Following on from the last post focusing on camping, I thought it might be fun to explore the preparation for the coming festival-packed summer of fun ahead.

Whether you’re a camping enthusiast the rest of the year or prefer your breaks with a little more luxury, many of us venture out under canvas for at least a few nights in the summer when miniature cities spring up all over the country for a weekend of live music.

But of course, it’s not all about camping. There’s plenty more to consider before loading up your car and heading out hoping to relive your parents’ Woodstock stories – though perhaps with a little less chemical enhancement!

The necessities

There are a few things that we all absolutely need when we’re considering camping in a field with a few thousand other revelers, and they’re not your hair curlers or your laptop.

• Condoms. Yes, it’s shocking, thousands of people at festivals hook up, and many go tent-hopping for the weekend. You don’t want to be caught in that predicament of really wanting that boink but having to go hunting around the festival shops at 3am looking a box of rubbers.

• Wipes. Not all festivals have showers on site, and even when they are offered they are often out of order, very limited or far too busy. Having some damp wipes to give yourself a quick bath in your tent is preferable to having everyone around you asking what that smell is.

• Antihistamines. Most of us travel a few miles out of town to go to these events, and some of us even leave the country for a really good festival. While you might not have allergy symptoms at home, going to a new area with different plant life and possibly even a completely different climate can often surprise you with allergic reactions. Not everyone needs it, just ensure one person in your group has some.

• Sun Block. It might seem obvious, but plenty of people forget it, or think they’ll get it when they arrive. The next thing they know they’re waking up after their first afternoon drinking session of the festival severely burned and unable to move.

• Duct Tape. This is a lifesaver for those who unpack their tent to find a mouse has used a corner of it to raise their young, or when they poke one of the poles through the canvas in a drunken rage of ineptitude. Once that tent has a hole, you will be waking up either damp with dew or drowning after a sudden shower. A little duct tape is all that’s needed to make it good for the rest of the trip.

• Tissue/Toilet Paper. This stuff is like gold at a festival. Sellers know people need it and will charge extortionate prices if they have the chance. Make sure your group has enough to last you.

• Energy Sweets. Many festivals now give these out completely free in the UK, because they know that after a day or two people tend to start skipping bands and sticking by the tent while they recover from the night before. These little sweets can be all you need to get that energy back and get into the mood again.

• Cash. Even if the festival has a cashless system, you never know what might happen. You need to make sure you have enough cash to be able to travel at least a few miles to civilization if you absolutely have to.

Veterans advice

As someone who has been festivalling for more than nine years, I do feel like a bit of a veteran, and there are a few things I have picked up along the way which might be of use to the festival noob.

• Bandanna. If you have ever used a toilet at a festival you will probably know this little tip. If you have a bandanna or scarf, spray a little deodorant on it and cover your face before you enter that “pit of doom” and you’ll save yourself from either passing out through holding your breath, or passing out thinking about what travels with smells. Thankfully, the Victorians worked out that smells don’t generally make you ill. But it took them a while and we’re still not totally there.

• Valuables. Most festivals now offer a locker for a small fee. This is great, but it would be better if people didn’t bring expensive gadgets to show off. What do you need an iPhone for when a cheap disposable phone does the same? When sleeping, put all valuables inside the bottom of your sleeping bag, and make sure anyone you invite into your tent isn’t able to take any souvenirs with them when they leave. But maybe give them some underwear to remember you by if you’re that nice :)

• Sex. Perhaps not surprisingly, most people are open to experimenting at festivals. While you could join festival websites and meet other gay attendees you could visit with on site, you’d actually not have that much of a difficult time hitting on random people. Most won’t immediately be uninterested, if only because they feel they SHOULD be more daring. They might be straight or only slightly, privately, curious in their everyday life, but at a festival something strange happens and horniness often takes over.

• Neighbors. I have met so many fantastic and interesting people at festivals. The people who are camping around you are not just people, they are your neighbors if even for a short time. And you’re at the same event, so chances are good that you have a lot in common. Get to know them on the first day and you’ll probably find you have a very large crowd of fantastically funny people to party with for the entire stay.

Gay or straight, the festival experience is an amazing one, full of fun and excitement and new experiences. All it takes is a little common sense, an attitude of adventure and some incredible weekends can be had as a result. The summer is a time to get out there and enjoy everything there is for life to offer. Enjoy it, because very soon the snow and ice will return and we’ll all be locked up inside by the fire once again, dreaming of what we’ll do when the sun comes back.

