list.co.uk/LGBT Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to gay@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Laura Ennor. ✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
GLASGOW
Activities & Events Camp Fitness Run Club! Tuesdays & Thursdays, 6.30–7.30pm. £4; first four sessions £2. Glasgow Botanic Gardens, 730 Great Western Road, 07866 446177. Fun, friendly running group that’s nonetheless serious about getting fit. Led by a qualified jog leader, all levels welcome. Meet outside the main gates. Glasgow FrontRunners Thursdays, 7–8pm; Sundays, 11am–noon. £1. The Arc, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, 331 8633. A running group suited to all abilities for LGBT folk and their friends. Go for a run led by a qualified jog leader, then afterwards join the friendly club members for food and chat in the city centre.
Arts Aarron Lodge Fri 20 Jul, time tbc. £5. Speakeasy, 10 John Street, 0845 166 6036. Comedy hypnotist Lodge’s past exploits include making people believe they’re a fish and leading them to believe that Martian is their native language – so be prepared for lots of laughs. Personal Best Sun 22 Jul, 7.45pm. Glasgow Film Theatre, 12 Rose Street, 332 6535. Robert Towne’s tale of two sportswomen competing to join the pentathlon squad for the 1980 US Olympic team explores their mutual attraction and how it develops into a passionate relationship. A Lock Up Your Daughters screening, introduced by a representative from the Equality Network discussing the problem of sexual discrimination in sport. FREE ‘Who’s for the Game?’ Mon 23 Jul–Sat 4 Aug, Tue–Sat 11am–5.30pm. The Virginia Gallery, 45 Virginia Street, 552 5699. Exhibition featuring work made by 15 Scottish and international artists in response to the theme ‘Who’s for the Game?’, a controversial World War I propaganda poem by Jessie Pope. FREE ‘Who’s for the Game?’ Wed 25–Sun 29 Jul, times vary. Various venues, Merchant City, 5526027. See above. The exhibition in the Virginia Gallery is accompanied by a pop-up ‘treasure-hunt’ gallery of new art and artists in windows across Merchant City. Part of the Merchant City Festival. Fetish Fri 27 Jul, 8–10.30pm. £6. The Old Hairdressers, Opposite Stereo, Renfield Lane, 222 2254. An investigation into people’s darkest desires conducted through experimental film, dance and documentary. Over 18s only. City Cab! Fri 27 & Sat 28 Jul, 9pm–midnight. £5 (£3). Tron Theatre, 63 Trongate, 552 4267. In this co-presentation with Glasgay! cabaret, spoken word and comedy come together for a late night feast, featuring the best of the festival and ‘Tranny and Rosanna Try Not To Swear’. Over 16s only. Part of the Merchant City Festival. Clubs FREE Trophy Room Sat 28 Jul, 11pm–3am. FHQ, 10 John Street, 0845 166 6037. Cheesy pop night, formerly at the Polo Lounge. Radioactive Explosion UV Party Sun 29 Jul, 10pm–3am. £tbc. FHQ, 10 John Street, 0845 166 6037. Club Devotion reunion party with added UV paint fun and DJs Annie & Mark Higgins. FREE Poptart Tuesdays, weekly, 11pm–3am. The Polo Lounge, 84 Wilson Street, 0845 659 5905. Start the weekend very early indeed with DJ Belle de Hell.
CLUB REVAMP CC BLOOMS ccbloomsedinburgh.com
CC Blooms has been part of the furniture of Edinburgh nights out for as long as most of us can remember. Born in the early 90s as a wonderfully cheesy gay club, the venue recently came under new management and last month reopened following a brief closure to reveal its fancy new look. ‘We’ve had the place for four years,’ says venue co-director Tim
Douglas, ‘and have been working towards renovation because bits of it were really falling apart, held together with sellotape and blu-tack.’
Unearthing a lot of the features within the building that had been hidden in previous years, the venue’s vibe is now a classy bar-cum- café by day and stylish club after nightfall, open from 11am–3am. ‘We uncovered a window which looks out over Calton Hill. The ceilings had been lowered, making the place feel a bit like a cave at times, so we reinstated all the original ceiling heights befitting of the Georgian building that it is.’ Plywood and mirrored walls have been stripped back to reveal the original stone and brick, as well as restoring the building’s original 18th century entrance.
To celebrate the relaunch, CC’s have started the Church of High Kicks, an afternoon tea dance club (eh?) which runs from 4–9pm, hosted by well known 80s and 90s drag DJ (and erstwhile clubbing pal of Boy George) Jon Pleased Wimmin. The new vibe, as well as pleasing regulars, have brought in a different crowd too. Tim says: ‘Where we are, next to the Playhouse, we used to get a lot of the late night trade as people head out of town to go home but now we’re a bit more of a destination, attracting more of the pub/bar scene earlier on.’ (Lauren Mayberry)
EDINBURGH Activities & Events Hot Scots FC Thursday Kickabout Thursdays, 8.45pm. £tbc. Saughton Sports Complex, Stevenson Drive, 444 0422. A friendly kickabout, open to all players of all abilities, run by the first LGBT football team in Scotland. Hot Scots Friday Fives Fridays, 8pm. £tbc. Saughton Sports Complex, Stevenson Drive, 07585 132595. Five- a-side friendlies with Scotland’s first LGBT football team. New players always welcome but you’ll need to sign up in advance as places are limited. Cuestars Tue 24 Jul, 7–10pm. £3.
