Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 01:53:02 EDT From: nullserver@drink.demon.co.uk SCOTSGAY MAGAZINE ================= ScotsGay is a bi-monthly magazine for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals. Edited, printed and published in Scotland Issue 9 - April 1995 ELECTRONIC EDITION Now available on the Web: http://www.scotsgay.co.uk/ To subscribe: Send a mail message to listserver@drink.demon.co.uk The first (not subject) line of the message should be subscribe scotsgay-list (If you are subscribing for a different address from the one you are using to send the request, you should preface your request with a line of the form set address myotheraddress@my.other.system instead) To unsubscribe: Send a mail message to listserver@drink.demon.co.uk The first (not subject) line of the message should be unsubscribe scotsgay-list (If you are unsubscribing for a different address from the one you are using to send the request, you should preface your request with a line of the form set address myotheraddress@my.other.system instead) All Material Copyright (c) Pageprint Limited 1996. 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) 10ukp 12 issue sub (Overseas) 22ukp Make Cheques and POs payable to 'Pageprint Limited' or 'ScotsGay' and send them to: Subscriptions ScotsGay Pageprint Limited PO Box 666 Edinburgh Scotland EH7 5YW ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this edition: News - reports and investigations GGLC - the new Glasgow Centre Soapbox - outing the Pink Pound Inside Out - the total scene guide Venues - what and where Scene - who and how Boxes - the ScotsGay Meet Market International - news from around the world Letters - your views Competitions - Rabbie Burns & Spartacus Music - Joy DJ Alan's latest chart Reviews - loadsa books this month Listings - checked and updated every issue Helplines - if you need a friendly ear ScotsDyke - singular diversity ------------------------------------------------------------------- EDITORIAL ========= What's in a name? In gay company the other day, I saw a guy visibly flinch when I referred to Edinburgh's Lesbigay Centre as 'The Faggot Centre'. I had to explain that I use Faggot in the same way that some people use 'Queer' - as an affirmational positive statement of my sexuality. He didn't seem convinced. Whilst language is important, sometimes I think we take it too seriously. It's really what lies behind it that matters. After all, I wonder to what extent the Politically Correct movement, who have made certain words and expressions taboo in polite society, have really changed the underlying beliefs of the people who are forced to use PC language. For us faggots, dykes and bicycles, you can see this most often in the faces of politicians who are after our votes but really can't stand us and what we do with our naughty bits. They may use all the right language, but in reality, their hearts aren't in it. Nevertheless, many people in our community still shy away from using the words that have been used against us by our oppressors. Perhaps we should look to the Black and Jewish Communities where these negative words are commonly used in a positive sense. There it's the intent behind the words which are important and there's a realisation that words like "Nigger" and "Yid" when spoken by a Black or Jewish person are totally different in meaning when said by a fascist. It's the context that matters. At school, I remember a Jewish friend, after witnessing some particularly parsimonious action on my part, saying to me: "Hein, you're nothing but a fucking Jew!". That was praise indeed. John Hein ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS ==== THE UGLY FACE OF HOMOPHOBIA You might not think it to look at the photographs above, but Patrick Biggins is a lucky man - lucky to be alive after suffering an horrific attack outside the Waterloo in Glasgow. He'd just left the pub at closing time when he was set on by one of two men who he describes as 'Asian or Arabian' who had been in the pub earlier but had left when they realised it was a gay pub. He was slashed with a broken glass on the neck and probably the only reason he's still alive is that the high collar of his leather jacket took the blow - the cut in the photo above was inflicted through the leather! He was just beginning to get the better of his assailant when the second guy appeared and belted him over the head with six stitches worth of bottle. The pair then ran off leaving friends and passers by to summon help. According to Patrick, "The police couldn't have been nicer. They told me that, in view of the severity of the attack, they would be considering it as a case of attempted murder. I hear that they later arrested and charged two guys who literally were caught with blood on their hands - mine!". Strathclyde Police has confirmed to ScotsGay that two men aged 29 and 32 have been arrested in connection with the alleged incident and a report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. HARDSHIP FUND Crusaid Scotland's Hardship Fund is to be managed and administered by PHACE west. It's a national fund aimed to improve the quality of life for people with AIDS/HIV in Scotland by providing financial help towards items or services that cannot be afforded on current income or statutory benefits. Crusaid Scotland is the largest independent AIDS/HIV fund raising organisation in the country. It has been raising money for the Hardship Fund since it began in 1988. The fund was administered by Scottish AIDS Monitor until its recent closure. Crusaid Scotland was recently awarded ukp30,000 by the National Lottery Charities Board for the fund. PHACE west is based in the west of Scotland and is one of the largest AIDS/HIV voluntary agencies in Scotland. The Chair of the PHACE west Board of Directors, Maureen Moore, said that "the agreement for PHACE west to manage this important national asset for HIV and AIDS is a great responsibility. PHACE west will ensure that the fund is made accessible to those people who need it throughout Scotland". The decisions on all awards are made by a panel of members who are all experienced on the issues of HIV/AIDS and the work of the HIV voluntary sector. The fund makes awards on a monthly basis. Commenting on the move, David McNally, Director of Crusaid said, "The individual Hardship Fund is a life-line to many people throughout Scotland and we are delighted that the PHACE west is able to assume responsibility for the management and distribution of the fund on Crusaid's behalf". THEY REST FROM THEIR LABOURS The first Scottish Labour Campaign for Lesbian and Gay Rights (SLCLGR) AGM, held on Saturday 13th April in the Glasgow Gay and Lesbian Centre, attracted 20 members. SLCLGR seeks to influence Labour Party and Trades Union policy and to ensure tha the next Labour Government fully enacts equality measures for its lesbian, gay and bisexual citizens. A particularly important issue is to ensure that the Scottish Parliament has a specific commitment to lesbian and gay rights, and also that the new unitary authorities fully implement manifesto commitments to lesbian, gay and bisexual citizens. Membership is open to Scottish gay, lesbian and bisexual members of the Labour Party, affiliated Trades Unions, socialist societies, and the Co-op Union. Also members of the NUS, the unwaged, trainees and school students living in Scotland and who support the Labour Party. SLCLGR convenes at quarterly intervals in the Glasgow Gay and Lesbian Centre, with plans to also hold meetings in Edinburgh. New members and anyone interested are welcome to come along. For further information: write to The Secretary, SLCLGR, c/o GGLC, 11 Dixon Street, Glasgow. G1 4AL. PART OF THE UNION The recent Scottish Trades Union Congress meeting in Edinburgh saw two firsts for the TU movement in Scotland. First first was a well attended Fringe Meeting in the Traverse Theatre which was addressed by Bill Spiers of the STUC, Bob Thompson of UNISON and film-maker Lucinda Broadbent. Spiers has offered the possibility of setting up an STUC conference for lesbians, gays and bisexuals in 1997. Sadly, one well kent gay TU leader present declined to take the opportunity to come out telling one enquirer in personal conversation that he was a Trades Union Leader first and gay second and not the other way around. The second first was the GMB's Lesbian & Gay Open Evening in the Edinburgh LGB Centre which saw the launch of their GLB Forum. Gordon Mathieson and GMB National Pensions Officer Bill Day welcomed a representative selection of folk from the GMB and other unions before adjourning to Eat Out for refreshments. OUTRIGHT Outright Scotland's 27th Annual General Meeting is to take place in the Conference Room of Edinburgh Central Library, George IV Bridge at 11am on Saturday 18th May. In addition to considering the adoption of a new constitution, members will be discussing a Claim of Right, the first shot in the Group's EQUALITY 2000 campaign. The Group's Archive has to be removed from the Edinburgh Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Centre because of the planned alterations. It is therefore proposed that they are donated to the Scottish Record Office, so that researchers will have easier access to the unique records. Members will be considering progress with the new charitable company which takes over the running of the Centre in Broughton Street from 1st July. Another motion calls on the organisers of PRIDE SCOTLAND to plan in a political event next time they hold the Annual June Pride in the capital city. Ian Dunn has been nominated as Convenor of the Group for another year and there are six Executive places to be filled (3 men, 3 women). Ian hopes that OUTRIGHT will concentrate on being a politically active lobbying organisation, mounting protests, lobbying politicians and generally raising the profile of bisexuals, lesbians and gays in Scotland. Tea, coffee and biscuits are being provided by the Library and everyone is welcome to attend, whether a member or 'just curious'. The venue is fully wheelchair accessible. IN YER FACE Fantasies, Scotland's only licensed sex shop, scored a victory over the anti-sex and anti-fun brigade last week when a Edinburgh City Council unanimously renewed the shop's licence despite complaints from local prudes - who conceded defeat by not bothering to turn up at the meeting. The Edinburgh Evening News, which had prominently featured their campaign against the basement shop, continues to spurn attempts by Fantasies to advertise in its pages. Now owner Vince 'Grizzly' Delegato has converted the empty ground floor premises above his sex shop into a new shop selling 'Leather and Lace' - basically, sexy clothes that don't require a licence - even though some people probably think they should! He told ScotsGay that the new shop will be totally brazen and in yer face and will feature raunchy manniquins in the window. He hopes to be open for business by the time this appears in print. AYR TODAY Ayrshire Switchboard has closed and a Special Meeting of Ayrshire AIDS Awareness Project on 21st April decided to dissolve the project. LOSING Cardinal Winning has been at the end of much lesbigay criticism after having a go at us in his Easter message to the gullible. POSITIVE MOVE Bruce Fraser has been appointed as a full time Development Worker with Body Positive in Strathclyde. The post has been funded with cash from Levi's, Crusaid and start-up money from the Halifax. Bruce is a Director of the Food Chain and formerly worked for SAM. SAM Scottish AIDS Monitor finally shut up shop in March after failing to obtain continued funding. SAUNA The on/off tale of Glasgow's gay sauna seems likely to come to fruition soon with new premises looking promising. GAY TV The headline "Gay Series for Scotland" in in TV trade paper Broadcast raised a few eyebrows. Sadly, this turned out to be about an independent producer, Noel Gay Television, who has been commissioned by the BBC Children's Unit in Glasgow. SURVIVOR 'Queen of Disco', Gloria Gaynor, failed to turn up in Glasgow recently for an appearance on 'The Nicky Campbell Show'. She had been involved in a road accident in the USA. The programme went ahead with Sir Cliff Richard, Muriel Gray and Roy 'Chubby' Brown. SCUM ScotsGay's editor has settled with the Sun over their theft of a photograph of friend and murder victim, David Senior. After negotiations with the National Union of Journalists, News International paid up and the money was donated to the NUJ Hardship Fund and the PDSA. PRIDE Pride Scotland have already raised over ukp2,000 - a Friday night at Bennets brought in more than ukp1,000. They still have a food concession available for the day. Forthcoming fundraisers include: a Football Tournament in Glasgow, a Choral Concert in Glasgow's Fraud Anglican Cathedral and a Ceilidh in Edinburgh. ------------------------------------------------------------------- CENTRE FORWARD ============== When Steve Tonner wandered into the Edinburgh Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Centre over five years ago, he caused considerable amusement to many by insisting that there should be a similar place in Glasgow. John Hein takes a look at the gestation of the ensuing project... Of course, there had been a Gay Centre in Sauchiehall Street before, but that had been sold in the early 80's to prop up the infamous Club which soaked up the money and promptly went bust. In the light of this history, there seemed little chance of re-enthusing Glasgow's Gayletariat with the need for the hard graft involved in fundraising for a replacement. But re-enthuse them he did, and now, although Steve's involvement soon ended, the fruit of the Glasgow Gay and Lesbian Centre Project is there for all to see. The building, with its rainbow flag, pokes out over a car park a few yards away from the busy St Enoch Square. You really can't get more centrally located than that. In just over five years, the Project has directly raised over ukp20,000 from imaginative events like their Ceilidh which has become a regular fixture on the City's social calender. To that figure has been added rather more from local government sources, despite the malign shadow of Section 28. According to Project luminary John Wilkes, the Strathclyde Regional Social Strategy made the whole thing possible in its present form. "We got ukp47,000 to do up the building, which was formerly a file store for the Procurator Fiscal. Then we got the lion's share of a ukp53,000 revenue grant to the Strathclyde Lesbigay Forum.There was also ukp15,000 from the Glasgow Development Agency. "Since then we've had further funding for staff and a ukp15,000 grant from the old Glasgow District Council for a lift to provide wheelchair access. That's now on order and should be installed by the end of July. There's also been a ukp25,000 loan from an anonymous gay source that doesn't have to be paid back for five years. The Project signed a 15 year lease with property owners Regis and Regis in April last year and took possession of the premises soon afterwards. Major works were required to convert it into the building we see today and these were masterminded by gay architect Keith Adamson who was also involved with the previous Centre all these years ago. Although the building was formally opened on 4th November last year when Edwin Morgan first uttered his now famous poem, it was immediately closed again to allow the building work to continue. It wasn't until March 20th this year that another ceremony, this time by the Mayor of Manchester, signalled the real opening of the Centre. And Edwin Morgan's poem, now beautifully inscribed, was hung in pride of place on the wall. Since then things have slowly gathered pace as the Centre has come to life with the gradual arrival of its new inhabitants. According to John Wilkes, "We planned it that way. We've kept the whole thing fairly low key as we didn't want to raise expectations until everything was up and working". But now, up and working it is! A cafe/bar, owned by David Cowan, is at the heart of the place. But there's also a gift shop, owned by Patricia MacKay, which is one of the first things you see when you come into the building. Negotiations are continuing with a couple of prominent West Coast gay businesspeople who want to operate the last trading area as a bookshop. There are also four offices which are occupied by Alan