Whether you’re looking to rough it or plan on “glamping”, complete with proper bedding and a full kitchen, smart planning will make for a shiny happy outdoor adventure. Planning, packing and finding a queer friendly camp site to make sure your weekend in the woods is all good fun is key. You can choose gay owned or gay friendly campgrounds, look for private lesbian friendly campsites or opt for a queer camping adventure. You might also just take your chances on state parks or other campgrounds, but don’t count on a liberal and comfortable environment depending upon where you opt to camp. Options are available whether you opt for tent camping or your RV.

A good camping trip starts with planning. Consider who you’re camping with and everyone’s preferences when you decide between a tent and car-camping, a backwoods trip, or a comfy rented RV for the weekend. If she’s partial to four star hotels and you like roughing it with nothing but a bed roll, you’re going to have to find a middle ground to manage a trip that you can both enjoy. Even if you have to pack light, be sure to cover the essentials…like coffee. Most of us aren’t experienced enough for a backwoods camping trip or willing to spend the money on an RV, so need to find a campground with comfortable amenities, a welcoming atmosphere and hot showers.

If you’re looking for a lesbian-friendly campground, try gaycampers.com or campgayusa.com for listings of gay and lesbian owned or glbt friendly campsites. Keep in mind that some gay-friendly campsites are men-only. If you’re not sure, call before you plan your trip. There are a few women-only campsites scattered around the country if you’d prefer that environment. Keep in mind that some of these may be clothing optional or adult only, so might not be right if you’re camping with kids (or might be perfect if you’re looking for a relaxing and grown-up getaway). Take a look at colage.org resources forcamps if you’re hoping for a family camp out option or a summer camp for the young lesbian in your life (camps for kids with queer parents are also available).

Try an old fashioned summer camp adventure for adults, complete with swimming, arts and crafts and campfires at one of the gay and lesbian camp outs around the country. Camp Camp in Maine offers a traditional week at summer camp for gays and lesbians, while the somewhat controversial Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival remains a classic lesbian camping choice. Pride weekends around the country will offer companionship at gay-friendly campgrounds.

Facebook caused global controversy recently when they decided, in all their infinite wisdom, to remove a photograph of two men kissing after it was flagged by some homophobes as being “offensive”. The moderator in question didn’t seem to see a problem with obeying the vocal minority who have a warped sense of reality and promptly complied, removing the said image from a page.

Conveniently, this story also ties in to my previous report on the homophobic incident in London, where two young men were evicted from a Soho pub by the landlord and landlady for being “obscene” and daring to share a kiss.

The page on Facebook was a blog entry by Richard Metzger, commenting on the incident. Want to see the offending pic?

I know! Disgusting isn’t it? How dare someone post such a “sexually suggestive” image on Facebook, and on a blog post about gay rights too!

It’s actually quite funny to think that a post about gay rights and homophobia toward a male couple kissing was targeted in this way by the Facebook staff. It’s not quite irony, but close to it.

The Sexually suggestive element of this image is purportedly what Facebook objected to, although I fail to see why this is any more sexually suggestive than any one of the billions of images there must already be on Facebook of heterosexual couples kissing. So is it only sexually suggestive if the couple are both male? How about if it were two women, I wonder how that would be viewed by the almighty overseers at FB?

Never fear though, because the gay community and their friends are here to help out when our clan is being abused unjustly. Before you could utter the words a-moderator-lost-their-job-today thousands of copies of the image flooded FB profiles and pages in protest at the move, forcing FB staff to eventually back down and apologize for what they called an error.

In what could be considered an unemotional retraction (perhaps even reluctant?) FB staff released an official statement on the matter, suggesting ““The photo in question does not violate our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and was removed in error. We apologise for the inconvenience.”

Well, in more emotive speak I would like to say SUCK MY BALLS FB!

A royal cock-up like that requires a little more than an unfeeling response after being pressured into making a U-turn.

What I would have expected would have been something along the lines of… “We are terribly sorry for this unfortunate incident. It was not our intention to suggest that we supported homophobia. While it is clear that some members of our vast staff may be considerably backward and unenlightened, FB itself supports diversity and equality. To adequately display our regret and assert our support for the GLBT community globally, we have made a $1m donation to Amnesty International in the names of the two gentlemen at the heart of this story.”

But no, apparently their PR people are paid less than that idiotic moderator responsible for this fiasco!

What do you think, were FB right to remove it? Should their apology have had more meat on the bones? Will a squirrel fall from a tree if you hit the trunk with a hammer?

