Cordoba - November 2010
Way back in the mid 1960’s Brighton’s very first coffee bar opened on the corner of Cambridge Road and Western Road – ok that’s in Hove actually – it was called The Cordoba. It was the place where all us groovy and trendy guys would go to drink frothy coffee. Our parents were horrified, we even wore jeans - it was the beginning of the end. 45 years later I went to the city this infamous coffee bar was named after. I am pretty sure that the owners just saw the name having no idea that it was a city in southern Spain that was once the biggest, richest city in Europe, now a UNESCO World heritage site. Read more...
Amsterdam Pride - October 2010
Brighton Pride seemed to live up to all expectations this year but what about the other big gay festivals? Gay Pride in Amsterdam is probably the biggest in Europe. So we went and it rained – hard – but it didn’t ruin the parade though of course we got very wet. It helps, of course, that it takes place on the city’s canals which were recently granted Unesco World Heritage Status. The 80 floats and they really do float, took about two hours to pass the estimated 380,000 people on the canal side. The total investment in Gay Pride is estimated at €2m with €200,000 being given by the City of Amsterdam. They know know the value of this event and officials say that it is worth about €30m in total revenue. It also raises funds by being heavily supported by commercial sponsorships including the railways, post office, trades unions etc. All their gay staff organise the floats and the companies pay. Read more...
Roman Bathing - August 2010
Bath, what can you say about a city that we have all heard of but may not have visited. We know it’s all about Roman baths, Jane Austen and lots of Georgian buildings. Of course there’s a lot more. Students at the two universities and college make up about 25% of the 100,000 population, making it a very young and exciting city and a World Heritage Site as well. It was autumn when we went and the place was stuffed with tourists, they get around 5 million visitors a year. Once you leave the centre though, it’s much quieter and you get to see another Bath. Read more...
French Leave - August 2010
Roger Wheeler takes a weekend away in Normandy.
Just about the best weekend away that you can have, if you live in Sussex, is a few days in Normandy, just four hours away on the Newhaven/Dieppe ferry. Transmanche Ferries took over this, the oldest ferry route in the country, a few years ago and have put on a new boat – The Seven Sisters. Nothing particularly special as ferries go, but it’s fine, quite comfortable with a reasonable cafeteria, but no restaurant. They designed the new ship to have a ‘proper’ restaurant but forgot to include a kitchen – unbelievable but true. The on board shop does a very decent range of goodies, wine can be a very reasonable £2.99 a bottle which you are at liberty to open during the trip, which makes the £9.90 charged at the bar seem a bit expensive. Read more...
Dublin – July 2010
Is everything pretty in Dublin’s fair city asks Roger Wheeler?
Dublin, a great city by any standards, capital of the Republic of Ireland since independence from Britain in 1922 and heart of the Celtic tiger economy. Not so anymore, the economy is almost in ruins, although not as bad as Greece, it’s close, but this is no reason not to go there. It really is a great place and was for a time the second city of the British Empire and the fifth largest city in Europe. People settled here in the first century BC and they are still coming, and so should you if not for: the restored beautiful Georgian architecture, the huge number of bars, the hundreds of excellent places to eat, or lots of shopping; then it has to be a visit to the Guinness Storehouse and the Jamieson Distillery. Read more...
Further Afield - June 2010
About six years ago when I had just met my partner, Mike, we decided to take a weekend trip into rural Ireland, he was living in Galway. I was looking for a simple B&B when he expressed concern about finding somewhere that would accept same-sex couples. I was very surprised that he should say this, thinking that such a problem could not exist. I now understand that prejudice still exists even in some parts of the UK. Read more...
Crossways – May 2010
Way back in the 1970s a young chef called David Stott met Clive James, the man who was to become his lifelong partner. Together in 1976 they opened The Fig Leaf a restaurant in Waterloo Street, Hove. This was to prove to be one of the town’s hottest restaurants; David was and still is a superb chef and Clive one of the friendliest front of house men that any restaurant could want. The Fig Leaf was an enormous success virtually from opening day. They introduced the idea of fixed price menus, novel for Brighton, but standard in France. Read more...