Hughes (Scotland's answer to Ivan Massow) who runs Asset Mortgages and Financial Services, Dominic D'Angelo's Personal Assistance Limited, Maya Vision (the TV folk making a documentary for Channel 4) and Phace West (who run their Gay Outreach from there). The rents from these tenants are an essential part of the continuing package which funds the Centre. It will cost some ukp35,000 per year to operate the Centre and fund raising from the lesbigay community will continue. Some ukp20,000 has already been pledged by the new Unitary Authorities (North and South Lanarkshire, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde), but Glasgow City Council has yet to make its committment (if any) known. But Wilkes is cautiously optimistic about that. The day to day management of the Centre is currently in the hands of Duncan Booker who has been seconded by the City Council, but if funding is forthcoming, it's hoped to appoint a full time Centre Manager. The Project is democratically accountable and anybody can join - the current waged membership fee is ukp10 per year and there are reductions available for unwaged and low waged people. Lesbians currently form a third of the membership which is pretty good for a mixed organisation like the Project, whilst the next AGM on 25th May is to debate the inclusion of the 'Bi' word in the title of the Centre. All in all, the Centre is a creditable achievement for Glasgow's Lesbigay Community. Let's hope that the place will go from strength to strength and not collapse in a flurry of mutual recriminations like so many lesbigay community enterprises that have gone before. John Hein -------------------------------------------------------------------- OUTING THE PINK POUND ===================== Teacher's whisky wants to attract younger drinkers. In a ground-breaking ad that went out on Scottish Television last Christmas, Allied Domecq did something to meet the approval of the young and send most older, traditional, paunchy, grey-haired board-room whisky drinkers to an early grave: they advertised their drink to gay men. And all without a single bubble rising to the surface of the media cesspit. Garry Otton has a tipple... The Pink Pound is more closeted than most gay men or women who spend it would like. Too closeted for some gay activists who, a few years ago, began stamping their notes with the words QUEER MONEY or PINK POUND. Although drawing little attention to gay spending power, it inspired more professional PR and marketing services bent on 'outing' the pink pound. David Lewis, a gay PR consultant from The Advertising Company Limited in London, advises corporate businesses that "the gay community have a bigger disposable income than straights. As a market, we spend proportionately more on clothing, entertainment, grooming, financial services, drink, travel, music and cars." He stresses a difference between Britain and America. "We don't use it politically. In America, when Philip Morris, the company who make Marlboro cigarettes, began funding an anti-gay ultra right-wing group: gays boycotted it, and Marlboro's sales nose-dived." In Britain, gay consumer visibility is clearest around Old Compton Street in London where coffee bars, pubs, clubs and shops spill out onto the street, right in the heart of ad land. And with agency people walking right through it every day: small wonder they want a piece of the action. The acronym ad men like using for gays is DINKYS (Double Income: No Kids). After a major bust up, gay men don't have the usual financial burdens that rock straight marriages. Without family commitments, we can afford businesses greater flexibility in the job market. Advertising manager, Alex Frieson, from the gay men's lifestyle magazine, Attitude adds: "We are dealing with 21-year-olds with 31-year-old wage-packets. They are trendy, young, modern, forward-looking guys with enormous brand loyalty for companies that do something for gays." More important than any of these, gays are trendsetters; cultural leaders. That turns on PR men like Levi's UK Director of Public Relations, Roy Edmunson. When Levi's used a transvestite in its TV advert to sell its jeans, it not only pleased a proportion of the gay market, it caught the imagination of a younger generation with a message they liked: Be an individual; be who you are; be free. Companies like Levi's are not just after the pink pound: they are also after the green-backs that follow. Straight men don't read magazines in the same way as women... or gays. By advertising in gay magazines, Levi's know straights will see the clothes they are wearing. Levi's are in good company. Toyota, Peugeot and Nissan cars; Mercury Communications; Michelob beer; Hamlet cigars; Nike; Gaultier; Calvin Klein; Absolut and Smirnoff vodkas have all advertised in sections of the gay press. Drinks giant Allied Domecq UK has not only opened a gay bar, Jo Joe's in Birmingham, but also, Planet Patrol, Britain's pioneering gay bulletin board service on the Internet. Corporate companies are falling over themselves with sponsorship deals for the massive Gay Pride event, now pulling almost a quarter of a million people to London every year. Virgin Megastores, Levi's, Evian, Breaker Lager and Cassell's Books plc were named sponsors last year with Bass Charrington pitching in with the booze. Scotland's first LesBiGay Pride in Edinburgh, last year, pulled a crowd of around 4,000. Not bad considering London's first Pride in 1970 pulled only 150 or so. Organisers are expecting this summer's Gay Pride in Glasgow to be even bigger. Travel companies are also showing an interest in gay money. An Australian travel survey has revealed gays take 4.2 as many trips by air and have 4.6 times more American Express Gold cards than the national average. That must be good news for American Airlines who have appointed their own marketing manager for the gay sector. In Britain, UK PR manager for American Airlines, Ian Burns, says he is "dotting the i's and crossing the t's with a British consultancy firm that will take on board the findings of research they are using which show lesbians and gay men are 17 times more likely to travel to the 'States." He adds, "gays represent a market worth $5,000 million in the USA." Zanussi, following research that showed gays changing their 'white goods' more frequently than straights placed their ads between programmes they knew gays were watching on Channel 4. Easily the most hyped 'lifestyle' ad - PR men don't like to call them 'gay' ads - was the one destined to promote Guinness. It was so hot: it never happened. When David Smith, editor of Gay Times, planned to use stills from the footage: Guinness Brewing GB read him the riot act. "They quoted the laws of copyright to us over the phone and by fax and said they'd take action if we didn't promise not to use any of the material we'd been offered." The ad, produced by agency, Ogilvy and Mather, featured (eek!): two guys kissing. The customary denial followed. Guinness claimed there was no ad, just a bit of footage which they might have used last Christmas with the slogan: "Not everything in black and white makes sense." If the ad had ever seen the light of day, David Smith believes we would not have thanked them for it: Certainly, the story presented by the film footage we saw, doesn't constitute what any self-respecting gay man would consider a 'gay' ad. On the contrary, the content is full of heterosexual concerns. Edwardian suburbia, male slobbery, the little rubber-gloved 'wife' clearing up the macho husband's mess as he's busy creating more on his helter-skelter progress into his car on the way to work. The fact that the little 'wife' turns out to be a man who gets a peck on the cheek as a reward for his efforts does very little to de-heterosexualise such a clichd scenario." Who cares? Guinness was side-stepped at Christmas by Teacher's who had two hunks curled up together on a couch, in front of their fire, being served their favourite tipple by their dog! The ad went out all over Scotland and in selected regions in England: Carlton (London) and Anglia. Brand manager for Teacher's whisky, (part of Allied Domecq), David Turner explains: "We recognise the value of the gay market and this is a positive step towards acknowledging it. This was a 'lifestyle' ad showing it is not necessarily just older men who drink Teacher's." By March, Peugeot had given the kiss of life to the sound of M People, Virgin Vodka had been filmed in a London gay bar and Saatchi and Saatchi were teasing cinema goers with lesbians advertising a new magazine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- INSIDE OUT ========= Scotland's best all-round guide to the whole gay, lesbian and bisexual scene. Bookshops, and cafes, pubs and clubs: we've got them all and all their gossip... Plus our fabulous personals, the Meet Market, just keeps getting bigger and better... Why not have a go yersel? VENUES ====== Aberdeen CLUB CABERFEIDH 9 Hadden Street. Tel: (01224) 212181. Tue-Sun 10pm-2am. Disco - tends to be quiet midweek but busier at the weekends. PINK FLAMINGO 47 Netherkirkgate. Tel: (01224) 624472. Daily 2pm-2am. Friendly and stylish bar frequented by the trendier crowd with an increasingly busy disco downstairs. Dundee DEVA'S 75 Seagate. Tel: (01382) 226840. Mon-Sat 11am-Midnight. Formerly the Gauger, Dundee's long established gay bar. Something for everyone! Pool table. LIBERTY NIGHTCLUB 124 Seagate. Tel: (01382) 200660. Thu, Sun 10pm-2.30am. Fri, Sat 11pm-2.30am. Good atmosphere, all round alternative disco. Thursdays and Sundays are quieter. Edinburgh BLACK BO'S 57/61 Blackfriars Street. Tel: 0131-557 6136. Mon-Fri 12.30pm-2.30pm and 6pm-10.30pm, Sat 12.30pm-10.30pm, Sun 6pm-10pm. Superb little vegetarian restaurant. Friendly staff. Mixed clientele. Good value lunch menu. BLUE MOON 1 Barony Street/36 Broughton Street. Tel: 0131-556 2788. Popular lesbigay cafe/bar complex. The Cafe opens Daily 11am-1am. The Buzz Bar is open Nightly 5pm-1am, and the new Pool Room is open Nightly 5pm-1am. CAFE KUDOS 22 Greenside Place. Tel: 0131-556 4349. Daily Noon-1am. Food Noon-9pm. Fresh, stylish and always crowded. CAFE LUCIA 13-29 Nicolson Street. Tel: 0131-662 1112. Generally 10am-10pm but hours vary according to performances. Mixed bar attached to the Edinburgh Festival Theatre. Full of luvvies and their friends! C.C. BLOOM'S 23 Greenside Place. Tel: 0131-556 9331. Daily Noon-3am. Bar/diner serving superb food in the Hole in the Wall restaurant (Noon-2.30pm,5-9pm). Karaoke on Thursday and Sunday. Male strippers Sun at 4pm. Disco every night from 10.30pm. CITY CAFE 19 Blair Street. Tel: 0131-220 0125. Mon-Sat 11am-1pm, Sun 11am-Midnight. Not as outrageously mixed as it used to be, but still seriously conventional. CLUB ORANGE 33-39 Market Street. Tel: 0131-226 4224. Monthly club run by the Gay Preservation Society (1st Sun of Month from May 10pm-4am). A Women's Disco will opened on 7th April (10pm-4am) - thereafter quarterly. COLLETTE AT WEST & WILDE 25a Dundas Street. Tel: 0131-556 0079. Beauty and Body Therapist. DRONDALE LIMITED 60 Broughton Street. Tel: 0131-556 1471. Open Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat Noon-7pm, Sun Noon-6pm. At the front of the Edinburgh Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Centre. Undoubtedly the largest gay shop north of Manchester, with a large selection of magazines, cards, toys, underwear, swimwear, leather and rubberwear. Well worth a visit even if only for the cute staff (if you like that sort of thing). EAT OUT IN EDINBURGH 60 Broughton Street. Tel: 0131-556 0152. Daily 11am-11pm. Licensed cafe (situated at the rear of the Edinburgh Lesbian Gay & Bisexual Centre) wherein Brendan Nash provides a superior set of comestibles. WWW: http://www.colloquium.co.uk/www/eponym/eatout.html. EDINBURGH LESBIAN GAY AND BISEXUAL CENTRE 58a and 60 Broughton Street. Owned by OUTRIGHT Scotland. Houses Calosa Publishing Limited, Drondale Limited, Eat Out in Edinburgh and Plakativ. Provides meeting and noticeboard space for many lesbigay organisations. Private mailboxes available. FANTASIES 8b Drummond Street. Tel: 0131-557 8336. Mon-Sat 10am-9pm. Sun Noon-9pm. Scotland's ONLY licenced SEX shop where you'll be made welcome by the very bearish Vince (who's straight) or Paddy (who isn't). Toys galore, video rental too! FOUR BBBB's CLUB 26b Dublin Street. Tel: 0131-538 7775. Big Beary Bulky Boys have their own club at Intense in the New Town Bar on the 4th Friday of the month. 8-10pm - bar opens to non members 9pm-1am. FRENCH CONNECTION 89 Rose Street Lane North. Tel: 0131-225 7651. Mon-Sat Noon-1am. Sun 1pm-1am. After a period as Maggie Rayes, this old favourite has reverted to the old name and the old management has returned. Never a dull moment. Karaoke Tue & Fri. JOY AT THE NEW CALTON 20 Calton Road. Tel: 0131-558 3758. Sat 11pm-late. This One Nighter is Scotland's largest gay club. Reduced entry before midnight. For membership: write: JOY, PO Box 13456, Edinburgh. EH6 8YA. Wheelchair accessible. KUBHLAI KHAN 43 Assembly Street, Leith. Tel: 0131-555 0005. Mon-Sat 6pm-2am. Sun 12-Midnight. Mongolian barbeque. Mixed. MARMALADE CAT BISTRO Old Craighall Road, Millerhill, near Dalkeith. Tel: 0131-660 1211. Mon-Sat Noon-2.15pm and 6-9.30pm, Sun 12.30-2.45pm and 6-9pm. Mixed establishment specialising in Portuguese cuisine. Vegetarian menu available. NEW TOWN BAR 26B Dublin Street. Tel: 0131-538 7775. Daily Noon-1am. Especially popular with Bears, but has wide clientele. Intense, the sub-basement leather and fetish bar is open Thurs-Sun 9pm-1am - men only. No EIGHTEEN 18 Albert Place. Tel: 0131-553 3222. Mon-Sat Noon-10pm. Sun 2-10pm. Sauna club for gay gentlemen - run by a couple of straight Dykes! Now open on Sundays! OVER THE RAINBOW 32c Broughton Street. Tel: 0131-557 8969. Daily 11am-1am. Back to being the sort of place you'd like to be seen in, this cafe/bar specialises in live music. PICARDY'S BURLESQUE SHOW BAR 2 Picardy Place. Tel: 0131-556 5414. Noon-1am. Cabaret Show Bar with show starting at 10pm. Mainly straight clientele. ROUTE 66 6 Baxter's Place. Tel: 0131-556 5991. Sun-Fri 3pm-1am. Sat Noon-1am. Food served all day. Discos Fri and Sat. Real Ale. SCANDAL 2a Picardy Place. Tel: 0131-556 5414. Fri, Sat, Sun 9pm-1am. Fri and Sun are mixed, but this basement bar is strictly for the LADS on Saturdays! TASTE The Honeycomb, Blair Street. Sun 11pm-3am. Weekly mixed members' club with DJs Fisher and Price. Visitor's passes from West & Wilde. TOMMY THAI'S BAR Linden Hotel, 9-13 Nelson Street. Tel: 0131-557 4344. Daily Noon-11pm. Quiet bar attached to Edinburgh's biggest gay hotel. Superb Thai restaurant. Owned by London's Philbeach Hotel. E-mail: linden.seal@ukonline.co.uk. WEST & WILDE BOOKSHOP 25a Dundas Street. Tel: 0131-556 0079. Tue-Sat 10am-7pm, Sun Noon-5pm. Scotland's only lesbian and gay bookshop. Lots of books and quite a few magazines! Falkirk DROOKIT DUCK 16 Grahams Road. Tel: 01324 613644. Mon 11am-3pm and 5pm-11.30. Tue-Thu 11am-3pm and 5pm-12.30am. Fri-Sat 11am-1am. Sun 7pm-Midnight. Straight bar used by a few discrete local gays. Glasgow AUSTINS 183a Hope Street. Tel: 0141-332 2707. Mon-Sat Noon-Midnight, Sun 12.30am-Midnight. Friendly and busy basement pub. Food lunchtimes (until 5pm). Entertainment every evening. BENNETS DISCO 80-90, Glassford Street. Tel: 0141-552 5761. Tue-Sun 11pm-3am. Very popular busy long established gay disco. Tuesdays straight. CAFE DELMONICA'S 68 Virginia Street. Tel: 0141-552 4803. Daily Noon-Midnight. Food Noon-7pm. Busy pub with backroom area (not THAT kind of backroom!). DJ: Mon, Thur, Fri, Sat. Bingo: Tuesdays. Games/Quiz: Wed. Karaoke: Sun. Happy hours: 5-7 and 9-10 every night. Mondays: Becks at ukp1.15 all night. Soap Sunday features all day breakfasts and cheap bevvy all day whilst you watch the TV soaps ... CCA Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street. Tel: 0141-332 7521. Centre open Mon-Wed 9am-11pm Thur-Sat 9am-Midnight Sun Noon-10.30pm. Bookshop Mon-Sat 10am-6pm Sun Noon-5pm. Galleries Mon-Sat 11am-6pm Sun Noon-5pm (admission free). Two galleries, two performance spaces, cafe bar and bookshop. Lesbigay friendly place bustling with life, the universe and everything. Wheelchair accessible apart from upstairs performance space. CLUB X-CHANGE 25 Royal Exchange Square. Tel: 0141-204 4599. Tue-Sun 11pm-3am. Large basement club, popular with young crowd. Wednesday nights are straight (though