for anything, but on the plus side she has a readymade drag name. I know of another unfortunate whom, through marriage, is now Gaynor Hooker. Let that one sink in.
I really enjoy misappropriating Grindr on occasion. I have a gay neighbour with whom I would chat to on the app, long before we ever spoke in person. I would delight in sending him random neighbourly messages asking to borrow a cup of sugar or reminding him about recycling collections. The more banal the better. Thankfully, he found this nonsense mildly amusing too and played along, otherwise it could have resulted in an instant block, which could have made things awkward next time we were putting the bins out.
On one occasion, I managed to utilise his talents as a math teacher, when a ridiculously beautiful guy appeared on Grindr, showing up as only 20 meters from my house.
I sent his picture to the neighbour, IS HE AT YOURS?
NO, he replied. I WISH HE WAS!
I HAVE JUST STOOD ON MY BENCH, I confessed, BUT I CAN'T SEE HIM IN NEXT DOOR'S GARDEN.
WE CAN TRIANGULATE HIM, he suggested.
It would have been like a scene from Ridley Scott's Alien movies, where the militia track down the creatures with thermal heat sensors.
"I've got a fix on one, Ripley! 20 meters… 18 meters… 10 meters… 1 meter! Bugger me backwards, he's in the ducting!"
We never found him.
On one occasion, I was having a drink in a particularly bar when I noticed the bored bar manager scrolling through Grindr on his phone, so I sent him a message.
CAN I HAVE ANOTHER PINT OF SAN MIGUEL… AND A BAG OF NUTS, PLEASE?
Moments later, I heard a bang on the bar, as the barman slapped down his palms. I looked up with a start to see him glowering at me with his typical sassiness.
"What?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"Seriously?! You couldn't just ask for a drink like a normal person?"
"I could," I admitted, "but where would be the fun in that?"
He shook his head with a smirk, "Un-be-lievable!"
Well, it made a change from, DO YOU HAVE A COCK SHOT? Next time someone asks me for one of those, I may forgo the photo of me beside the chicken coup and instead send a picture of the lovely Gaynor.
rainbowfrontline2020	Birmingham, Birmingham Gay Village, Birmingham South Side, Brum, Cruising, Gay, Gay Stories, Grindr, Hook-ups, Hurst Street, LGBT, LGBTQ, Sex	Leave a comment September 6, 2020 November 19, 2020 3 Minutes
My partner had been made redundant. Although he had received a generous pay out, I suggested that we could develop a new income stream by selling soiled underwear online. I thought it was a great lark and a sure-fire earner, but he was less enthusiastic about the idea.
"Come on," I tried to persuade him. "All you have to do is wear them once and then sell them. Easy!"
"They are going to want to see photos of the seller wearing the items," he pointed out. "I'm nearly sixty. I'm hardly underwear model material."
"Your look might appeal to a gap in the market," I offered, trying to put a positive spin on it.
He wasn't keen.
I had been inspired by someone I'd met, who had told me about supplementing his wages by selling items of distressed clothing on the internet. Apparently, there are numerous websites dedicated to these types of business transactions. You can even sell them on eBay if you are sly with the way you word the listings.
"I make the most money selling top end, designer underwear," he told me, but went on to explain that there was a market for budget Primark pants too. "Different people want different things. Some guys just want them used in a general sort of way, so I take several pairs out with me, change them throughout the day and then pop them in the post when I get home. Sometimes, I whip up an express order by pulling on a pair and going for a jog. Instant used pants. Job done."
He would vacuum pack the items to preserve their unique qualities (keeping their un-freshness fresh) and post them off all over the world. He did a brisk trade in Germany and Japan, apparently.
Some customers request specific soiling on their purchases, such as urine, semen and/or excrement. Obviously, it was never going to be grass strains, beetroot and ketchup or anything that the top washing powder brands claim to be able to shift.
"I can cater to several customers at once if I piss or masturbate on multiple items in one go," he informed me. "I also sell piss by the bottle."
"It's quite the cottage industry you have going," I commented, with sincere admiration.
"My trainers haven't cost me a penny in years," he continued. "Every time a pair comes to the end of their life, I take a photo of them and list them on the site. The more worn the better. I don't get a lot for them, but it covers the cost of the next pair."
His most lucrative transaction came when he met up with a customer in a layby to hand deliver a particularly niche item.
Once the client was happy that the supplier possessed the whole 'Gay Chav' vibe that he had specifically requested, he handed over a plastic bag. The donor took the bag into a bush and took a big shit into it (Yes, you did read that correctly). The customer wanted a supermarket carrier bag full of steaming chav shit. Well, maybe not full exactly, as that would be quite an undertaking (he's not a horse), but certainly a decent deposit. In return for the excrement, he was paid the grand sum of £1500. Fifteen hundred pounds… for a bag of shit!
"It was one-off," he said, "and I never asked what he was going to do with it. I really didn't want to know."
I replied, "Who cares? If I could establish a client base willing to pay me a grand and a half for a poo, I would be curling one out every morning and borrowing your vacuum packing equipment. Money for old rope…well, fresh crap." (Oooooooo… Can you imagine seeing a poop being vacuum packed? Yuck! I bet there are videos on YouTube, alongside pimple popping and cyst squeezing. I'm not going to look. No, really).
Another guy I know of, makes money on the side by selling oral sex through a glory hole installed in his city centre apartment. He lists his services on several apps and all bookings and transactions are done online.