Galway City – April 2010
Two pints of Guinness. €8 please. One of the first surprises about drinking Ireland’s nation beverage in Ireland is the price, £3.46 a pint! We were in one of the many little pubs that give the centre of Galway City its character. Galway, you’ve heard the name but probably don’t know exactly where it is. Ireland’s fastest growing city, Galway City (the County is also called Galway hence the word ‘city’) is regarded as Ireland’s cultural heart. Its lies at the mouth of the river Corrib on the far west coast, 208km due west of Dublin. The river flows into Galway Bay; scenically the city area is not particularly thrilling, being on a coastal plain with a harbour and at the head of the world famous bay. The surrounding countryside is extremely beautiful with the hills and lakes of Connemara immediately to the North and the rolling scenery of the Burren to the South. But on your first visit you really need to spend time in the City itself. Read more...
Michelangelo’s Dream – April 2010
Many of us know what it feels like to fall hopelessly in love with someone who is totally beyond our reach - it’s not new. In 1532 Michelangelo fell hopelessly for a beautiful 16 year old, Tommaso de’ Cavalieri. It was completely hopeless as Tommaso came from a high ranking family and it would have been out of the question for them to ever sleep together. Michaelangelo, aged 57 and at the height of his fame, was well aware of this but he was completely besotted. He wrote poems and letters to Tommaso and drew some of his most famous pictures, featuring the nude male body, as gifts for the young nobleman. Nobody is sure how Tommaso felt about Michelangelo, but it’s certain that he was flattered by his famous admirer and responded to the many gifts in a friendly manner. He was even present at Michelangelo’s death and so it can be assumed that it was a deep friendship. Read more...
Butlins, Bognor & Beyond - March 2010
There is a myth that George 5th’s last words in 1936, upon being told that he would soon be well enough to revisit Bognor, were, "Bugger Bognor!" And so it came to pass that having been to lots of glamorous hotels and resorts, we ended up in Butlins in Bognor! Why? You may well ask. They have just opened their £20m Ocean Hotel and being a Brightonian, I remember with great affection our very own Butlins Ocean Hotel in Saltdean, just to the east of the city. Of course, Butlins sold that many years ago and it’s now flats, Butlins itself was sold by the Rank Organisation in 2000 to the new operators, Bourne Leisure. Read more...
Face to Face with Senator David Norris – February 2010
Roger Wheeler talks to the first out gay politician elected to the Irish Senate whose campaign for homosexual law reform was responsible for decriminalising homosexuality in the Irish Republic. Read more...
Bath Time – February 2010
Roger Wheeler has found England’s most romantic place. It will soon be Valentine’s Day and so there is a lot being written about romantic weekends, usually by female journalists, who want to be wined and dined in some smart hotel in the heart of the countryside. Most men would not openly admit to being romantic, but privately, most of us probably are. Read more...
Spa Gazing – January 2009
New Year’s Resolution: why not treat yourself to a spa? You know you’re worth it, says Roger Wheeler. Over the past few years spa’s have become big business, hundreds of hotels now boast ‘spa’ facilities for a ‘chill out weekend’. Try typing ‘lads pampering’ into Google – the sexist search engine will simply ask did you mean ‘ladies’. Read more…
Scandal on Thames - November 2009
Very few people under 60 will have heard of Cliveden, one of the grandest neoclassicalPalladian country houses, situated on the Thames in Buckinghamshire, near Slough. It was here one weekend in July 1961 that a government minister, a Russian spy and a showgirl had some fun that contributed to the defeat of the Macmillan government in 1963. It was the Christine Keeler/John Profumo affair that got started that weekend. She was the 18-year-old who was sleeping with Yevgeny Ivanov, a KGB agent, while also having an affair with John Profumo, the British Secretary of State for War, at the same time. The newspapers found out and the rest is history. Scandal, the 1989 movie of the affair starring Joanne Whalley and John Hurt, featured the house and made it famous. Read more...