still quite mixed). Not as busy as it used to be. COURT BAR 69 Hutcheson Street. Tel: 0141-552 2463. Mon-Sat 11am-Midnight, Sun 8.30-11pm. Small bar beside former Sheriff Court. Straight until mid-evening. GLASGOW GAY & LESBIAN CENTRE 11 Dixon Street. Tel/fax: 0141-221 7203. Daily 10am-10pm. Glasgow's community centre for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals. Cafe now open. Gift shop too. More shops opening soon. Other businesses in the centre include Asset Mortgages, Calosa Publishing, and Maya Vision. Two large meeting rooms available for hire. E-mail: gglc@gglc.org.uk. WWW: http://www.gglc.org.uk/gglc/ LA CAGE RESTAURANT 26 Cheapside Street. Tel: 0141-221 7078. Nightly 6pm-11pm. Scotland's first top class restaurant catering for a lesbigay clientele. Highly recommended - premiere cuisine in sumptuous surroundings. MADAME GILLESPIE'S 26 Cheapside Street. Tel: 0141-204 4606. Daily 9pm-3am. Scotland's first gay revue bar. Duplex complex incorporating disco with fab light show. A quality venue featuring regular PAs. Regular theme and party nights. SADIE FROST'S 8-10 West George Street. Tel: 0141-332 8005. Mon-Sat Noon-Midnight, Sun 7pm-Nidnight. Bar meals Mon-Sat Noon-7pm. Newly refurbished with no expense spared. Friendly staff who compliment the upmarket decor. SQUIRES LOUNGE 106 West Campbell Street. Tel: 0141-221 9184. Mon-Fri Noon-Midnight, Sat 12.30pm-Midnight, Sun 8pm-Midnight. Long narrow intimate basement bar, DJ Sun, Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri & Sat. Packed at the weekend. Nightly happy hours 11pm-midnight (all night Sun). VICTORIA BAR 157-159 Bridgegait. Tel: 0141-552 6040. Mon-Sat Noon-Midnight, Sun 12.30pm-Midnight. Basically straight, but justly popular with real ale queens and dykes. THE WATERLOO 306 Argyle Street. Tel: 0141-221 7359. Daily Noon-Midnight. Popular, crowded, down to earth gay drinking shop. Scotland's oldest gay bar - what more can we say? Inverness NICO'S BAR/BISTRO Glen Mhor Hotel, Ness Bank. Tel: 01463 234308. Wed and Fri 9-11pm. Smart relaxed bar popular with local gays especially on Wednesday and Friday nights (9.15pm onwards). Mixed clientele. Kilmarnock KAYPARK TAVERN 27/29 London Road. Tel: 01563 523623. Straight pub - the lounge is used by some local gays on Mondays evenings. Stirling BARNTON BISTRO 3 1/2 Barnton Street. Tel: 01786 461698. Mon-Thur 10.30am-11.45pm, Fri-Sat 10.30am-12.45am, Sun Noon-11.45pm. (Food: Day and early evening). Near to railway station, Mixed, busy, bohemian and friendly bar/bistro. Popular with students and Sons/Daughters of the Rock alike. Good food. Real Ale. InsideOut: a monthly magazine for lesbians, gays and bisexuals. ISSN: 1360-9327. Edited, printed and published in Scotland. (c) Pageprint Limited, April 1996. PO Box 666, Edinburgh. EH7 5JW. In even numbered months, InsideOut appears as part of ScotsGay. Non profit use by the lesbigay community of material in the magazine will normally be permitted free of charge - but contact us first for permission. We haven't had sex with most of the people who appear in the magazine, so we don't actually know what their sexuality is. Editorial: Tel: 0131-539 0666. Fax: 0131-558 1262. E-mail: scotsgay@drink.demon.co.uk. Internet World-Wide-Web: http://www.scotsgay.co.uk/ Advertising: Tel: 0131-558 1279. Fax: 0131-558 1262. Subscribing by E-mail: Send a 'subscribe scotsgay-list' message to listserver@drink.demon.co.uk and the text files of future editions will be delivered to you by e-mail. ------------------------------------------------------------------ ABERDEEN ======== Fit like fae Aberdeen! First thing this month is an apology to the girlies for last month's Scene News in which I referred to the "Lesbian crows". This should, of course, have read "Lesbian crowd" and was due entirely to a typing error (not mine!). Pity that one wrong letter can get me accused of not being lesbo-friendly! (Yes it was rather unfortunate, sorry - Ed). Hopefully, this issue will be butter poof read before going to dress this moth. Lots of chatter going around this past month about who dunnit. I refer, of course, to Taggart and the recent gay three parter. Don't think I've seen a TV proggy arouse so much interest since Prisoner Cell Block H. Everyone up here who was following it thought it was brill! Good plot, no stereotype casting and a few red haddocks thrown in to keep us guessing. My money was on the club owner along with most others (ours was on the daughter's hubby - Ed). Thanks to STV for this little gem. I still think that the first victim's daughter should have been locked up for being such a rotten cow. There has been yet another assault in one of the city centre cruising areas. This one was very serious, and hopefully the culprits will be brought to justice. Once again the dangers of cruising are brought home to us, and hopefully people will move to safer areas. (You know where they are!) With spring approaching, the scene is finally getting its act together and the Caberfeidh and the Pink both seem to be livening up now during the week. Neither place is as busy at the weekend as before, but hopefully, that will all change. Quite a few red faces caught out by one of the clubs' April Fool closing down sale, complete with posters and SOLD stickers on the bar equipment. Rumours are still flying around about what will happen to the now defunct Ally Dawsons. Is it still straight, is it going gay, will it be mixed or will it be a case of "don't look or act gay and you'll be welcome?" I don't know what the answer is - it wasn't well supported before by the lesbigay scene; will things be different third time round? More rumours going the rounds about another club opening, this time by a London businessman. No doubt this will go the way of all the others who come up here to look at opening a new venue. They come up here with an expectation of a scene based on population, take one look at the reality and pack up and go home. Seen it loads of times before. I've had all the financial details of the total scene spending power explained by somebody in the know, and have to agree that there is little likelihood of another place opening until the Aberdeen scene expands by about 50-60%. Seems like that's what would be necessary to make it viable. Some of you might have seen "The Time, The Place" on TV recently regarding same sex marriages. Glad to see a few of the locals going along to do their bit for lesbigay visibility. Finally, let's clear up the confusion on where the Joy boys go and when. Edinburgh based Joy are now doing 3 nights a month in Aberdeen - two on Friday nights are called 'Joie De Vivre'. Watch out for the name on the flyers being distributed. Joy from Aberdeen are still going strong at their own venue. I think that's about it for this month - see ya soon. Minerva ------------------------------------------------------------------ DUNDEE ====== Dundee reporting once again and there really is very little that's new to talk about. However, Herr Editor needs his copy so I will do as asked and waffle as much as possible. Unfortunately I have been rather under the weather (I can't find anything better to be under!) for the last few weeks so I have been unable to be out and about finding out what's happening. For all I may know Dundee may have suddenly been invaded by a gang of gorgeous guys and gals (no such luck!) and I may be missing out on trying my faded chat up lines on some new talent. Ah well, there's always Emmerdale to keep my dreams alive and who knows?, maybe Leah will drop by Deva's one day and whisk me off into the sunset. Ex-Corrie Ken Morley better known as Reg Holdsworth, along with Kevin 'Curly Watts' Kennedy graced the streets of Dundee recently and apparently caused scenes reminiscent of the Beatles. Can't think what the fuss is all about. When Mr Morley was my Modern Studies teacher many moons ago I couldn't wait to get away from him! Still it brought back happy memories of smoking behind the wall of the Secretarial Studies department hoping to be caught by Miss Stewart who always made my school days happy for two periods a week. I seem to recall some choice gossip about Mr Morley in those days but I better not repeat it for fear of a defamation case. Let's just say I thought it appropriate to mention the visit in this column. Because he was my teacher of course! Speaking of the entertainment industry I did manage to afford the entry fee into Liberty's one Saturday night and witnessed a drag artist who did not impress me with his drag but who did have an incredible singing voice. I guess you can't have everything, however, it was a good evening's entertainment and full marks to Liberty's for trying to give something different to the Dundee scene. The more I go there the more I like it. The Mr Gay UK North of Scotland heat on 4th April got a good turnout and was won by Tommy Aitchison. There are more events planned so why don't you folks fed up with Edinburgh and Glasgow try it out sometime? Karen of Deva's is back from her winter hols looking rather tanned and refreshed and hopefully the planned refurbishments will be going ahead in the very near future. The bar is still quiet until the back of 10pm but with the warmer weather we keep getting promised I'm sure it will get busier as people start crawling out of their winter hibernation. The next women's disco at Sinatra's is on Friday 3rd May, 8-12pm. I apologize for the duff info given last time but it would appear that the hall had already been booked for something else. If I have got it wrong this time I promise to resign. Well, that's all folks, I'm away to try to finish that best-selling novel I keep hoping will write itself and in the meantime, I'll see all you lovely gals out there at k.d. lang on the 27th in Glasgow. Jol ------------------------------------------------------------------- EDINBURGH ========= Hi, yet another jaunt on the Edinburgh scene has passed, and yet again I have to write my thoughts on what is going on. I was in Picardy's the other day, to see a Blind Date competition, it was kinda funny, but I suppose that it had a lot to do with the fact that my mate John was up there looking terrified out of his wits. Never mind, the night all in all was a scream, so I'll probably be popping in more often to see what's going on. CC Blooms has been typically busy on Friday and Saturday nights, with Thursday not being far behind with its regular Karoke. Keep in mind that the curfew for entry is moving back to 1am. Of course, Virgin will soon be having a couple of the Mechanics Video models pop along to keep us entertained. Mr Gay UK went down a treat: the place was buzzing, so my friends told me, I was off slapping it around in London with a mate at the time. I went into Over the Rainbow for dinner one night. And I must admit, it was brilliant. Even the poor guy doing all the waiting was rushed of his little pins, he kept on smiling and offer his apologies, and the food was excellent. I do especially like the rotating sky effect on the wall, very camp. Since then, I'm told that the witch has flown off on her broomstick. A shame. Cafe Kudos seems to have been a regular haunt for me this time round, my friends keep dragging me in. It's a cool place, but after a while you feel like you are on display, some nights it's more like a fashion show, or full of people trying to out-weird each other with their latest bizarre creations. It's something the gay scene in Edinburgh needed I suppose, CC's not being cool enough, and the others not reaching a high enough trendy rating . There seem to be loads of rumours going about concerning Route 66 expanding. It is something that is really needed, CC's is getting VERY full at the weekends. I'll try and dig my way to the bottom of it for next time around, that okay? Other than that, the place is ticking over as usual, but I do wish they'd serve a decent pint of 80/-, or am I just being too butch? Rumours continue to abound concerning my editor's old haunt the Theatre Royal (AKA The Gas Board Showrooms) which burned down last year. It's being claimed that the place will go gay later in the evenings after the Playhouse crowd have bussed off. Bearing in mind they originally moaned at being listed in ScotsGay as mixed, we will just have to see if the lure of the Pink Pound works its magic! The New Town Bar is a nice place to drink, the clientele does seem to be expanding in range, all friendly enough, but, I don't want to seem nasty here, the talent does seem to be dropping in standard (Sorry guys!) But of course there is still the occasional gem I popped upstairs at the Cafe Royal last week for a look at Western Stars (western style line and partner dancing for gays, lesbians and friends of goodwill). It was packed and, for once the guys seemed to be in a minority. It was really fun to see all the dancing girls who had been practicing their steps for weeks at the regular classes (which will be every Thursday from 2nd May in the Glasite Meeting House in Barony Street). Quite a few folk through from Glasgow too for this one off which looks as if it may become a regular fixture - the next one is booked for 31st May. I hear that our resident designer whisked a bit of stuff off to Joy at the weekend and is reported to have danced himself as high as a kite - all on nothing more than water and DJ Alan's fab choice of sounds. The evening was rounded off with all the punters singing Happy Birthday to co-DJ Maggie - they could just about see her red face up in the box through all the smoke! Okay, again I'm in the middle of exams at the moment, and I haven't got as much done as I last promised, sorry. I really will get myself sorted out for next time. If any of you want to comment on anything that is going, why not send some mail to ScotsGay, or you could email me on: marcc@presence.co.uk. Bye. Marcc --------------------------------------------------------------------- GLASGOW Hi from the Holy City once again! And there was Bobby Gibson up to High Doh not three hours before the Gala Opening of Sadie Frost's with the place still looking like a building site! Miraculously, when it opened bang on time, the place was spick and span and ready for business. And what a change there's been in the old GHQ! There's more dods of wood than up at the Kelvingrove Fossils - all beautifully polished and used as tables. There are Muriels on the wall. There's a spanking new sound system. There's even a clock that Bobby got from Brian 'LeVell' Levey (who was at the opening wandering around looking as if he owned the place even though he doesn't). As if that wasn't enough, the staff are stunning too! Just one complaint, did I have to get stuck at the same table as Pulse's Gordon Gosnell and Karen Dunbar? The way that pair of FBs tucked into a plate of chicken legs, I was lucky to get four to myself! I popped down to the Glasgow Lesbian and Gay Centre in Dixon Street where things are fast coming on stream. There's a fairly reasonable cafe/bar run by the photogenic but camera shy David Cowan (ex Madame Gillespies). He's assisted by Mark and Sassy Pamela. Like the menu, David. The main courses look rather interesting, but any chance of some veggie sandwiches for my other half? There are interesting tales abounding of visits by Strathclyde police officers to several HIV/AIDS organisations in the city. It appears that a certain licenced establishment has been economical with the truth when it comes to applying for bar extensions - apparently claims were made on the applications that benefit nights were being held when the organisations named had not even been asked! Naughty, naughty! Interesting rumours abound too of a new club opening. The folk behind this one are apparently a group of guys who already own several gay businesses down south and want to expand their empire to Scotland. Frankly, I don't see it myself. The place they're said to be looking at is just outside the City Centre and we all know that Glasgow Queens can't walk very far! It must be the shoes or the plentuful supply of cheap taxis. Over at Bennets, Mr Gay UK '96 brought in a big crowd to see the local heat of this prestigious national competition won by Ian Sizeland. Now, who was it that said Sizeland isn't everything? Terry George has been running up and down the length of the British Isles organising the whole shooting match and the Grand Final is in London on the 26th May at the Astoria Theatre. I wonder