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If Cath Kidston, Björk and Misty from Pokemon all got together to design a bar, it’d probably look a bit like this. Goldfish swim confusedly around a bowl, in a bar festooned with fake foliage, prone Barbies, and all sorts of other kitchy nonsense. Going inside is a bit like going underwater. That alleyway just next to Anne Summers at the end of Old Compton Street. Secret Gay Bars: The Grapes ¨After hundreds of different landlords, THE Grapes is now joint-owned by none other than Sir Ian McKellen!¨įriendly Society is on what is affectionately known to locals (Lady Lloyd) as “ sex alley”.
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After hundreds of different landlords, it’s now joint-owned by none other than Sir Ian McKellen! The Grapes’ interior and general atmosphere are steeped in history, and Ian’s lent a wonderful queer slant to proceedings. Catherine of Aragon sipping a blue WKD, bobbing her head along to a bit of Madonna. It’s old enough, that Henry V’s wives could have gone there. That’s older than Maisie Trollette! Just. The current building dates back to the 1720s, and it’s on the site of a pub built in 1583. All of my oldest friends in London I've met and had drinks with in Retro.Clinging determinedly onto the end of a row of terraces in Limehouse, The Grapes is one of the oldest pubs in London. Worried about the rumours that Kings Arms, Retro Bar and Admiral Duncan, three top LGBT+ pubs in London, are to close.
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Took this pic, post-McKellan-as-Lear with my NYC sister We got lashed + discussed Michael Clark with Jeffrey Hinton. The Retro Bar was the last queer corner of the West End that felt like a sanctuary from corporate, bland gay toss elsewhere. Let's hope a new owner can fund the re-opening in the future so future generations can enjoy it. More than ever we need LGBTQ+ safe spaces, spaces to be ourselves and remember our history. Seeing rumours that the Admiral Duncan, Soho may be facing closure for good. Hundreds of LGBT+ Londoners shared their support for the Admiral Duncan, the Kings Arms and Retro Bar as rumours circulated regarding their futures. To lose these spaces, they said, would be to lose part of queer history itself. London’s queer venues suffered a decade of decline from 2006 to 2017 before stabilising, City Hall said last year, but the pandemic has thrown the futures of many into jeopardy.Īs much as queer bars in London are facing the same challenges as countless other bars and pubs shuttered in recent months, for the LGBT+ community, the uncertainty is more than a business dilemma. “I can’t see how they’ll survive without governmental support.” ‘More than ever we need LGBTQ+ safe spaces, spaces to be ourselves and remember our history.’ “As the pressure mounts for London to enter complete lockdown again, the potential loss of revenue during November and December will be a phenomenal hit for these venues,” Steve Wardlaw, co-founder and chair of insurance provider Emerald Life, told PinkNews. “The outlook revision reflects the heightened trading uncertainty due to the evolving roll out of regional lockdowns under the UK government’s tiered approach,” the agency said on a blog post. On Monday (October 26), credit rating agency FitchRatings decreased Stonegate Pub’s long-term issuer rating, a scale used by investment professionals to assess the likelihood of debt repayment, from “stable” to “negative”. Lamé has described the 10pm curfew as “ unfair“, referring to data from the Public Health England that just 2.7 per cent of COVID-19 cases have been linked to hospitality venues by the country’s Test and Trace service. LGBT+ publicans and club-owners have warned throughout the pandemic that amid wilting profit-margins, increasingly threadbare budgets and government fiscal support that often leapfrogs over them, the future of queer spaces is shaky at best. LGBT+ venues battle high rents, little-to-no income and an ‘unfair’ curfew.