Shandon Snooker, 99 Slateford Road, 313 2069. Friendly, social snooker group for the LGBT community and friends, meeting on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. LGBT Basketball Group Tuesdays until 25 Sep, 7–8pm. £3. Leith Community Education Centre, New Kirkgate, jamesnmcgoogan@gmail. com An informal weekly practice for beginners and regular players alike. FREE Disabled and LGBT – Does it Fit? Thu 26 Jul, 10am–4pm. LGBT Youth, The Citadel, 39/40 Commercial Street. A day of advice and discussions on topics to do with disability issues for the LGBT community. Book a free place
LGBT
by emailing stephen@lgbthealth.org.uk. Arts FREE The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls Fri 20 Jul, 7–9.30pm. LGBT Centre for Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street, 523 1100. The Topp Twins are the world’s only singing, yodelling lesbian twin sister comedians, and this documentary examines their political activism and comedy through archive footage and interviews. Women-only screening, email jules@lgbthealth.org.uk for details. FREE Edinburgh Gay Men’s Book Group Wed 25 Jul, 7–9pm. LGBT Centre for Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street, 523 1100. A book club for gents with a lust for reading. All types of books considered. Boy in a Dress Thu 2 Aug, 4.20– 5.25pm. £5. The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, 28 York Place, 558 7272. Preview of an ‘accidentally profound retrospectacle’ – an autobiographical one-person show about the life of third-gendered ex-catwalk model La JohnJoseph. Run continues until Sun 26 Aug. Part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Mr Braithwaite Has a New Boy Thu 2 Aug, 6.25–7.30pm. £10.50 (£8.50; children £8.50; seniors £8.50; students £8.50). C aquila, Roman Eagle Lodge, 2 Johnston Terrace, 0845 260 1234. A show about a rent boy and his lonely old patron, from Australia’s Out Cast Theatre. Described by one critic as ‘Queer as Folk meets Pretty Woman’. Run continues until Mon 27 Aug. Part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Craig Hill: Jock’s Trap Thu 2 Aug, 7.30–8.30pm. £7.50. Underbelly Bristo Square, Bristo Square, 08445 458252. Another slice of candid camp action from the witty Scotsman. Preview show, run continues until Mon 27 Aug. Part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe. FREE Dusty Limits: Post-Mortem – Free Thu 2 Aug, 8.15–9.15pm. Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 38 West Nicolson Street, 667 7533. Dark’n’dirty cabaret from vocalist Dusty Limits. Run continues until Sun 19 Aug. Part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Monstrous Acts Thu 2 Aug, 9.30– 10.35pm. £9.50 (£7.50). C aquila, Roman Eagle Lodge, 2 Johnston Terrace, 0845 260 1234. Fifteenth-century set tale of two prisoners, due to be executed for the most heinous of crimes, who find love and forgiveness in one another’s arms. Produced by Australian company Out Cast Theatre. Run continues until Mon 27 Aug. Part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Clubs FREE Frisky Disco Thursdays, weekly, 10pm–3am. GHQ, 4 Picardy Place, 0845 166 6024. Start the weekend early with DJ Dale with a frisky mix of funk and house. Nocturnal Disco Fridays & Saturdays, weekly, 10pm–3am. £4–£5. GHQ, 4 Picardy Place, 0845 166 6024. Pop, chart, vocal house and electro sounds. Fever Sat 21 Jul, 11pm–3am. £8. The Annexe at the Liquid Room, 9c Victoria Street, Entrance via Cowgate, 225 2564. DJs Fisher & Price (Taste) play an eclectic mix of the best underground dance music. FREE The Church of High Kicks Sundays, weekly, 4–9pm. CC Blooms, 23–24 Greenside Place, 556 9331. New daytime gay/mixed club session presided over by the delectable Jon Pleased Wimmin with a mix of house, pop, disco, new wave and trash tracks. Plus shows from The Fabulous Kickettes, a weekly talent show (with a £50 prize) and a ‘retro’ buffet. FREE Motown Hodown Sundays, weekly, 10pm–3am. GHQ, 4 Picardy Place, 0845 166 6024. Motown and funk from DJ Lynne. FREE Twisted Tuesdays Tuesdays, weekly, 10pm–3am. GHQ, 4 Picardy Place, 0845 166 6024. DJ JT plays commercial house, electro and chart tracks, plus giant jenga, twister, etc.
19 Jul–2 Aug 2012 THE LIST 65