if anybody will get a bus trip organised to support our local lad? Up the hill at Squire's, I hear that things have been fairly busy on Mondays with the Kwizoki going great guns. The fact that Gold Bier and Lamat Pils are on promotion at ukp1 a bottle no doubt helps! When I poked my head round the door at the Waterloo the other day, the place was quite nicely full by seven - and that was midweek too and the entertainment hadn't even started. The place has this reputation for specialising in a mature clientele - but that's just not true. OK, the fluffy disco bunnies go to the fluffy discos, but the Waterloo just goes on and on with a cross section of pooves and dykes of all ages and none. Just you try to find out how old Manager Cal really is! Perhaps we should chop him down and count the rings. Regular readers will surely have realised by now that I'm a great one for off-scene places - there tends to be less competition for my charms. One place that has caught my fancy recently has been Insomnia's, in Woodlands Road near to Charing Cross. It's an odd little place: Scotland's only 24 hour cafe. serving nearly 50 different kinds of tea, cofee and goodies round-the-clock. You can BYOB until midnight. And the trade's not bad either - lot's of student types with quite a few gnarled lecturer types like myself(don't you mean 'letcher types'? - Ed), if you like that sort of thing! PJ -------------------------------------------------------------------- BOXES - THE SCOTSGAY MEET MARKET ================================ To reply to a Contact Ad: By e-mail: We can now accept replies by e-mail for Box Numbers. They should be sent to boxreplies@drink.demon.co.uk and will be printed out and posted on by snail mail to the box number holders. There will be no charge for this service. As box number holders are unlikely to have access to e-mail, please include your name and address so that they can get back to you! And remember to include the box number that you're replying to clearly on each reply. By snail mail: Just pop your reply in an envelope with the box number written in the TOP RIGHT corner and place the envelope with your reply inside another envelope with two loose first class stamps. If you are writing from outside the UK, an International Reply Coupon (IRC) should be enclosed for each reply instead of postage stamps. International Reply Coupons are available from most Post Offices throughout the world. We are unable to send on replies without postage stamps or IRCs. Send all replies to: ScotsGay Magazine, Pageprint Limited, PO Box 666, Edinburgh. EH7 5YW. To place a Contact Ad: Write to the above address enclosing your advertisement copy. Ads are FREE of charge to the advertiser. Or you can send them by e-mail to scotsgay@drink.demon.co.uk ScotsGay's FREE personal ads are read by more people than those in any other Scottish based lesbigay publication. WOMEN ===== Glasgow I am a 23 year old lesbian from Glasgow looking for some TLC. Looking for someone from Glasgow between 25-30's old. Photo if possible. Loves going out for meals and pictures but also loves staying in for romantic nights. GSOH also. Box SG09001. Gay Female Fem 36, 5'2" female slim n/s enjoys going out, movies, music. Wants boyish female 29-39 WTLC. ALA. Photo if possible. For 1-2-1 or friendship and good fun. I have GSOH. Box SG09002. MEN === Fuck Buddy Wanted Guy, 39, in long term open relationship, seeks fuck buddies/friends anywhere. Can accommodate and travel. I'm very hairy and mature. You should be young, boyish and preferably smooth. GSOH. Box SG09003. Bravehearts and Brawny Scots Sought by 22 year old American exchange student, 5'11", light brown hair, blue eyes, 30" waist. Must be kilted. Box SG09004. Glasgow - Anywhere Young and cute looking oriental guy looking for friends between age 19-25 for fun and company. All letters with photo are ensured a reply. Box SG09005. Old School Pals Wanted Were you at Harmeny House School 1965-1970? If so, I would like to hear from you to compare notes and have a good laugh. ALA. Please srite soon! Box SG09006. Eurovision Enthusiast - Veggie - Sporty Isolated Glaswegian, 30's, living in Inverness, seeks preferably non-smokers and 18-40 Eurovision friends, veggie's, swap recipies. Can accommodate for sports (badminton/swimming), theatre, from anywhere. Hairy and loving. ALAWP. Anywhere. Heathcliff? Box SG09007. Blonde Blue-eyed Male Hi, I'm interested in meeting gay men 24-30 ish, I enjoy clubbing and am into trying new things! Box SG09008. Horny in London Sleezy sex fiend (26 yo, 6', 13 stone) wants chubby mates to play with. North East London area - Scottish a bonus. Box SG09009. Stirling Student Mid 20s, blonde, blue-eyes, seeking fun, will travel to Glasgow/Edinburgh. Need GSOH, will be mid 20s-30ish. Box SG09010. Glasgow Gay guy, 30 years old, dark haired, straight acting, non-scene, likes football, music, pubs, a bit shy and quiet at first, honest and genuine, seeks gay or bi guy (18-25) for a good friendship, fun and whatever develops. All letters answered with discretion. Write to me or contact me at scotzguy@aol.com. Box SG09012. Male Students Please? This 19 year old student at an old university in Fife, by the sea (which one could that be???) is desperately seeking contact with other students for true friendship and fun, and who knows, some kind of a relationship? Shallow/dull/heartless with semi-single track minds - no thanks! Me: brown hair/blue eyes, 6'2", quite boyish in looks, non-scene, originally from N Ireland, you: quite intelligent, fun, boyish too (?!), musical perhaps? Come on, there must be loads of people who fit this bill! This is a genuine person looking for a genuine response. Please reply quickly and I will reply quickly. Box SG09013. Butts Needed For Spanking Gay guy (40) seeks butts (novice or experienced) in tight jeans or bare for exciting times with strap, paddle, cane or your choice. Also like poppers, bondage, leather, SM. Box SG09016. Glasgow - Scotland - Anywhere Calling all spanking enthusiasts. Think you're a big man? Too old to be spanked? This mature dad/teacher will put you over his knee. Erotic, exciting, randy experience. Box SG09017. Fife - Anywhere Me 28, slim, 6'2", straight acting. Seeks soulmate for fun times, possibly more. Please write with photo and I will be in touch. Box SG09018. Edinburgh - Anywhere Guy, 30, medium build, 5'6", straight acting, seeks similar guy for friendship or relationship. Latin guys especially welcome. Box SG09019. Are You Into Older Guys? Hairy, bearded, 40 year old, seeks guy young enough to be his son for fun and friendship. Your place or mine (Edinburgh). ALAWP. Box SG09020. Glasgow Male, 35, not bad looking, w/e, s/a, loyal, easy going, many interests, a genuine guy. Into safe oral fun or mutual DIY. Looking for genuine guy (28-36) (shy type preferred) for 1-2-1 relationship. Can't accommodate but can travel (Strathclyde). No time wasters please. Box SG09021. Edinburgh Beginner Male, 46, married but inexperienced, seeks males for first time introduction to bi-experience. Interested also in bondage and spanking. Age, looks and endowment unimportant. Would like to take two at once, any takers? Box SG09022. Attention Horny Scottish Bikers Scotland: bikers, full leather, rubber, w/s, SM, poppers, your turn on. We are slim, straight acting 25/30. Looking for guys into same for hot horny times with or without bike. Accommodation offered. Box SG09023. Naughty "Nephew" Needed! Aged/look 18-20? WLTM guy (35) for fun, friendship, possible 1-2-1, free holidays, etc? I'm 100% genuine, loving, loyal, caring, horny. Letter/photo (preferably shirtless/underwear) gets immediate reply. Scotland. Box SG09024. New to Glasgow Spaniard, 28, slim, GSOH, interested in cinema, literature, travelling, and conversation, seeks genuine friends, 25-35 with same interests, fed up with scene. Please neither superficial queens nor snob intellectuals. Box SG09025. Glasgow - Anywhere You: under 25, dark hair, 5'8" or less, seeking no strings fun with older businessman. ALA. Photo please although looks unimportant. Box SG09026. Dundee Retired guy, discreet, sincere, seeks Asian Oriental for friendship. Can accommodate. Please send details, photo. ALA. Box SG09027. Discipline Naughty boy types required by firm but friendly uncle, 47, 5'7", attractive, medium build. Write for more info with photo, shy lads, orientals, asians, all types awaiting examination and interview. Box SG09028. Public School Type - Edinburgh Tall, slim, non-smoking arts graduate, 37 (looks much younger), seeks a younger man for friendship and possibly a relationship. My interests include the cinema, gardening and country walks. Oriental men are especially welcome to reply. Absolute sincerity assured and required. Let's meet. Box SG09029. Glasgow Guy, 35 years, looking for friendship with right person 25-40, non-smoker. I like videos, poppers, eating in and out, theatre. ALAWP - mine in return. SG09030. Edinburgh or Glasgow Leather guys wanted in Central Scotland for fun and horny times. Masters particularly wanted to work with other master. Must have gear and experience. Discretion assured. Must have leather interests. Box SG09031. Fife - Edinburgh - Chubby Guy New to area, 25 year old, 17 stone guy seeks professional friends (up to 40) for fun, friendship and possible 1-2-1. I enjoy cinema, theatre, pubs and eating out. ALAWP. Box SG09032. Penpals Wanted In USA By 19 year old Scots gay guy. Ages 18-28. ALA with photo if possible. Write soon. Box SG09033. No Strings Hot Fun Glasgow - Anywhere Good looking guy, 23, seeks horny singles for weekend accommodation, preferably 19-25 for fun nights out and hot nights in. You won't be disappointed. ALAWP will have the priority. Box SG09034. Aberdeen Passive guy, early 30's, seeks active guys looking for fun, friendship, perhaps leading to 1-2-1. Hairy especially welcome. Photo if possible. ALA. Box SG09035. Bi-curious? Under 21? Not sure if you're gay or bi? Why not find out with an experienced older gay man. Discrete, friendly guy (37), will let you explore the possibilities at your own pace. I can travel or accommodate you for the night/afternoon. Box SG09036. Edinburgh - Glasgow Guy, 34, into army gear, w/s, rubber gear, DM's, used jocks and pants. Looking for guys into hot wet times. Box SG09037. Dundee - Tayside Sincere guy, 48, slim, GSOH, would like to meet genuine active guy who wants long term friendship/relationship more than a one night stand. Age/looks immaterial. ALA. Box SG09038. Partnership Vacancy - Aberdeen Blonde Aberdonian, 30, seeks mature man 30-45 to love and take care of me. Honest letter and photo ensures prompt reply. So, don't delay, reply today! Box SG09039. North West Coast Seeking Friends Guy, North West, 44 years, seeks permanent relationship. I'm intelligent, healthy, tall, slim. You: tell me. Hairy perhaps big. ALA with photo/phone. Discretion assured. Box SG09040. Dundee - Tayside Early retired guy, reasonable looks, slim, friendly, sincere, varied interests, looking for genuine active, affectionate and caring guy, any age, for friendship/relationship. Can travel/accommodate. ALA. Box SG09041. Glasgow Clone From 1960's-70's 44 year old Christian would enjoy meeting person with similar interest. Like music. Enjoy a few pints. Videos. I', 5'10", slim. Although I have a 1" crop, I love dark hair and black Doc Martens. Box SG09042. CQ - CQ - CQ Gay ham (GM1) seeks similar (or CB enthusiast) for fun and friendship. Phone/packet. Box SG09043. Pooh Seeks Christopher Robin Friendly Pooh Bear, 40, very hairy and bearish, seeks his very own young, smooth Christopher Robin. Come and lick out my honey pots. Box SG09045. Glasgow - Non Scene Non scene guy wishes to meet/correspond with others. 30's, tall, average looks, happy go lucky easy going. Enjoys a drink, a laugh. Smoker. ALA. No time wasters. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Box SG09046. No Bloody Children! Tall, slim, sensitive student (22) would like to hear from real men with maturity and syle and not silly teenagers with nothing but attitude and spots. ALAWP. Box SG09047. Head Hair Not Chest Hair Do you have long hair and a naturally (or Immac assisted) smooth chest? Are you under 26? Then this 38 year old guy with long balding red hair and very hairy body would like to make your acquaintance. Box SG09048. Glasgow Chasers/Bears Wanted Heavy hairy huggable man seeks sincere chaser for friendship and laughs. I enjoy music, arts and food! Romance would be rather nice too, but friendship is far more important. Box SG09049. Tayside - Anywhere Gay guy (39), lingerie wearer, sexy! Seks similar and TVs for fun and games. Sub/dom also. Fetish parties? Can accommodate. Photoe, sae or phone number please. ALA. Genuine. Box SG09050. Under 5'7"? Yes please! 5'6" guy, 40, is crazy about young guys the same height as him or smaller. The bits just don't fit if there's too much of a height difference! Prefer sturdily built guys rather than twigs. Box SG09051. Glasgow Gay guy in Glasgow (20) looking for casual fun times with boy-babe (18-23). Sexy letter with (shirtless) photo ensures quick reply. Box SG09052. Ciao Scozia! 24 year old Italian student, new in Edinburgh, inexperienced, seeks horny lads for wild fun and friendship. Me: slim build, dark hair, green eyes, a bit shy. Photo and frank letter preferred. Box SG09054. BISEXUAL Strathclyde 40ish, 5'6" novice who can't hold back any longer. Would love: Uniform, leather, heavy chains, collars. Utmost discretion required, married. Willing slave, why not tutor me on what I have missed so long? Box SG09011. Edinburgh Friendly bi-guy, 42, slim, intelligent, seeks fun filled relationship with younger woman. Non smoker. Own home. Discretion assured. Box SG09044. LOOKING FOR Edinburgh Will Andy Gentles, formerly of Gayfield Square, Edinburgh, please contact the undernoted box where he may hear something to his advantage. Box SG09014. Paul With The Dancing Boots Paul: I am worried about you. Maureen needs to know that you're OK. Please get in touch and tell me your boots are still polished for Bennets. Spider, where is he? Box SG09015. Searching For Old Friends! I left Scotland 11 years ago and I am looking for two dear friends with whom I am no longer in contact. Their names are Brian Holmes, last known was a flight attendant with BA. Mark Ward, last known worked for Ralph Slater the tailor in Glasgow. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks, Im looking forward to being in Glasgow from March 28th - April 1st! E-Mail : skottish@aol.com or write: Hugh McKerlie, 3160 Waterford Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27106 USA. FRIENDS ABROAD Sydney, Australia 31 year old gay male, formerly resident in Edinburgh for three years, seeks penpals for mutual exchange of gay news & views UK/Australia etc. Currently studying Film & video/communications at Uni. Interests include writing, languages, graphic design, gay history, travel. Write: Barry McKay, 132 Smith Street, Pendle Hill, NSW 2145, Australia or e-mail: goluboy@gco.apana.org.au. Israel 23 years old, looking great that love to talk with - and touch - by the computer. (This is how the best love stories began...). So, e-mail me: msyoyo@pluto.mscc.huji.ac.il or write me: Lior, 25 Pines st. Tel-Aviv. ISRAEL 25 y/o Medical Student I'm a 25 years old, 1.80 mts, 75 Kg, brown hair, hazel eyes, thick lips, nice body (not very muscular). Looking for friends, pals, and who knows. E-mail: Guillermo.Sanz@chilnet.cl or write: Guillermo Sanz, Los Canales 0256, Peqaflor, Santiago, Chile. Young Guy For Young Guy 25 year old college student looking for young jocks in Scotland to correspond with and possibly meet. I'm 6'1" brown hair blue eyes, like sports and outdoor activities. Only looking for guys under 30 who are well built, good looking and clean shaven. Reply if you have what I need. E-Mail: javadude@clt.mindspring.com or write: Jonathan Jones, 2219 Croydon Rd. Apt. 9, Charlotte, NC 28207, USA. Wrestling! Looking for STUDS into wrestling. 