Viva La Espana - October 2009
Southern Spain is still one of the most popular destinations for summer sun. The number of budget airlines serving its many airports makes it affordable – just. You can fly into one and leave from another, as today most short-haul airlines don’t operate return fares, just singles. Read more...
To the manor borne - September 2009
Gravetye Manor is only about 45 miles from Bognor but a world away in every other respect. It’s been a hotel since 1958, making it one of England’s first country house hotels. Located between East Grinstead and Crawley, it was the second country house hotel in the UK. Its gardens, just 1,000 acres, are world famous and the 400-year-old house is everything you would expect. It was originally an Elizabethan stone-built family mansion hidden in a valley very near West Hoathly. Read more...
Dutch courage - August 2009
It’s Amsterdam Gay Pride on August 1 and they do it better there than anywhere else. Those Dutch folk know how to put on a great show and they still call it Gay Pride. There are literally hundreds of parties that cater, as ever, for all possible tastes. The parade takes place on the canals and the floats – which really do float – are amazing. The whole city joins in the party; we could learn something. The excitement and plain, simple fun are palpable. Read more...
The great British seaside - July 2009
Not so many years ago holidays at home meant a trip to the seaside. The whole thing has a nostalgic ring to it; were things better in the ‘old days’? They were certainly different but better is debateable. Tastes have changed – today’s B&B is now a boutique experience. Gone are the nylon sheets and slightly dour landladies, now we have high-quality cotton bedlinen, dozens of pillows and cushions, freestanding baths at the end of the bed, expensive ‘free’ bath products, walk-in rain showers and all manner of activities, Wii, free wifi, flatscreen TVs and Game Boys in every room (well, they were always available!). Read more...
Brum Punch - June 2009
The UK has 32 million overseas visitors every year. There must be a reason for them to come here – obviously most head straight for London but a lot go to the UK’s second city, Birmingham. A city of a hundred cultures and polyglot nationalities, it has re-invented itself several times in the past 50 years. Today it’s an exciting, busy and very gay city. Read more...
Amazing Sussex by the sea - May 2009
It’s all about recession chic these days. It’s smart not to make pointless journeys to places no one can really afford when there are large parts of Britain that are still largely empty and utterly beautiful. Roger Wheeler ambles to Amberley. Read more...
Vacation, Staycation, Bournemouth - April 2009
If staying in is the new going out, Britain is the New abroad – so staying home for this year’s Holiday is the way to go. Roger Wheeler visits Bournemouth, Poole and Studland in Dorset. Read more...
Regency Splendour - March 2009
There are hundreds of luxury country-house hotels in the UK. While many of them are all chintz and tie-backs with hundreds of pillows that no one actually wants, there are still plenty of them that can do themselves and the British hospitality industry proud. Roger Wheeler was lucky enough to find one such gem – the Mount Somerset, near Taunton. Read more...
Pressing Matters - February 2009
Peter Burton, the writer and stalwart of both national and local gay journalism, tells gscene’s Roger Wheeler all about his long career, what’s going on with Brighton and what he regrets most about Las Vegas. Read more...
Happy Crunchie Christmas! - December 2008
It is Christmas, in case you hadn’t noticed – time to enjoy ourselves! Except it’s all a bit depressing if you pay any attention to the current harbingers of doom that dominate our daily news bulletins. Well, I’ve had enough of credit crunching and recession, so sit down in your most comfortable chair, fasten your seatbelt, close your eyes and dream – you are joining the long-lost company of armchair travellers and it’s free! You do believe in Father Christmas, don’t you? Let’s see where we could go – to places that you’ve probably always wanted to visit but never seem to have the time (or money) to. Read more...
Moorish And Moreish - November 2008
Cadiz, with its stunning coastal setting and long history, is a much better bet than Costa Del Sol, says Roger Wheeler.Read more...