There are certain places you might not want to go to in the UK if you happen to be a little, shall we say, “flamboyant”. But a pub in the heart of the capital, surrounded by passing gay customers is not somewhere you’d expect to be confronted by a splash of homophobic sentiment.

It might be fair to expect a little icy attitude in a mining town or a rural farming pub, but not in the capital of our country, surely?

For those who don’t know, Soho in London is the capital-of-the-capital when it comes to the gay scene. It’s right up there with Camden for the alternative and liberal. This little area of our fabulous city is the place we all go whenever we’re in town. In the summer it is the epicenter of everything in gay culture, pretty much.  The music is pumping, the men are often shirtless and the women are ogled by all the straight locals as they enjoy a cuddle on the grass.

The place is packed with bars and restaurants, and the majority display insignia and rainbow colors to signify their welcoming attitude. Statements like “Gay Friendly” and “Gay Owned and Operated” are not uncommon, because it makes sense to appeal to your largest target audience, doesn’t it?

The Landlord and Landlady of the John Snow pub in Broadwick street Soho don’t seem to think so. They must have so many customers that they can afford to throw out the poof’s and the queen’s. Or perhaps they just missed a marketing for dummies seminar that they really should have attended?

They certainly don’t seem too bothered about letting down their operator – the Samuel Smith Brewery – through embarrassment and the inevitable negative press this will gain them.

It all began late one night as two cute boys on their first date chose to stop by in the John Snow for a drink after their enjoyable dinner. Johnathan Williams and James Bull had been having a thoroughly nice evening by the sounds of things, nice enough to enjoy a little snogging at their table. Cheeky fellas.

Now what would normally be considered uneventful in a London pub – in Soho – appears to have upset the off-duty Landlord (is that like an off-duty cop?) who interrupted the pair and asked them to stop because they were “bothering him”. How seeing two people kissing can bother a person is anyones guess. Perhaps the fella was jealous, who knows?

They ignored the unhappy chappy and continued their drink, enjoying another peck on the lips before heading off, only to be confronted again by a woman in branded uniform claiming to be the landlady. Apparently she advised them that they had to leave because they were being obscene.

After leaving (while being guided by hands on lapels, no less!) a Police report was filed. It later emerged that a couple (straight no less!) were also asked to leave shortly after for daring to question the Landlord and Landlady’s attitude!

Wow, it’s a double whammy of professional ineptitude isn’t it?

The witnesses to this (lets call it what it is) bigotry, have stated that no one else seemed to mind the young male couple loving it up, all except for this one man, and apparently his partner too.

Despite the nastiness of the Pub staff, it’s refreshing to see another couple stepping forward to show their support. They didn’t have to say anything about it, they could have just done what many others do when they see racism, homophobia or general bigotry and just pretended it wasn’t happening. But they didn’t, they stood up for them.

And that is the Soho I know and love!

I guess it might be wise for the Samuel Smith Brewery to hire an expensive PR company in an effort to rectify the damage – this only happened on Wednesday 13th, but the damage to brand and reputation is spreading fast!

With just over two months until Soho is inundated with us “Obscene” people celebrating Gay Pride, they couldn’t have chosen a worse time to reveal their homophobia. The first week of July should be one of their busiest weeks of the year, and I have a feeling it won’t be.

If you happen to be attending this year, join me and we’ll pop in just to tell them that we’re heading to the Admiral Duncan instead :)

No jokes about finding gay skeletons in a closet. Although that’s quite deep and could spawn a meaningful story of youth lost through fear, that’s not what this is all about. I’ll save that for a later date.

A 5,000-year-old skeleton has been uncovered in the Czech Republic which seems to suggest that the remains were that of a gay man, transsexual or a male otherwise viewed by his society as female.

No, there were no feather boas, no male nurse uniform or hair stylist implements. Rather, researchers suggest that the burial of the body reflects traditions more associated to female members of society than males.
So here’s the “facts” part (which you should read instead of just taking my word for it)

Males were traditionally buried with food and drink (no beer cans reported as of yet), weapons and hunting tools, and their bodies laying on their right side with their heads facing West. Whereas women were buried on their left side facing East, surrounded by jewellery, their pets (which is really creepy, did they die together on the morning poop walk?) and cooking vessels. Notably, females were buried with an egg shaped container near their feet. Although not many of the typical items expected to be found with a female were present in this grave, there were no male-associated implements or offerings there either, only an egg shaped vessel.