5'8", 150#, brown/brown, mustache, 46/yo...lean and muscular. Net me for more info and jpg's. E-mail warrior@sympatico.ca or write: Will Kellas, 776 McIver, Bury, QC, JOB 1J0, CANADA. Scot in Japan seeks new friends I'm 44 (173/70), working as a high school teacher/language consultant in Tokyo. I've actually been away from my birthplace, Glasgow, since 1976, and have been working in London, Germany, Paris and Tokyo. I was at Glasgow University and Stirling University between 1969-1974, and graduated in German / French. Wonder if anybody remembers me?! I'm actually planning to take an MA in Linguistics from September this year, and would like through this ad to find new friends, and perhaps even locate old ones, so that I won't be so lonely when I turn up again! I have a wide variety of interests: music, movies, literature, computers, aerobics etc. etc., so there must be some people out there I can communicate with. Would be willing to give information about Japan for anyone interested/planning to go there. In fact, if you do plan to be in Tokyo in the near future, then let me be your guide! Please write - looking forward to hearing from you. My name is Ian Bitters, by the way, and I would be really happy to hear from those I lost touch with. Write: Ian Bitters, 153 Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Naka Meguro 3-12-4, New Wing 207 or e-mail: ness@beehive.twics.com Greetings to all Scots Daddies! Filipino, 29yo/171cm/82kg, discreet, goal-oriented, seeks big, broad, muscular Daddy, 35-42yo/176cm+, hirsute, virile for long term relationship. No fems, foulmouths, drugs and diseases. I'm fun with lots of interests. I hope somebody will be interested and email me. THANKS! Write: Jeff Tamlimco, PO Box 627, Cebu CPO, Cebu City 6000, PHILIPPINES or e-mail: jut2209@gsilink.com. Boston guy visiting for Pride I'll be touring Scotland during June, for Pride. Would like to find some local gay men to exchange mail before and make friends. Write S.Daniels, 42 Hillside St, Boston MA 02120 USA or e-mail: Scooter@world.std.com. USA Gay Guy Seeks Houseboy I am seeking a live-in houseboy to service me daily... I will help the right guy move...Want to come to the USA?? Must be under 25 and single. E-mail me: b_sloat@oz.plymouth.edu or write: Bernie Pagla, RFD# 4, Box 1272, Plymouth, NH. 03264, USA. 20 Y/O Bottom, Looking for TOP 20, 6'2", 175#'s bl-br/ blue eyes, good looking, looking for HOT muscular smooth top. Write: Shawn LiQuia, 3015 S. Villa Indianapolis, IN 42637 or e-mail: gavin@longyear.acs.nmu.edu. DONOR WANTED Donor - Hirsute Canadian girl 26, and partner, seek very hairy slim young 16-30 - sperm donor. Involvement optional. Discretion required and given. We arrive Stirling June 1996. Please send good photo and detailed letter. Box SG09053. ACCOMMODATION OFFERED Moffat Near Dumfries: Furnished room to let in house with two men, 27 yo. Seek non-smoking male/female in employment. ukp40pw plus share of bills. Call Garry: 01683 221486. SERVICES Aussie Rules Football Shorts Featured in Boyz. Black only. Waist 28, 30, 32, 34, 36. Send cheque/PO for ukp15 to: Jimmy Marvel, 71a Beechmount Avenue, Hanwell, London. W7 3AF. Boudoir Noir The non-fiction Leather-Fetish-Consensual SM Magazine. Box 5, Station F, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4Y 2L4. Phone: 00 1 416 591 2387. Fax: 00 1 416 591 1572. E-mail: boudoir@the-wire.com. Sample $10. Subscription $24 ($50 outside North America). Member Canadian Magazine Publishers Association. Check out our Web Site at http://www.the-wire.com/boudoir.noir. Company Formations Why pay more? For only ukp90, Cosun Limited will supply a freshly formed Scottish, English/Welsh or Northern Ireland Limited or PLC with your own choice of name. For a free copy of our 'Guide to Limited Companies': Freephone 0800 526421. Gay Business Association Member. E-mail: cosun@drink.demon.co.uk. Http://scotsgay.co.uk/cosun/ Contacts in USA and France Voluntary Group for holiday exchange, penpals, etc. Covering USA and French-speaking countries. For sample bulletin send 3 International Reply Coupons to: Recontre France/Amerique, 350 Nature Trail Lane, Murrysville, PA 15668, USA. First Ever Gay Jive Class Commencing Wednesday 10th April at Venue Night Club, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. Doors open 7.30pm. Lesson 8pm-9pm then dance to 10.30pm. Age open, no need to bring partner, bar on premises. French/German Tuition Offered by qualified teacher. Glasgow West End. Telephone: 0141-334 9487. Genuine Phone Dating For Gay Men The Dating Line that has it all! Instant Messaging, VoiceMale Dating and "Traditional" Phone Dating. 0891 556655. 39p/min cheap, 49p/min other. TBO, Box 425, PE25 2RQ. CALL NOW! Get Wet Leather, rubber & PVC clothes for men & women, leather & rubber harnesses, silicone and latex toys, lubricants, SM equipment, wholesale available. Send ukp5 for catalogue or sae for price list to: Get Wet, BCM 3564, London. WC1N 3XX. Tel/Fax: 0171-627 0290. Pen Friends Gay, Lesbian and Bi-sexuals ages 16+, non profit organisation, members nationwide and worldwide, membership ukp6 p/a or ukp3 p/a concessionary. Write, enclosing 2 stamps to: LGB National Pen Pals, PO Box 2000, Horwich, Lancs, England. BL6 7PG. Stories To Order Our stories enliven those parts others cannot. Why? Because they are created especially for you and only you. Read about whatever you wish by using our definitive fantasy service. Intrigued? Then why not send a stamp for full details of our truly individual service to: TTS, PO Box 1846, Bath. BA1 3TJ. The Cellar The CELLAR is for Leather-Rubber-Denim-Uniform guys wishing to contact others with similar likes. For full info please send an sae to:- THE CELLAR(SG), PO BOX 17, BURY ST EDMUNDS, SUFFOLK, IP32 7AT. Or e-mail ranger@dircon.co.uk. Worldwide Penfriends Regular lists. Make friends, exchange holidays, improve your languages. For general and music lovers' lists send ukp3 to 'The Penpal List', c/o 221B Merton Road, Southfields, London. SW18 5EE. PHOTOGRAPHY Explicit/confidential Photo Processing 6"x4": 24exp ukp6.00, 36exp ukp7.00, extra set ukp4.00. 7"x5": 24exp ukp7.50, 36exp ukp8.50, extra set ukp6.00. Please add ukp1.00 p/p per film. Chq/PO: A2Z Trading Co., 501 International House, 223 Regent Street, London. W1R 8QD. Discretion assured. Overnight service. Just 18 Nude photo sets, sample set ukp15 from BM Ferrari, London, WC1N 3XX. Cheques and postal orders payable to 'M Bentley'. Models required. Send photo to above address. WHERE TO STAY Ardbeg House Ardbeg House Hotel, Dervaig, Isle of Mull. Welcome breaks, two nights or more, ukp27 per person per night, Dinner B&B (some en-suite rooms with four poster beds). Scenically situated. Beautiful period country house full of character, home comforts and good food. Phone Neil on 01688 400254. Beside the Seaside ... Roseland Guest House, Ayr. Ron invites you to enjoy Bed and Breakfast in his quiet, centrally located Victorian townhouse. For that totally relaxing break. (Not exclusive). Please Tel/Fax 01292 283435 for current prices. Birmingham, West Midlands Sebastion Guest House. Telephone: 0121-455 9459. Large Georgian house located in the city centre, close to the gay village, all rooms colour TV, double beds, tea/coffee, communal lounge, sun room and large gardens. Blackpool Regent Hotel. Telephone: Blackpool (01253) 22787. Recently refurbished, Late Bar, Happy hour daily, En-Suite available, Flamingo's concessions, Mid-week specials Mon-Fri ukp44 B/B, Fri-Mon B/B (excluding Bank Holidays). Single nights available. Call Ernest NOW to avoid disappointment. Brighton Women's guesthouse. Fantastic value accommodation from ukp11pp in a friendly atmosphere next to the sea - and you don't have to get up early! Leaflet: The Only Alternative Left, 39 St Aubyn's, Hove, Sussex. BN3 2TH. Telephone: 01273 324739. Scotland-Brighton direct train! Central Private Hotel Mixed clientele, Junction 28 M1, short distance to Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield, ALTON TOWERS, Sherwood Forest, Rooms En-suite, Licensed Restaurant, vegetarians, laundry service. Own front door key, no restrictions, Massage & Sunbed room. Weekend rates available. Phone: 01623 552373/Fax: 01623 443106. Edinburgh Set in the heart of historic Edinburgh and close to the city's gay bars and clubs, the Linden Hotel occupies a fine early 19th Century 'A' listed terraced building. Internally modernised, the hotel provides 20 rooms plus a large bar and 70 seat Thai restaurant, and also includes Tommy Thai's Bar. So, for a midweek or weekend break, enjoy the warmth of a real Scottish welcome. All credit cards accepted. 9/13 Nelson Street, Edinburgh. Tel: 0131-557 4344. E-mail: linden.seal@ukonline.co.uk New Zealand Accommodation SIGMA - South Island Gay Managed Accommodation, a network of accommodation for gays and lesbians visiting the South Island of New Zealand. For a free list, write to: Ron Harris, Shag Point, RD2 Palmerston, Otago, NZ or phone 00 64 3-465-1742. Scarborough Hotel Interludes, "Holiday Which" recommended, welcomes gay men/women. Friendly, peaceful atmosphere. Licensed. Unique theatre theme. Elegant, en-suite, non-smoking seaview bedrooms (double, twin, 4-poster). ukp24pp B&B with 5% discount for 4 nights and 1212 for 7 nights. Phone Ian/Bob 01723 360513. Torquay Oscars Hotel is a gay family run hotel in the heart of Torquay's English Riviera. Single, Double & Triple rooms available all year round. Very comfortable 2 star accommodation and candlelit cellar restaurant. Call Ricky or Allan for details. 01803 293563. Want a friendly B&B? Balnacrive Guest House, Dulnain Bridge, by Grantown-on-Spey. Anne and Mary warmly welcome you to the Scottish Highlands. All sports and recreation available from walking to ski-ing. Please phone 01479 851228 for brochure. York Pauleda House Hotel, 123 Clifton, York. YO3 6BL. Enjoy superb accommodation centrally situated only minutes away from all the historic attractions. All rooms en-suite. Satellite TV, some Fourposters. Parking. B&B from ukp20 pppn. Family run. Gay Friendly. Tel: 01904 634745. Fax: 01904 621327. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERNATIONAL ============= By Rex Wockner VATICAN SNIPES AT GAYS The Vatican's newspaper, L'Osservatore, urged its readers recently to vote against candidates who support legal equality for homosexuals. In a column attacking the recent mass gay "wedding" performed by San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, the newspaper said: "The citizen who ... favours the election of a candidate formally committed to translating the homosexual demands into law, cannot be without censure. Gay marriage fundamentally undermines the family model on which human civilization was built. ... The legislature cannot be turned into a clerk for changing habits, least of all of deviant trends." Italian gay leaders were outraged. Arci-Gay head Franco Grillini said "It's anti-gay racism, pure and simple. Depicting gays as against nature and morality is effectively saying the sort of things that Goebbels said against the Jews." He added that Italy has as many gays as it does practicing Catholics - 8% or so of the population - so anti-gay politicians better watch out in the coming elections. San Francisco recently began offering symbolic wedding ceremonies for gay couples who utilize the city's domestic-partnership registry. ZIMBABWE VICE-PRESIDENT SEES AIDS PLOT "AIDS was brought to Zimbabwe by white people who intended to wipe out the black population and take its land and wealth," Zimbabwean Vice President Joshua Nkomo said April 6 at the funeral of his son, Ernest Thuthani, who died of the disease. The state news agency ZIANA also quoted Nkomo as saying, "Unfortunately it backfired because they too are dying of it, but still they have the knowledge of its origins and how it can be cured but they just do not want to share that knowledge." Officials say about one in 10 Zimbabweans is infected with HIV and 300 die weekly from AIDS complications. Nkomo's conspiracy theory follows months of virulently anti-gay rhetoric from Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who has called homosexuality "an abomination" and "sub-animal behavior" and has urged citizens to "hand gays and lesbians over to the police," saying, "I don't believe they have any rights at all." Members of Parliament have joined in. MP Tirivanhu Mudariki called "homosexualism" "an evil and iniquitous practice of bastardly acts" and urged the government "to stamp it out." MP Border Gezi demanded police "put them somewhere where they can never be seen because we cannot mix with such people." MP Norbert Makoni urged, "Let's whip them." And MP Anias Chigwedere said: "The homosexuals are the festering finger endangering the body and we chop them off ... to prevent national contamination." AUSTRALIA A gay bank will open in Australia later this year. The still-unnamed institution will have offices in Melbourne and Sydney and offer joint accounts, home loans, superannuation, insurance and credit cards to homosexual couples. A spokeswoman for the Gay and Lesbian Financial Institution Project predicted the bank will drain millions of "pink dollars" from mainstream institutions, where some gay couples say they do not receive equal treatment. COSTA RICA The Costa Rican gay group Triangulo Rosa won a lawsuit recently against the federal Civil Registry office which was charged with denying legal charters to groups it disapproved of. The Defensoria de los Habitantes court ruled that the Constitution's free-association clause guarantees all legal organizations the right to official registration. Triangulo Rosa had been denied a charter until online foreign gays bombarded the Registry office with complaints. The group continued its lawsuit after the Registry backed down in hopes of achieving a legal precedent. GERMANY Reported gay-bashings rose substantially in Germany last year. The group Schwulenverband in Deutschland (German Gay Association) received 378 reports at its anti-violence hotline in 1995, a 15% increase over 1994. Police say perhaps only one in 10 gay-bashings is reported. Gays are most often attacked by groups of males aged 14-25. Two-thirds of the attacks involve robbery or serious injury. About 30 gay-bashings per year are fatal. ICELAND Following in the footsteps of its Scandinavian neighbors, Iceland will legalize marriage-like registered partnership for gays and lesbians by July, reports Samtkin '78, the island's main gay organization. As in Denmark, Greenland, Norway and Sweden, the partnerships will carry all the rights and responsibilities of marriage except access to church weddings, adoption, artificial insemination and in-vitro fertilization. Parliament is also expected to pass a measure banning defamation based on sexual orientation. NEPAL Nepal's only gay group, the Nepal Queer Society, feels "that we do not have much contacts with gay people in Nepal or elsewhere," spokesman "Krishna" told Trikone magazine. The group is seeking free subscriptions to gay publications, "advice on homosexuality," and "literature, research findings, newsletters and reports on HIV." Write to Nepal Queer Society, Attn: K.P. Sharma, G.P.O. 8975, EPC 5203, Kathmandu, Nepal. VIETNAM "Condom Cafe" is open in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, dispensing coffee, rubbers and safe-sex information. Some start-up money was provided by the European aid agency Medecins du Monde. The cafe also runs an AIDS-information hotline, which received 20 calls its first day of operation. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LETTERS ======= ScotsGay welcomes letters from readers. They should be sent to: ScotsGay Letters, PO Box 666, Edinburgh EH7 5JA, or alternatively send them via e-mail to letters@scotsgay.co.uk 23 Bank Street Glasgow G12 8JQ Dear Editor, SCAPEGOAT I was disappointed that you chose to use Clare Codona as a scapegoat in your Issue 8 column. After her release by the appeal court it was difficult enough for this child and her family to have to cope with a death threat and hate mail without such an ill informed editorial coming from ScotsGay. At the original trial it was the judge who made the decision to charge her with murder. This resulted in her receiving a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, the first fourteen year old in Scotland to be given such a sentence. The appeal court, in my opinion correctly on the evidence available, threw this out. No further prosecution was then possible. The sneer that this child has returned to being 'an innocent little schoolgirl' is quite unworthy of you. It is a matter of fact that her life before the murder was complex and disturbed. She has not as yet been able to return to school and indeed, following such a trauma, may never find that possible. I would have thought it more appropriate for you to address the question of how it could have happened that a Scottish child could be caught up in this vile act of homophobia and what action we should be taking to help other children understand what the real issues are. Yours sincerely, Kay Carmichael ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SPARTACUS The Spartacus International Gay Guide is now in its 25th Year although its first editor John Stamford died earlier this year. The trouble with any of these guides is that they're out of date before they ever appear from the printers due to the timetable imposed by the production process. Spartacus suffers from this problem too - although the Scottish entries, which were compiled for publishers Bruno Gmnder by ScotsGay, are largely accurate despite the passage of time. Nevertheless, if you're travelling abroad, Spartacus is invaluable for giving you pointers to the local gay scene no matter where you get to - providing there is one, of course! Spartacus normally costs ukp19.95 in the shops, but because of our association with Bruno Gmnder, we've got six copies of the guide to give away to our Scottish readers in a free draw - if you're not fortunate enough to live here then tough! To enter, you can do one of two things: 1. Drop a letter to us (with your name and address) to: Spartacus Offer, ScotsGay, PO Box 666, Edinburgh. EH7 5YW. 2. Send an e-mail (with your name and address) to spartacus@scotsgay.co.uk. The winners will be drawn from a hat on 10th May. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- RAB C. BURNS? To mark the Bi-centenary of the death of Scotland's National Poet, Robert Burns, ScotsGay, Scotland's National Lesbigay Mag, is running a competition to find a lesbigay successor to the bard. We're offering a first prize of Fifty pounds with a second prize of Twenty-five and a third prize of Ten pounds. What we're looking for is a poem in Scots which captures the essence of Rabbie's work but on a lesbigay theme. Preferably it will come from a lesbigay perspective, but that's not essential. Length? Please remember that size isn't everything and a short poem like My Luve Is Like A Red, Red Rose has as much chance of winning as an epic like Tam O Shanter. Send your entry, to arrive by 1st August to: Burns Competition, ScotsGay, PO Box 666, Edinburgh. EH7 5JW. Please enclose your name and address and, if you want your original returned, also include a stamped addressed envelope. Entries can also be made by e-mail to: burns@scotsgay.co.uk. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALAN'S CHART 1. Ordinary People - Mahatma (Happenin) 2. Demonic Emotion - Stuck on a Space Trip (Jon the Dentist Remix) (TEC) 3. Naked Ape - Who's Gettin It? (Tomorrow's Mix) (Wax Trax) 4. Snap featuring Rukmani - Rame (Resistance D Remix) (BMG) 5. Cyanide Music Vol.1 - Focus (Rev Dub) (Cyanide) 6. Don Grant - Gonna Get Cha (Dave Randall Mix) (Boom) 7. Arkana - House En Dub (Fume) 8. Blue Amazon - No Other Love (Jackpot) 9. North By North West - Spirit (Spirit South Mix) (Black Sunshine) 10. Spacebase - Patience (Higher State) 11. Open Arms featuring Rowetta - Hey Mr DJ (Nick Hook's Up Generation Mix) (AATW) 12. Bush Babies featuring Dex - Delicious (Nuclear Mix) (Boom) 13. therius - Alone Here (A Tortured Journey) (The Day After The Happening) (Bonzai Trance) 14. Laconic - ? (Laconic) 15. Cocktail Twins - Pressing On (Sharp Remix) (Tripoli Trax) 16. D'Still'D - Stop/Go (Moonshine) 17. Bianca Kinane - All The Lover I Need (Raw Deal Dub) (PWL) 18. Secret Cinema 2 - Straight Forward (Music Man) 19. Mr Happy - Come Back To Love (World Power Version) (Dance Pool) 20. Tesox - Prophetic Steps (Plasic City) Joy - the Gay Club for Happy People Saturday, Calton Road, Edinburgh ------------------------------------------------------------------ REVIEWS ======= books: Northridge High by S. Joseph Krol GMP, ukp8.95 Locker Rooms, sweaty feet and dirty jocks figure large in this adolescent romp through a typical American football camp. And don't be mislaid by my usage of the word "camp", 'cause there ain't nothing camp about this lot, no sir. These lads are all American, straight as an arrow and butcher than Rambo and just as screwed up. But of course, this book being published by GMP, there has to be a twist to it. And although there is that twist to it, this book left me unexcited, uninspired and bored. Mind you, even when I was at school, I never enjoyed the physical side of education and my idea of purgatory is the thought of locker rooms, sweaty feet, wet towels and dirty jocks. So if you get a kick out of those things get out there and buy this book, but if you don't then you would be better spending your money on this next book I'll get on with for you now. A Summer's Exile by Andr Gould GMP, ukp6.95 A fine book. When it arrived and I first read the covernotes I didn't think that I would enjoy reading this one, but I must admit that I got drawn into it after the first chapter and never put it down until the closing lines. It sensitively evokes the magic and love of the first childhood upheavals and turmoil of feelings encountered on the verge of adolesence. It brought back memories from further back then I've experienced in a long time. When I was a kid my mum used to send me off to my Grandparents, who lived in a little village in the Deister Mountains in Germany. Perhaps not quite as exotic a location as the sultry midsummer heat of the American corn belt you might say, but the feelings were oh so similar. I used to know this lad there and almost every summer we went camping and swimming and trekking together. Just like the characters in this book, we had a whale of a time. But just like in this book not everything went as smooth as might be hoped and our friendship and innocence was spoiled by bigotry and suspicion. I somehow managed to forget all about it until reading this very graphic and realistic account of a childhood encounter turning traumatic. Very well written, poetic and also down to earth, it's been pure pleasure reading A Summer's Exile. Healing Threads by Mary Beith Polygon, ukp9.99 Did you know that bog myrtle is credited with the power to keep away mischievous fairies? Well now you do and you could be on the receiving end of all sorts of weird and wonderful information given freely in this incredible encyclopaedia of traditional medicines of the Highlands and Islands. The book is written very factually, contains a good index and does not lack a healthy dollop of humour. Here's a little extract for a cure for baldness and one must suspect a measure of knowing humour on the part of the healer who wrote it: "Fill an earthenware pippin with mice; stop the mouth of the pippin with a lump of clay and bury the whole beside a fire but do not let great heat of the fire reach it. So leave it for a year and then take out the contents of the pippin - being very careful that the one who handles this matter shall wear gloves, because if he does not, hair will come sprouting out of his finger-tips - and this, after further preparation, if applied to the head will cause hair to grow." Apart from the smiles these humourous interludes will give you, this book will provide you with a good basic knowledge of the healing properties of a good many native herbs, with old favourites like comfrey to help setting broken bones and feverfew to lower body temperature. Very informative and thorough and a great big two fingered salute to the Ciba Geigys of this world. Better Angel by Forman Brown writing as Richard Meeker Alyson Publications, ukp7.99 Originally published in the thirties this novel, which is largely autobiographical, allows us a tantalising glimpse into the murky past of our kind. A past in which the belief that masturbation was harmful was fostered by authority. A past in which even we sometimes couldn't believe that there was such a thing as real love between two men. A past in which you had to be a very brave person indeed to write and publish a book such as this. In the early thirties there were no gay bookshops, no gay press, and no acknowledged gay community. And of course in the early thirties it was a crime to be homosexual. So it is not surprising to learn of the difficulties Forman Brown encountered to find a publisher to tackle this "very sensitive subject". But quite apart from the historical significance of this book, it's certainly been one of the best coming-of-age novels I've read in a long time. The characters are entirely believable, perhaps on account of the autobiographical nature, but I suspect more on account of the superb writing skills of the author. And I especially liked the photographs and the epilogue written recently by the now 95 year old author. I would consider this book a must for every self respecting gay bookshelf. The Dove Coos ll: Gay Experiences by the Men of Thailand translated by David Jonathon Floating Lotus Books, ukp9.99 This is a wonderful book of sexual experiences from Thai men. They are told in a refreshing and open manner with no sense of guilt or confusion. After reading this book you get a sense of joy and freshness, a kind of a new beginning. You begin to realise just how much of an uncaring and facist country (GB) we live in and begin to think that it could be wonderful if only the government and the rest of the shitty twats who live here would commit mass suicide. Long Live The Revolution p.s. Go and buy this book first! Scottish Island Hopping Polygon, ukp7.95 A great book for the independent traveller. You may have travelled in other countries, but have you really travelled in your own, especially the Scottish Islands? Well next time you want to take a break, why not explore a bit of your own country and take this outstanding book with you. You will find a lot of useful information in here, the history and culture of each island, how to get there - ferries, planes, cars and cycling, best places to stay and eat, what to do and see, best of the beaches, golf courses, mountains, plus a map of each island group, and with people arriving from all over the world to tour the islands, who knows, you might even find a holiday romance or at the very least a quick shag. I would suggest you go and buy this book and enjoy the trip. The Lord Won't Mind by Gordon Merrick Alyson, ukp7.99 On the one hand this book makes you want to stick your fingers down your throat, but on the other hand it is a wonderful story of love and loss, of wanting to tell the world of your love for another man, but not being able to express it to anybody outside, because of prejudice. It is a story of a gay relationship and it's true to real life. First it is full of high emotion and there is lots of sex, but sadly there was also a lot of jealousy, which is exactly what happened in my boyfriend's and my relationship (he was the jealous one), but lots of love later means that now we have been together for 9 years and hopefully will grow old together, that's as long as he stops snoring otherwise he may stay young forever. Go out and buy this book if you still believe in romance and are not a cynical bastard like our good friend the editor, who I think would rather stick his fingers down his throat. The Queen of Camp by Marybeth Hamilton Pandora Books, ukp9.99 Remember Mae West? Her of "Come up and see me sometime" fame. Well here is a book about her. And it's full of surprises. The woman many of us thought Mae was, is in fact only a tiny facette of the diamond. She was an intensely private person and a bit of an enigma. She never kept a diary, (or should I say one was never found), there are no letters that she might have written and the author had to resort in this biography to weaving together cultural analysis and social history to unmask the life of this gay idol. But as Marybeth Hamilton writes herself so fittingly in the epilogue: "It was Mae West's genius, as well as her downfall, to keep the answers forever hidden, responding only with an enigmatic smile and hanging tantalizingly out of reach." This is a book full of smiles and chuckles, but which nevertheless scrapes into the sore flesh of the unhappiness of the private person. It seems that with almost every book about a famous person I read, that the price of fame far outweighs any gains. But let's not ponder too much on the shadowy side, but instead celebrate the person that brought us lines like: "When I'm good I'm good. But when I'm bad I'm better." Brilliant. Go and get a copy. You won't regret it. Young, Gay and Proud edited by Don Romesburg Alyson, ukp4.99 "Why, oh why?" is a phrase most often heard on the box, when Anne Robinson does her bit for the BBC. But reading this book the infamous phrase kept leaping into my mind. Why, oh why isn't there a book like this, written by a British person, dealing with the unique problems a gay British teenager faces and helping with addresses and contacts here in our country rather than the excellent help available in this book for the American youth? Perhaps yours truly should rise to the challenge. Anyway, apart from the frustration about the locations in this book, I can only recommend it for the younger gay and bisexual readers. It is very thorough and positive. Chapters include essays by young gays and lesbians about their experiences in coming out, myth perceptions, finding others like you and even guides for gay men and lesbians about the nitty gritty doing it. Had I had this book in my teenage years it would have forestalled many problems I had with coming to terms with myself and my sexuality. And at just under a fiver it's well worth giving as a informative present to that young friend of yours. video: The Russians Are Coming Prowler Press Not my favourite video, I'm afraid. The Russian lads don't seem to have quite the attraction that the Hungarian Hunks of some of Prowler's recent productions have featured. Nevertheless, this Gay Glasnost features nine Russian guys in various states of undress and arousal. That said, it's the usual amiable wank fantasy from Prowler. Yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice. And I must admit that my choice of the lads would have to be Boris who gets off on a backnumber of a Prowler Press mag - that's merchandising for you! Mechanics Prowler Press Not quite your usual boybabe stuff this. Some of the guys in this video are that little bit bigger, brawnier and hairier than is customary which might even appeal to the bear hunters (if they're not too fussy that is - or so says ScotsGay's designer who claims to know about such matters). Of course, you can always pop down to CC's and find out if the reality matches up as some of the stars will be appearing there soon. Bad Boys Volume 5 Prowler Press Another of the 'Home Movies' series from Prowler. Sixty minutes of filth and depravity featuring a selection of home grown guys - some of them alleged to be from Scotland even if one of them has a definitely English accent (not that it's the accent anybody buys these videos for, oh dearie me, no!!!). There's also a black haired Scandinavian - if it's dyed, he must do his pubes too! Kitami - A Pyscho Sexual Thriller Dangerous To Know The Japanese certainly seem to be into violence in a big way! This sadistic story of sexual obsession includes the severing of an arm. So, it's hardly for the squeamish amongst us. But beautifully shot by Sata Hisayasu nonetheless. Justin Milne ------------------------------------------------------------------------ LISTINGS ======== We TRY to provide Scotland's most up-to-date and accurate listings. If your group isn't listed, - or if your entry needs updating - please write to ScotsGay with full details. We're not clairvoyant: If we don't know about it, it just won't go in! We'd also like to know about your forthcoming events and meetings. Although many of the listings are for specific towns, they often cover a much wider area. If in doubt, you can always phone one of the Switchboards for more information. Write to:- ScotsGay Listings, Pageprint Limited, PO Box 666, Edinburgh EH7 5YW, Fax them to: 0131-558 1262 or e-mail them to scotsgay@drink.demon.co.uk. NATIONAL ORGANISATIONS OUTRIGHT SCOTLAND is Scotland's oldest lesbian, gay and bisexual rights organisation. It was founded in 1969 as the Scottish Minorities Group, later became the Scottish Homosexual Rights Group and changed its name to OUTRIGHT SCOTLAND in December 1992. OUTRIGHT SCOTLAND owns the