The geckos of Gaucin - October 2008
Gaucín is one of Andalusia’s most spectacular pueblos blancos – white villages – spread over the mountains of southern Spain, as if a benevolent being had scattered snowflakes across the hilltops. Roger Wheeler visited this quiet gem – and its bizarre lizardy attractions. Read more...
To The End Of The Earth – Finistere - September 2008
Opposite land’s end in northwest France lies Finistere (from finis terrae, latin for ‘the end of the earth’). It’s at the very tip of Brittany and all the brochures make it sound beautiful. Roger Wheeler visits. Read more...
Go West! - August 2008
A week in Somerset, based in the county town Taunton, sounded like a great idea, particularly when I was going with my partner, Mike, who was working there. So arriving early on a Sunday evening we checked in to the Corner House Hotel – a very nice, modern redesign of some lovely period houses – and set off to explore Taunton. It is a nice, normal town with the standard identical shops, a large church – great ceiling – and a castle that is closed until 2010 for restoration. Five days in Taunton felt like rather a long time when five hours would have sufficed. From a choice of the usual chain restaurants, we ate in a branch of Zizzi. OK is about all one can say about it, quite pricey; for chicken for me and a steak for Mike with a shared salad and a bottle of the cheapest house wine the bill was £40. Read more...
Things They Don’t Want You To Know 2 - July 2008
So, cheap train fares are available, it’s now official. These were called value advance and were usually booked online, expect with southern railways, of course, where you have to go to the station in person. Read more...
The only guests in Gissing - May 2008
There are hundreds of old country houses in the uk and most of them are in serious need of rescuing from terminal decay. Some have been saved by enterprising people who have the ability to see the pound signs past the dry rot, and turn them into hotels. Roger wheeler visited one. Read more...
Training Day (Saver) - May 2008
There are some things they don’t want you to know – such as how to travel from Brighton to London by train for £5 return. Roger Wheeler investigates. Read more...
For a quiet little getaway in the islands, go La Gomera - April 2008
You may have noticed the recent ad campaign for the smaller of the Canary Islands, heavily promoting El Hierro, La Palma and La Gomera. Everyone knows Gran Canaria and the ‘delights’ of the Yumbo Centre – ‘to each his own’ is my motto – and Tenerife, my own favourite island, which combines the best of all the others. Read more...
Is it a boat? Is it a plane? No, It’s just a train – Eurostar - April 2008
For the second anniversary of our CP we fancied a trip to Paris, and why not? Eurostar is the only way to go and get to see the new St Pancras station. Online booking would appear to be easy-peasy and initially it is – unless you use a debit card like Maestro, because they let you go through the whole booking process before telling you they can’t handle debit cards. I had completed my booking and got an immediate email. “Whoops,” it said. “We have cancelled your booking as there was a problem with your card and if you still fancy a trip on Eurostar, then log on to the website.” Having just spent 20 minutes doing that, we obviously wanted a trip on Eurostar, but no reason was given as to why the card was a problem. Read more...
They are the only gays in the village - January 2007
About two years ago two perfectly nice guys decided to sell their successful pub in Norfolk, pack up their possessions in their Renault Espace and drive South, chasing the dream. They ended up in Crete, a long way from Norfolk, bought part of a 500 year old monastery and decided to open the first all gay B&B on the Island. With just three letting rooms (and only one small bathroom) Stuart and C-J took the little village of Galipe just a little by surprise. Without any doubt Stu and C-J bring the famous claim in Little Britain to life, as they ARE the only gays in the village. Read more...
New York - May 2001
Christmas and the round of happy Kemp Town partying loomed at us and something said - not this year - we'll spend the money going away. All the hot beach destinations are too expensive so why not New York. Read more...
Cape Town - January 1997
Finding a holiday destination that is a sophisticated, rugged, wild, tame and with great beaches, mountains, cities and wilderness which is cheap would appear to be almost impossible, but we've found it. Forget San francisco, Key West, even Sidney. Head to the gay capital of Africa - Cape Town. Without doubt one of the most beautiful waterside cities of the world. Read more...