Now it seems that no one really knows what that egg shaped thing means. But as they are traditionally buried with women, is it not fair to assume that this symbolises a mother figure? Someone noticed that birds lay eggs, they care for those eggs until they hatch and they are suddenly a mother. Therefore it’s fair to guess that this is where that egg shaped thing comes from, am I right?

Does this show that they had some confusion when deciding whether this person was male or female, or does it perhaps depict their place in society? It seems that this guy was not seen as a warrior or fighter, and it seems there were no hunting skills here either. So what did he do? What was his place in society?

You might not think it’s important. I mean, how does this minor discovery affect any of us? But there is at least one way in which this nameless guy can help us…

Think of the next time you meet a bigot. And now instead of using the same old “Look at the Romans” you can go back even further and say “Look at the Czechoslovakian cavemen!”

Okay, so it doesn’t quite have the same power, but it does show that the roles of gay people in society have always been on the mind. Even 5,000 years ago they were perhaps debating the role of gender and sexuality in society, and by the looks of things they were accepting it too. This man obviously had his place, he was respected enough to have equality, and there probably wasn’t even a fight to gain it. You’d think that if homosexuality was a punishable offence 5,000 years ago, this guy certainly wouldn’t have been buried with respect. In fact he would probably not have lived much beyond his teenage years.

I think that what it should remind us of most of all, is that – if this man was gay, which we don’t really KNOW (lets not out him just yet) – sexuality was never really a problem for numerous societies throughout the history of Mankind. Whether it’s a tribe in South America who encourage male mutual masturbation as a form of bonding, or the Greek warriors fighting alongside their male lovers while their wives worried at home, many societies throughout history never really considered what was right or wrong when it came to sex.

So when did things change? When did we suddenly “socially devolve” and decide that the right to sleep with another adult was open to public discussion and judgement?

Yep, I think we all know the answer to that, don’t we?

Dating and hook-up sites have been around for a while now and there are loads of them to choose from when you want to join an online community and maybe find that special person. I have to admit that I’d never heard of Zoosk (just their Facebook ads) before and so I thought I would give it a trial run. I started with the first basic page and followed the procedure for joining; and I thought you might be interested to know how it all works.

Its one of those sites where you need to register before you can do anything, but it took all of one minute to do this and cost me nothing. Enter a valid email address and make up a password, you get a validation email sent to you straight away, you click that, you go back to a new page and enter the two words, by way of a further anti-spam/hack measure, and there you go, you’re in.

So, step one was simple and fast. Step two was slightly more involved and here is where it is important to remember the number one rule of joining a dating/hook-up site: be honest. There is no point in putting you details down in such a way that you appear to be some kind of Greek good, or goddess, when you’re not – it will only lead to disappointment later. The first page of details is a simple one with the basics like your name, the name you want to be known by, your age and basic stats, and the ‘match’ you are looking for – this is a site for gay, straight, and bi folk, all sexualities are welcome. Some fields are required here, you have to fill them out, others are not and you can even skip the page if you want to. I won ‘two Zoosk Coins; for logging in, but as I’d not seen any other details about the site yet I had no idea what that meant.

Now you run through the other parts of the setting up process, your location, more about you, you can download a chat player for later use, you can upload photos, put down what your likes and dislikes are, tell your story and put in some answers to the ‘ice breakers’ questions, to give some more background., All this goes on your ‘date card.’

So far the process had been easy and simple and you can miss it all out if you simply want to explore the site. Finally getting round to the home page (I did have to set my location before I could do that), I had a search option already set for me, but I could change it, there was news on recent community posts, and some boxes showing me my profile status. There wasn’t much else here as the location I had chosen was obviously a quiet one, there were no local events posted, but had I been in, say, London there may have been loads. But I tried the search, to see if there was anyone else registered within 30 kilometres of where I lived. There were! (Exclamation mark because I am very remote.)

And what was nice here was that Zoosk works like a cross between a standard dating site and something like Facebook – I could send winks, and gifts, chat privately and send private emails. There are also various other ways to search, you’ve got a private email box, plenty of help and even safety tips for blind dating, you can report profiles and abuse, and there is a forum.

It’s all rather new here but obviously growing fast due to the free sign up – I wondered how they made their money, and then noticed that you can upgrade for premium services, have more activity and get further involved, but the prices were very reasonable.

But what I liked most about Zoosk, compared to other dating sites, is that it was well designed, easy to use and fast, and I found members who fitted my ‘match’ locally, and, considering where I live, that really is saying something.