Edinburgh Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Centre. To contact, write to: The Secretary, OUTRIGHT SCOTLAND, 58a Broughton Street, Edinburgh. EH1 3SA or send e-mail to tmh@dcs.ed.ac.uk DUNDEE: OUTRIGHT SCOTLAND Dundee Focus Group for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals meets 4th Thursday of each month at 7pm in the YMCA Special Projects Office, 76 Bell Street. Write to: PO Box 104, Dundee. DD1 3DU. Why not join OUTRIGHT SCOTLAND? Membership is ukp12 waged, ukp6 low-waged (under ukp10,000 pa) and ukp3 unwaged. Life membership is ukp150. Please make out your cheque/Postal Order to OUTRIGHT SCOTLAND and send to The Membership Secretary, OUTRIGHT SCOTLAND, 58a Broughton Street, EDINBURGH. EH1 3SA. LESBIAN ARCHIVE AND INFORMATION CENTRE: The UK's largest and most significant collection of materials relating to lesbian lives. LAIC (at Glasgow Women's Library) 109 Trongate, Glasgow. G1 5HD. Tel: 0141-552 8345. Open Tue-Fri 1-6pm and sat 2-5pm. PRIDE SCOTLAND: Pride Scotland has been established to organise the annual lesbian, gay male and bisexual Pride event in Scotland, which will be held in Glasgow on 22nd June 1996. Phone: 0131-556 8822. Or write: c/o GGLC, 11 Dixon Street, Glasgow, G1 4AL. E-mail: pride@tardis.ed.ac.uk. WWW: http://www.scotsgay.co.uk/pride/. All kinds of help are urgently required! LOCAL ORGANISATIONS ABERDEEN: Aberdeen Gay Group caters for all ages and meets 3rd Sunday of every month. Phone Ron on Aberdeen (01224) 640996 for information or write to: AGG, PO Box 129, Aberdeen. AB9 6EY. Swim or Social most Wednesdays: Phone David on Aberdeen (01224) 317552. Icebreakers is a social group which meets on Friday evenings. Contact Aberdeen Switchboard for details. AYR: Ayrshire Forum is a group for gay men, lesbians and bisexuals providing support and acting as a social focus. Write c/o The Leisure Centre, 24 Wellington Square, Ayr. CAITHNESS GAY AND LESBIAN CONNECTION: A friendly informal group which meets regularly. Write to: Box 689, Journal Office, 42 Union Street, Wick, Caithness. KW1 5ED. CENTRAL REGION: Forth Friend has a disco (1st Saturday of most months) and a social group which meets every second Wednesday. The Forth Friend phoneline operates each Monday from 7.30pm to 9.30pm on Stirling (01786) 471285. Or write to: PO Box 28, Stirling. FK9 5YW. DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY: Regular social meetings - usually every second Thursday. For details of all events: phone Dumfries (01387) 269161 Thursdays 7.309.30pm or write to Dumfries and Galloway Lesbian and Gay Group, PO Box 1299, Dumfries. DG1 2PD. DUNDEE: Tay Friend, holds regular social meetings for gay men. Write to: Tayfriend, PO Box 182, Dundee. DD1 9UP. EDINBURGH: Icebreakers is an alternative to the scene and takes place between 7pm and 8pm on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each calendar month in the Blue Moon, 36 Broughton Street. Phone Lothian Switchboard for details. ELGIN: Elgin Gay Switchboard is trying to get off the ground. For more details, telephone Bobby on Elgin (01343) 542928. Moray Gay Group meets second Wednesday of each month 8.15pm in the lounge (enter from car park) of the Cat's Whiskers pub in New Elgin. Phone Douglas on Elgin (01343) 547107 for details. FIFE FRIEND: Small voluntary phoneline offering support, advice and information to lesbians and gay men within Fife. Friday: 7.30pm10.30pm. Telephone: Kirkcaldy (01592) 266688. Write to PO Box 19, Kirkcaldy, Fife. KY1 3JF. Runs a monthly disco. GLASGOW: Glasgow Gay & Lesbian Centre Project, fundraising, campaigning and social group. Committee meetings held on 1st Saturday each month at 2pm in the Centre, open to all. Write to Glasgow Gay & Lesbian Centre, 11 Dixon Street, Glasgow, G1 4AL or contact 0141-221 7203 (phone/fax). Childcare expenses and BSL interpreter available - please give advance notice. E-mail: gglc@gglc.org.uk. WWW: http://www.gglc.org.uk/gglc/ Glasgow Gay Group is an informal social group for gay men. Has a regular weekly pub night as well as running other social events like theatre, cinema, bowling, etc. Phone: Steve on 0141-339 7395 - preferably on Mon or Tues evenings. Icebreakers Cafe - An alternative to the gay scene - First Sunday in each month. 12.303.30pm in Austin's Bar, 183a Hope Street, Glasgow. Details from Strathclyde Switchboard. HAMILTON: Lanarkshire Gay Men's Group is a group which meets every 2nd Wednesday. Social and educational events. Details from Phace West: 0141-332 3838. INVERCLYDE: Inverclyde Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Group meets every Tuesday 7-10pm. Details from Joe Hammill on Greenock (01475) 745903. INVERNESS: Gay Group meets on the 4th Wednesday of each month at 28 Huntly Street. Phone Andrew on Inverness (01463) 711585 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) or write to: PO Box 67, Inverness. IV1 2XX. PAISLEY: Paisley Forum is a social group for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and our allies. Meets Paisley Arts Centre, New Street on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month 8.30-10.30pm. Details: Phone Sandra on 0141-887 2649 or contact Strathclyde Switchboard. WOMEN'S GROUPS ABERDEEN LESBIAN GROUP: Meets every Wednesday 8-10pm in the Women's Centre, Shoe Lane. Phone Aberdeen (01224) 625010 or 627415 for details. EDINBURGH: AD Group: For lesbians 45+ (younger lesbians who support the concerns of lesbians 45+). Meetings for discussion and support, first Saturday (1-5pm) of month in The Women's Centre, 61a Broughton Street. For more details, phone Edinburgh Lesbian Line. Dykes Nytes Out: social events for couples and singles in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Write to: PO Box 169, Edinburgh. EH1 3LU. Lesbian Line 0131-557 0751, Mondays and Thursdays 7.30-10pm. For information, advice and counselling in confidence. Write to: PO Box 169, Edinburgh. EH1 3UU. Edinburgh Bisexual Group meets every Thursday at 8pm-9.30pm in the Edinburgh Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Centre, 58a Broughton Street. All welcome. Women's Network: PO Box 159, Edinburgh. EH7 5EL. GLASGOW: Dykes Nytes Out: social events for couples and singles in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Write to: PO Box 169, Edinburgh. EH1 3LU. Glasgow Women's Library, 4th/5th Floors, 109 Trongate, G1 5HD. Tel: 0141-552 8345. Open Tue-Fri 1-6pm. Sat 2-5pm. Closed Mon. Lending and reference library - books, magazines, journals, videos, leaflets and information. UK and overseas feminist and lesbian publications. Contains the Lesbian Archive and Information Centre - a unique national collection of publications, journals and ephemera by and for lesbians. Lesbian Avengers: Meets regularly. Phone 0141-552 8345 for details. Lesbian Line: 0141-552 3355 Wednesdays 710pm. Write to: PO Box 686, Glasgow. G3 7TL enclosing an sae for monthly 'Lavender Listing'. Lesbian Mothers Group: Meets every second Monday at 7pm. Support group, pub nights, informal chat. Creche and fares help available. Phone Lynne on 0141-221 7150. Lesbian Networking Meeting: Contact Glasgow Lesbian Line for meeting details and Lynne on 0141-221 7150 for childcare information. Lesbian Sports Group: Squash, badminton, tennis. Meets weekly. Phone Glasgow Lesbian Line for details. Lesbian Youth Action: Contact Lindsay Jane Morgan c/o Glasgow Lesbian Line. Olderwomen's Group: Contact Glasgow Lesbian Line for details. Team Caledonia West Women's Cycling Group: Phone Women in Sport on 0141-227 5933 for details. Women's Softball Group: Meets weekly. Contact Glasgow Lesbian Line for details. INVERNESS: Out and About is a friendly lesbian social group that gets together once a month. Write to: PO Box 91, Inverness. IV1 2GJ. LESBIAN INFORMATION SERVICE: PO Box 8, Todmorden, Lancashire. OL14 5TZ. Please enclose an sae. Phone/Fax: Todmorden (01706) 817235. BISEXUALS DUNDEE: New group forming. Phone: Cathy, c/o Dundee Switchboard or write: PO Box 53, Dundee. DD1 3YG. EDINBURGH BISEXUAL GROUP: Meets every Thursday at 8pm-9.30pm in the Edinburgh Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Centre, 58a Broughton Street. There's an excellent programme of talks and speakers usually followed by a visit to a local pub for socialising. Phone Bisexual Line on 0131-557 3620. GLASGOW BI WOMEN'S GROUP: Meet 2nd and 4th Wednesdays at the Centre for Women's Health. For details, write: FAO Carole, c/o Centre for Women's Health, 6 Sandyford Place, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. G3 7NB. E-mail: (mark mail FAO Carole) c.lamphard@strath.ac.uk. ATHEISTS/HUMANISTS EDINBURGH FREETHINKERS: An informal network of militant atheists (with one militant humanist agnostic atheist). Write to: PO Box 666, Edinburgh. EH7 5YW or e-mail god@drink.demon.co.uk GAY AND LESBIAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION (GALHA): A group for non religious lesbians gays and bisexuals which promotes an enlightened, rational Humanist approach to homosexuality. Details from GALHA National Office, 34 Spring Lane, Kenilworth, Warwickshire. CV8 2HB. Phone/Fax: Kenilworth (01926) 58450. BEARS BEARS' CLUB UK: For hairy men and admirers. Meets in the New Town Bar, Edinburgh on the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 8.30pm. Write to: BCUK, 56 Albert Street, Beswick, Manchester. M11 3SU. BEREAVEMENT LESBIAN & GAY BEREAVEMENT PROJECT: Lesbians and gay men needing advice and support can ring 0181-455 8894 at any time. Or write to: Lesbian & Gay Bereavement Project, Vaughan M Williams Centre, Colindale Hospital, London. NW9 5HG. BIKERS GAY BIKERS MOTORCYCLE CLUB: A UK-wide club for women and men. Active Scottish section. Write for details to GBMCC, PO Box 33, Nottingham. NG10 2BF. CHRISTIANS EVANGELICAL: Lesbian or gay? From an Evangelical tradition? So are we. Phone: Ewan on Polmont (01324) 715542 or write: EF(LGCM), 13 Westbrook Drive, Macclesfield, Cheshire. SK10 3AQ. HOLY TRINITY METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH: An inclusive church for the lesbigay and trangendered community in Edinburgh. Meets every first and third Sunday in the Chaplaincy Centre, 1 Bristo Square, at 6pm. Write: MCC Edinburgh, PO Box 12433, Edinburgh. EH1 3FU or e-mail: mcc@festival.ed.ac.uk. L&GCM: Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement. Scottish Helpline 0141-334 2286 or write to PO Box 1436, Glasgow. G31 2NY. QUAKERS: Quaker Lesbian and Gay Fellowship (formerly Friends' Homosexual Fellowship) is a welcoming and supportive national group for people of all sexual orientations and their friends. Write to: Ruth, 3 Hallsfield, Cricklade, Swindon, Wilts. SN6 6LR. QUEST: Organisation for Roman Catholic men and women who are gay. Monthly meetings are held in Glasgow and Edinburgh. For information, call Linkline Glasgow on 0141-552 8328. Sunday 710pm. Or you can write to: Quest, PO Box 280, Glasgow. G12 0AW. COMPUTER BUFFS BORDERS BULLETIN BOARD: Computer based info every evening 6pm-8am. Hawick (01450) 377877. To get at the Gay areas, leave a message for the SYSOP asking for access. CHAPPS BBS: 24 hour board operating at speeds up to 28,800. 0131-539 1132 or 0131-538 3345 (speeds up to 14,400) Fido echoes. LAMBDA BOARD - EDINBURGH: A free 24 hour computer based bulletin board system. Private mailboxing, areas for Women, Gay Men, Bisexuals, Leather Enthusiasts, TV/TSs, etc. 0131-556 6316. Scrolling (8N1) and Viewdata (Prestel) formats at speeds up to V22bis (2400/2400). CULTURAL GAY CALEDONIAN ASSOCIATION: Social group for kilt wearers and friends. Meets in Glasgow on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month. Phone Bill on 0141-646 1513. INTERNATIONAL KILT APPRECIATION SOCIETY (IKAS): Contact and social group for guys interested in viewing/wearing kilts. Regular newsletter: SAE Mervyn Tacy, 'Ziveli', 20 Ordsall Park Road, RETFORD, Notts, DN22 7PA. LONG YANG CLUB: An international organisation for gay orientals and interested people of other nationalities. Promotes social events, education and mutual help services and publishes a magazine. Phone Ray: 0131-336 1287. WESTERN STARS: Western style line and partner dancing for gays, lesbians and friends of goodwill. Thursdays at the Glasite Meeting House, Barony Street, Edinburgh. Beginners: 6.45pm. Others: 7.45pm. Phone: 0131-453 3284. WILD WILD WEST: C&W line dancing group. Every Wednesday. Partick Burgh Halls (Lesser Hall), Glasgow. 7-8.30pm. Phone: Brian Ross on 0141-333 0827. DRINK PROBLEMS If you are a lesbian or gay man with a drink problem and want help and advice, ring Tom on 0141-770 6599, 7 days a week anytime. Tom refers to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), but does preparatory work. FORCES AT EASE: An advice service to armed forces personnel and their families on any subject. Free, independent, confidential, impartial. Write: 28 Commercial Street, London E1 6LS or phone (Sundays 5-7pm only) 0171-247 5164. RANK OUTSIDERS: Support group of Lesbian and Gay Ex Armed Forces Personnel. No rank distinctions. Write to Rank Outsiders, PO Box 10133, London. SW2 2ZD or telephone the Regional Director Robb Nunn on 0131-332 9662. National Helpline: 0171-566 0044 Wed 7-9pm. HEALTH MATTERS BODY POSITIVE (GLASGOW): Providing support for those HIV+ and with AIDS in the West of Scotland. Phone: 0141-332 5010. Or write: 3 Park Quadrant, Glasgow. G3 6BS. BODY POSITIVE (GRAMPIAN): Support and assistance for gay men with HIV/AIDS. Phone: Aberdeen (01224) 404408. Or write to: PO Box 83, Aberdeen. BODY POSITIVE (LOTHIAN): Phone to speak to a gay positive person 1:1 on 0131-652 0754 Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri 10am-4pm, Thur 10am-7pm. Or write to: 37-39 Montrose Terrace, Edinburgh. EH7 5DJ. BODY POSITIVE (TAYSIDE): Self help for HIV+ people on Dundee (01382) 461555 Tue, Wed Thu 10am-4pm. CENTRE FOR WOMEN'S HEALTH: 6 Sandyford Place, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. G3 7NB. Open Tue-Thur 10am-4.30pm (other times by arrangement). Fully accessible. Telephone: 0141-211 6700 (Minicom: 0141-211 6701). DOT (DUNDEE OUTREACH TEAM): Harm Reduction Centre, 55 Constitution Road, Dundee. DD1 1LB. Telephone: 01382 201919. Sexual health and relevant issues for gay and bisexual men. Free and confidential service. Drop in coffee shop: Sat 2-5pm. Friendly and informal. FRIENDS FOR LIFE: Provides support and information in Glasgow and surrounding areas to people affected by terminal or long term chronic illness. ie Cancer, AIDS, MS, etc. Please call 0141-204 2202 or write to Friends for Life, 5th Floor, 52 St Enoch Square, Glasgow. G1 4DH. GALUP: Gay and Lesbian United Programme. Promotes health issues among lesbians gays and bisexuals in the Dundee area. Write: c/o YMCA Special Projects Office, 76 Bell Street, Dundee. GAY MEN'S HEALTH: A voluntary sector project for gay men, bisexual men and men who have sex with men. Services include counselling, group work, drop-in services, education/training services and resource development. Spittal Street Centre, 22-24 Spittal Street, Edinburgh. EH3 9DU. Telephone: 0131-229 5995. GLASGOW BARS AIDS WELFARE FUND: Raises funds for various HIV/AIDS projects in the Glasgow area. PO Box 3954, Glasgow. G51 4RA. GLASGOW HIV CARERS SUPPORT GROUP: Phone: 0141-353 2979. Or write to: Church House, 340 Cathedral Street, Glasgow. G1 2BQ. GRAMPIAN AIDS LINE: Aberdeen (01224) 574000 Tuesdays and Fridays 7-9pm or write to GAL, PO Box 250, Aberdeen. PAISLEY SUPPORT GROUP: For people with HIV, partners, friends and family. Meets Tues 1.30-3.30 at The Wynd, School Wynd (off Moss Street). Phone: 0141-842 7203. PHACE WEST: A locally based and managed agency for people affected by HIV/AIDS serving Glasgow and the West of Scotland. 49 Bath Street, Glasgow. G2 2DL. Phone: 0141-332 3838 (Fax: 0141-332 3755). E-mail: 101606.3052@compuserve.co.uk. POSITIVE HELP: Practical help for people who are HIV+ or who have AIDS and their families, children, friends and carers. 64a Broughton Street, Edinburgh. EH1 3SA. Phone: 0131-558 1122. PSORIASIS GROUP: A new self-help group for lesbians, gays and bisexuals affected by psoriasis. Write to: Stuart Easton, 7/9 Orwell Terrace, Edinburgh. EH11 2DU. REACH OUT HIGHLAND: encourages and supports people throughout the Highlands - whether living there or visiting - to take responsibility for, manage, and make informed choices about their sexual health and well-being. 