Several times, he has been chatting at a bar and suddenly announced, "Oh, got to go. I've just had a booking and they will be there in twenty min."
He has a homemade panel, with a gloryhole cut at crotch height, which he bolts into position in the hallway of his flat, meaning that the punter lets themselves in through the unlatched door and can access no more than the entrance area. They unzip, pop their member through the hole and get serviced.
"I then spit their 'deposit' out of my bedroom window," he casually informed me.
"The poor people below you," I empathised. "They must be the only residents in your block whose hanging baskets have the clap. I bet their clematis has chlamydia… and try saying that after a few pints."
The most impressive single payment for services rendered that I know of, was paid to a mate who got a substantial amount for having sex with an A-list British comic actor.
They agreed a fee of £500, but then the celebrity asked him to stay the night.
"I don't do that, sorry," he explained. I suspect if it had been the buff boy band member that he had previously dallied with things may have been different, but this famous funny fella didn't have quite the same appeal… until he reached into his bedside drawer and produced a further three thousand pounds in cash.
"Oh… Well, maybe on this occasion I could be persuaded."
As far as my partner's career in the sex industry was concerned, he begrudgingly watched me set him up a sellers account on eBay, but that was as far as we got. I can't even remember the password now… which is probably for the best.
rainbowfrontline2020	Birmingham, Birmingham Gay Village, Brum, Gay, Gay Stories, LGBT, LGBTQ, Sex	Leave a comment August 23, 2020 November 19, 2020 4 Minutes
The Nightingale Club has been at the heart and in the hearts of the Birmingham gay community for over 50 years.
The Gale, as it is affectionately known, was one of the first two venues that I ever visited on the scene (See 'To Sir, With Thanks X' – 16th Jan 20) and it remained part of my social life for many years. I have seen more strippers gyrating on the stage wearing nothing but a liberal dousing of baby lotion than I care to remember and have embarrassed myself on those dancefloors far too often!
On a night out with a new boyfriend (the man that has now been my partner for 20 years), we bound onto one of the plinths that were a feature of the main dancefloor at the time and, emboldened by beer, vigorously showed off our moves. I lost my balance and tipped backwards off the platform, automatically grabbing hold of my partner for support, which merely resulted in the pair of us toppling together and crashing to the floor with a duet of shrieks! We were too humiliated to stand and face the revellers around us, so chose instead to crawl on our hands and knees through their forest of legs until we reached the safety of the bar.
On another occasion, myself and two female friends were stood on the pavement outside the Nightingale, debating whether to call it a night or go into the club.
I was expressing my desire to carry on the night by singing the pop song 'I'm in the Mood for Dancing'. I was giving it all that night, when suddenly, I stopped singing mid-song and announced, "The Nolans!!"
My friends just looked at me incredulously, so I repeated myself, but more emphatically.
"Yes, we know who sung it," they said, assuming that I was just randomly informing them of the name of the Irish girl band that recorded the 80s hit.
Exasperated, I grabbed them by the shoulders and spun them on their heels to face the road. A taxi had just pulled up at the curb and the Nolan Sisters were getting out. Unbeknown to us, they were headlining the venue that night. Well, that made up our minds and we hit the club… and let our bodies sway.
My next celebrity encounter at the Nightingale Club came as a cringeworthy surprise.
At the time, I worked at one of Birmingham's main theatres. There was a mutual arrangement that staff members from the theatre and club were entitled to discounts and free tickets to each other's venues.
I would regularly finish an evening shift at the theatre and then wander over to the Nightingale for a few late-night drinks. As one of the few city centre venues open post-midnight back then, it was always busy after the theatre had closed.
One time, I forgot to take my exclusive pass with me, so tried to blag my way in at the door. The guy at the ticket booth was surprisingly sympathetic and simply asked me to prove that I worked at the theatre by naming some colleagues who frequented the club that he might know. Alas, he hadn't heard of any of the likely suspects that I suggested so, in desperation, I decided to namedrop a well-known soap actor that was an associate artist at the theatre.
"Michael Cashman," I said. "I know Michael Cashman."
Baron Cashman, or 'Colin from Eastenders' as he was better known, was openly gay and performing at the theatre that season and I knew he was a regular customer of the Nightingale. Despite having seen him around the theatre on occasions, it was a huge overstatement to say that I actually knew him, and he certainly wouldn't recognise me.
The ticket clerk listened to my claim then immediately looked over my shoulder and called out, "Hey Michael, do you know this guy?"
Michael Cashman was stood several places behind me in the queue. I was mortified.
To his credit, he tried valiantly to collaborate my story and replied, "Yes, I know him."
Unfortunately, he said it while looking at the person stood next to me and I was rumbled.
Seeing my embarrassment, the clerk kindly gave me the benefit of the doubt and let me in anyway, making me promise to show him my pass next time.
Later, I found myself stood next to Michael Cashman in the piano lounge. I apologised for earlier, explained why I had used his name and thanked him for doing his best to back up my story. He was charming about it.
I don't remember, but I do hope that I bought him a drink.
rainbowfrontline2020	Birmingham, Birmingham Gay Village, Birmingham South Side, Brum, Gay, Hurst Street, LGBT, LGBTQ, The Nightingale Club	Leave a comment August 5, 2020 August 9, 2020 3 Minutes