28 Huntly Street, Inverness. Phone: Inverness (01463) 711585. SOLAS NATIONAL HIV INFORMATION CENTRE: 2/4 Abbeymount, Edinburgh. EH8 8EJ. Information, advice and cafe. Information centre: Mon, Tue, Thurs, Fri - 11-4pm. Wed, 5-9pm. Phone: 0131-659 5116. STEVE RETSON PROJECT: Weekly sexual health service for gay men. Tuesday 5.30-9pm. Department of GU Medicine, Main Outpatient Department, Royal Infirmary, 16 Alexandra Parade, Glasgow. NATIONAL AIDS HELPLINE: 0800 567123. A Freephone, 24 hour service for confidential advice and information. LEATHER MSC SCOTLAND: MSC Scotland, PO Box 28, Head Post Office, Edinburgh. EH3 5JL. MSC Scotland is a member of the European Federation of Motorcycle Clubs. LEGAL GAY AND LESBIAN LEGAL ADVICE: GLAD is a London based advice line run by lesbian and gay lawyers. Phone: 0171-831 3535 (Mon-Fri 7-9.30pm). State clearly that you seek Scottish legal advice as our law is very different from that of England and Wales. ORDERS ORDER OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE: The Sisters and Brothers of the OPI are part of a world wide order of queer men and women of all sexualities which is open to all who feel the habit. Its tenets are: The expurgation of stigmatic guilt and the promulgation of universal joy. Contact Sister Solicitation OPI, c/o Eat Out, 60 Broughton Street, Edinburgh. EH1 3SA. OUTDOOR CLUBS GAY OUTDOOR CLUB: Holds regular events including walking, cycling, swimming, hillwalking, windsurfing, cross-country skiing, camping and youth hostelling etc. Also holds regular swimming/social meetings in Edinburgh and Glasgow. For more details about GOC, write (enclosing an A5 sae) to: GOC, PO Box 24, Minehead, Somerset, TA24 8YZ or ring one of the Scottish Contacts:- East: Grant on 0131-556 8705 (Hill-walking), John on 0131-226 2341 (Swimming), Iain on 0131-539 0715 (Cycling). West: Douglas on 0141-848 6643. North: Michael on Inverness (01463) 230651. GAY RAMBLING GROUP: Walks on the 2nd Saturday of each month. Phone Robert on 0141-427 1511. OVER FORTIES PHOENIX: The only national group for the over forties and friends of any age. Write (enclosing an sae) to: Phnix, PO Box 103, Wallington, Surrey. SM6 9SJ. THEATRE PROJECT: A collaboration of lesbians and gay men working on a project leading up to a theatre production in Glasgow in Autumn 1996. They are interested in meeting women and men who had homosexual experiences and/or relationships in Scotland pre-1970 and are willing to share their stories for research purposes. Write: MCT, c/o GGLC, 11 Dixon Street, Glasgow. G1 4AL. PARENTS PARENTS' FRIEND: Phone: 0113-267 4627 from 7.30-10pm. Or write to: Voluntary Action Leeds, Stringer House, 34 Lupton Street, Hunslett, Leeds. LS10 2QW. SCOTTISH PARENTS ENQUIRY SERVICE: Support for parents of lesbians and gay men. Contact via Lothian Switchboard or write to SPE, PO Box 169, Edinburgh. EH1 3UU POLITICAL DELGA: Democrats for Lesbian and Gay Action - write to 4 Cowley Street, London. SW1P 3NB or e-mail archdruid@cix.compulink.co.uk LABOUR CAMPAIGN FOR LESBIAN AND GAY RIGHTS: Works within the Labour and Trades Union movement to secure equality for lesbians and gay men. Contact PO Box 306, LONDON N5 2SY. Local Groups throughout the UK. LESBIAN AND GAY FREEDOM MOVEMENT: LGFM is a movement to bring Anarchist ideas and ideals to lesbians, gays and bisexuals, and to make sexuality a major campaigning issue for all anarchists. Details (3 postage stamps please) from LGFM, BM Box 207, LONDON. WC1N 3XX LIBERAL PARTY LESBIAN AND GAY CAMPAIGN: Phone: Southport (01704) 500115 (day), 0151-259 5935 (ansaphone), write to: Liberal Party Lesbian & Gay Campaign, 41 Sutton Street, Liverpool. L13 7EG or e-mail: libgay@libparty.demon.co.uk TORCHE: Tory Campaign for Homosexual Equality - write: BM TORCHE, London WC1N 3XX. RAPE/SEXUAL ABUSE RAPE AND ABUSE LINE: For male and female survivors. Women: Dingwall (01349) 865316 7-10pm nightly. Men: Dingwall (01349) 862686 Mon and Wed 7-10pm. Or write: PO Box 10, Dingwall. IV15 9LH. SCIENCE FICTION DELANEY'S CHILDREN: Meets every 1st Sunday of the month at Eat Out in Edinburgh from 3-4.30pm. Contact Jane on 0131-556 6109. GLASGOW GAY SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY: Meets every 3rd Sunday of the month. Contact Paul on 0141-339 9176. S/M EDINBURGH SM BI GROUP:Meet regularly. Write: SM Bis, LBG Centre, 58a Broughton Street, Edinburgh. EH1 3SA. SM GAYS: Write to SM Gays, BM SM Gays, London. WC1N 3XX. E-mail: bandanas@dircon.co.uk SPORTS ALTERNATIVE WRESTLERS EUROPE: A European-wide gay/bisexual wrestling organisation organised from Glasgow. Contact c/o Alternative Sports, PO Box 437, Glasgow. G42 8HU, phone 0973 310416 or e-mail 100022.2554@compuserve.com BRITISH GAY AND LESBIAN SPORTS FEDERATION: Encourages participation in sport. Write (with sae) to BGLSF, Central Station, 37 Wharfdale Road, London. N1 9SE. EDINBURGH ALTERNATIVE WRESTLING CLUB: Phone Derek on 0131-467 1465. EDINBURGH GAY MEN'S RUNNING CLUB: Meets for 3-4 mile casual local run. Call Alistair: 0131-661 0008. GAY BODYBUILDERS/WEIGHTRAINERS CLUB: contact Winston Duncan on 0171-379 3480 for contact with Scottish members and nationally. Club produces "Iron-Up" magazine as part of ukp25 membership. GAY FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS NETWORK: Glasgow group holds monthly meetings in Squires Bar. For further details, please contact Ewan on 0141-779 2321 or write enclosing sae c/o Phace West, 49 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 2DL. STUDENTS Many Universities and Colleges have Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Societies. Contact these via your Student Union or Student Association. Many are open to non-students living in the area. There are also groups covering wider areas run in conjunction with the National Union of Students - East of Scotland: Write to Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Officer, East of Scotland Area NUS, 11 Broughton Market, Edinburgh. EH3 6NU or phone on 0131-556 6598. North of Scotland: Write to Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Officer, North of Scotland Area NUS, University of Aberdeen, 50/52 College Bounds, Aberdeen, AB2 3DS. West of Scotland: Write to Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Officer, West of Scotland Area NUS, Cathcart House, Langside College, 50 Prospecthill Road, Glasgow. G42 9LB. You can contact the NUS Scottish Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Officer on 0131-556 6598 or write to NUS Scotland, 11 Broughton Market, Edinburgh. EH3 6NU. E-mail: nus-scot@dircon.co.uk. TEACHERS EIS GAY AND LESBIAN NETWORK: Write c/o 46 Moray Place, Edinburgh. EH3 6EH. Or contact Simon Macaulay, Assistant Secretary, on 0131-225 6244. TV/TS ABERDEEN: Crossdressing Group. Contact Aberdeen Switchboard for details. EDINBURGH: Scottish TV/TS Group meets in private rooms every last Saturday each month except December. Ring Lothian Switchboard for further information. GLASGOW: Crosslynx meets second Wednesday of each month from 7pm-10pm. Phone Strathclyde Switchboard for more details. VISUAL IMPAIRMENT VISUAL IMPAIRED GAY GROUP SCOTLAND (VIGG): Offers a listening ear and support to women and men in close co-operation with the Lesbigay Disability Forum. Phone Colin and Jim: Dumfries (01387) 261679. WORKPLACE GMB: Contact Mary Harrison, Regional Equal Rights Officer, Fountain House, 1/3 Woodside Crescent, Glasgow. G3 7UJ. Phoen: 0141-332 8641. MSF: Lesbians and Gays in MSF. Phone: 0171-738 5469 or write c/o 39b Pentonville Road, London. N1 9LP. UNISON NATIONAL L&G CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEE: Phone: 0131-469 3880. Or write: c/o 18 St Giles Street, Edinburgh. EH1 1PT. WRITERS INDELIBLE INC: LGB Writers' Group based in Glasgow. Poetry, plays, exchange ideas, collaborations, informal meetings. Phone: Brian 0141-946 2078. YOUTH GROUPS LESBIAN YOUTH SUPPORT INFORMATION SERVICE: PO Box 8, Todmorden, Lancashire. OL14 5TZ. Please enclose an sae. Phone/Fax: Todmorden (01706) 817235. STIRLING YOUTH GROUP: Meets Mondays fortnightly. Details from Forth Friend on Stirling (01786) 471285 Mon 7.30-10pm. STONEWALL YOUTH GROUP: For lesbians, gays and bisexuals under 26. New members group meets Wed night and Core Group and 20+ Groups meet Fri night. Phone: 0131-556 4040 Tues 7.30-9pm (answering machine outwith these times). Or write: Stonewall Youth Project, Dunford House, 7 Boroughloch, Edinburgh. EH8 9NL.. STRATHCLYDE LESBIAN AND GAY YOUTH MOVEMENT: Friendship and support for under 28s. Meets Tuesday 7.30pm and Sat afternoons. Details from Strathclyde Switchboard or Glasgow Lesbian Line. SWITCHBOARDS AND HELPLINES ========================== BISEXUAL PHONELINE: Thurs 7.30-9.30pm Phone: 0131-557 3620 DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY L&G PHONELINE: Thurs 7.30-9.30pm Phone: Dumfries (01387) 269161 DUNDEE LGB SWITCHBOARD: Mon 7-10pm Phone: Dundee (01382) 202620 EDINBURGH LESBIAN LINE: Mon, Thurs 7.30-10pm Phone: 0131-557 0751 FIFE FRIEND: Fri 7.30-10.30pm Phone: Kirkcaldy (01592) 266688 FORTH FRIEND: Mon 7.30-9.30pm Phone: Stirling (01786) 471285 GLASGOW LESBIAN LINE: Wed 7-10pm Phone: 0141-552 3355 GRAMPIAN LESBIAN, GAY & BISEXUAL SWITCHBOARD: Wed & Fri 7-10pm, some Tues 2-5 Phone: Aberdeen (01224) 633500 Minicom: Aberdeen (01224) 634055 Fax: Aberdeen (01224) 634066 LOTHIAN GAY & LESBIAN SWITCHBOARD: Nightly 7.30-10pm Phone: 0131-556 4049 STRATHCLYDE GAY AND LESBIAN SWITCHBOARD: Nightly 7-10pm Phone: 0141-332 8372 LONDON LESBIAN AND GAY SWITCHBOARD: 24 hours Phone/Minicom: 0171-837 7324 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCOTSDYKE ========= I've been looking all over the room for the black lesbian. And the Chinese one. I haven't found the African-American or Asian contingent at any of my meetings. Or much of the Hispanic. There wasn't anyone in the room in leather either. Did you have a Native American at your last general meeting? More than one? (Lesbians often been known to come in matching pairs.) We had a big room full of me-clones. Now I have to admit that, externally, I am a white-bread, (or should that read "bred?") vanilla lesbian. In my lifetime, I have been Corporate. I have been Mommy. I have been The Little Woman. (Though I think that Dr. Ruth, at four-feet-something-inches, qualifies better for the title.) I still wear panty hose when the occasion requires. And makeup. I like jewellery, heels, loose, comfortable skirts, as well as jeans and my DC-93 and Stonewall tee-shirts. I have been known to engage in irrelevant social discourse with card-carrying non-gays. And enjoyed it. Internally I am iconoclastic, rebellious, activist and cantankerous, all the while appearing to be a mild-mannered middle-aged, middle-class-er from a major metropolitan municipality. I am, I do also have to admit, a little too out and outspoken for many of my co-vanillanese. It is true that I will appear at the opening of an envelope... if it gives me a platform to change minds, belief structures, self-images, and laws. I like to think of myself as a shining example of what can happen to a moderate, unburdened of the "awful truth." A kind of testifier for the "if it could happen to me..." gay-lesbian closet crowd. But lately I've been staring at the seating arrangements. It's way too often like looking in a room full of mirrors. I wonder if, at their meetings, the black lesbians wonder where I am? Or at least when the light-pink, gold-earring contingent is scheduled to fill up a few of the folding chairs? Oh, sure, we show up if Maya Angelou is reading for the fundraiser. But for the day to day? Do you think that the local Dykes on Bikes ever asks itself where the former NOW members are? Or if Radicalesbians congregate in special boards of concern concerning broadening their membership to include the Fourth Monday/Second Wednesday/Third Thursday crew? I can't think of a lesbian group I've ever been involved with, that hasn't, sometime, had a diversity agenda item. Everyone sits pondering not only the "WHY?" (other ethnicities aren't lining up with dues money), but also the "WHO" (knows HOW to get them to the name-tag table?). After several circuits, the group usually recognizes that it doesn't have a solution-clue and tables the discussion to next year, satisfied that at least talking about it is almost as good as actually doing anything. There is, however, an interesting exception. On the Internet, where lesbian chat mailing lists are sprouting faster than summer grass, there is far more integration, understanding, and interaction. Real diversity being modeled by modem. The Rodney King design of all- getting-along creating magnificent electro-example. Sure there are still fights, but they're over ideas and utterances, not usually visual prejudices. I suspect it is not coincidental that what you see on the internet is not faces or costumes, but letters, neatly, continuously typed from one screen to another. Now I don't mean to deny the viability of each come-together organization, whether it converges to argue the finer points of sailing, passing out business cards, reconstituting the 104th Congress, or getting Chastity to speak at the local Civic Seminar. There is plenty of good precedent for finding out en masse that you aren't the only one. But our real power lies in our numbers. Our total numbers. It was something that Lynn Lavner sparked the other night in another of her standing-O performances. Lynn, a singer-composer-comedienne, performs for national and international rainbow audiences. Onstage she's another, at five feet-no-inches, who could qualify with Dr. Ruth for the Diminutive Dynamo Of Any Given Year Award. She performs, bedecked and becoming, in black leather and silver studs, seated at a baby grand. She offers her considerable musical gifts, telling lyrics, and bulls-eye accurate observations on lesbian/gay life to anyone who feels comfortable laughing with an hysterically funny leather dyke. (Which, to their loss, unfortunately doesn't include enough of the Wonderbread ladies who could certainly use a good laugh.) In yet another one of those flawless perceptions, Lynn observed that we are always talking amongst ourselves, about "diversity." Except, when we say it, what we really mean is our own diversity. It's Other People's diversity that makes us uncomfortable. Way too true. I wish I had an answer to this dilemma. I could have saved hundreds of boards thousands of circular discussions. Instead, maybe I could just plant a couple of mindseeds. Because, while plots of pink roses may be fragrant, even inviting, there's nothing like the sheer splendour and attraction of a fully mixed garden. Maybe, instead of name-tags, we should all be handing out blindfolds (or computers) at the door. Till then, if you happen to see the black/Asian/Native American/B&D/Nature-lover/S&M/Hippie-throwback/Anglo lesbian, could you tell her I've been looking for her to invite into my group. Invite her into yours. And please ask her to return the invitation. (c)1996. Shelly Roberts. All rights reserved. May be reprinted only in its entirety with written permission. Shelly Roberts is a nationally acclaimed keynote speaker, and author of The Dyke Detector, Hey, Mom, Guess What!, and Roberts' Rules of Lesbian Living. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ScotsGay: a bi-monthly magazine for lesbians, gays and bisexuals edited, printed and published in Scotland. ISSN: 1357-0595. (c) Pageprint Limited, Apr. 1996. Non profit use by the lesbigay community of material in the magazine will normally be permitted free of charge - but contact us first for permission. We haven't had sex with most of the people who appear in the magazine so we don't actually know what their sexuality is. Editor: John Hein. Contributors in this issue: Dick Wilson (News), John Hein & Garry Otton (Features), Minerva, Jol, Marcc & PJ (Scene), Rex Wockner (International), Alan Nicholls (Music), Justin Milne (Videos), Dirk & Andy (Books), Shelly Roberts (ScotsDyke). Editorial Enquiries: Write to: ScotsGay, Pageprint Limited, PO Box 666, Edinburgh. EH7 5YW. Telephone: 0131-539 0666. Fax: 0131-558 1262. E-mail: scotsgay@drink.demon.co.uk We welcome news, articles, photos, cartoons, etc. - especially lesbian and bisexual material. Advertising Enquiries: Telephone: 0131-558 1279. Fax: 0131-558 1262. World-Wide-Web: http://www.scotsgay.co.uk/ Subscribing by Internet: Send a 'subscribe scotsgay-list' message to listserver@drink.demon.co.uk and the text files of future editions will be delivered to you by e-mail. END OF FILE