g7uk » gay village

Interview with Julia Grant (video)

GS — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 03:47:54 +0000

A 70-minute interview with legendary Manchester gay village business woman Julia Grant.

A decade ago, Julia Grant was one of the best-known business owners in Manchester’s gay village and an outspoken voice in both the LGBT and mainstream media.

After Mardi Gras 1999 raised nothing at all for good causes, she ran the successful and free-to-enter GayFest for two years. But, some people — including local councillors and Manchester City Council — weren’t happy at all.

Unexpectedly, in 2002, Julia sold Hollywood Showbar and her other businesses and left. Despite rumours and malicious gossip since then, she didn’t speak out in public.

Now, in this exclusive interview Julia Grant reveals the LGBT history that you won’t see at the current Manchester Pride exhibition at The Lowry gallery. Plus she recalls the events that drove her out of the city.

This was recorded on 10 July 2011 during the Sparkle weekend.

Note: eventually, when time allows, archive photos, video and other media will be added to this interview.

Wynnie LaFreak delivers a letter on behalf of the Facebook group ‘Facts about Manchester Pride’ (video)

GS — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 15:05:16 +0000

In the absence of any official public forums or public meetings, we set up a group on Facebook to discuss the facts and changes people would like to see at Manchester Pride.

The questions were put in a letter and on Friday 8th April 2011 Manchester’s premier drag queen Wynnie LaFreak delivered it to Pride HQ in person. You can see what happened in this video.

Read the letter here (PDF).

LINKS

Facebook group

Message board

Wynnie LaFreak

Eight held after stabbing on Canal Street

GS — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 08:54:26 +0000

Eight men have been arrested after a man was stabbed in Manchester’s gay village.

BBC

Manchester’s gay village topped the city centre league for violent crime again in January

GS — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 02:42:10 +0000

The crime level street map for January shows that the gay village was again the worst spot in the whole city centre for violent crime (orange).

The village was the top spot for anti-social behaviour too (blue). I’ll let the map showing all crimes (grey) speak for itself…

You can see December’s stats in my post here.

Check out these and other stats on the Police.UK website.

By searching with a postcode you can check crime details for any area. The website also gives information about your local policing team and beat meetings.

Crime level street maps reveal Manchester’s gay village is the worst part of the city centre for violent crime

GS — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 07:47:29 +0000

The government’s new crime level street maps show that Manchester’s gay village was the worse hot-spot for violent crime in the whole city centre in the month of December.

Pride charity money given to the Village Business Association

GS — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 20:54:16 +0000

The origins of Manchester Pride go back to 1990 when an August Bank Holiday event was set up by several of the gay businesses. The aim being to raise money for good causes – particularly for those connected with HIV and AIDS.

So it’s quite extraordinary to hear that, this year, the opposite has happened; some of the money raised by Manchester Pride has been handed to the Village Business Association (VBA) – the body that represents businesses in and around Canal Street.

While many charities face cuts and a fall in income due to the economic situation, and some community projects get no financial support whatsoever, the VBA has received £4,000 which will go towards the cost of putting up a decorative arch at both ends of Canal Street.

This sum won’t cover the entire cost of the project. But luckily Manchester City Council has some spare money.

At the same time as it announces it has been left with no option but to make 2,000 job cuts, the City Council has been able to find £8,000 to put towards this project.

It’s being described as an ‘arts project’ and the arches may look something like the structure in nearby Chinatown. But some people who bought tickets for Manchester Pride or put money into a collection bucket must wonder if this is an appropriate use of the charity fund.

Also, as news is announced that no less than three venues are threatened with closure, they might wonder whether charity money is being used to try and shore up the profits of businesses in the gay village.

Gay village residents mount legal challenge over street closure during Manchester Pride

GS — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:16:16 +0000

I understand that residents in Manchester’s gay village area have mounted a legal challenge over the closure of streets during the annual Manchester Pride ‘Big Weekend’. Since 2003 the area has been fenced off over the August Bank Holiday — from Friday evening until the early hours of Monday morning.
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Canal Street — August Bank Holiday Monday 1990

GS — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 02:06:10 +0000

I shot these photographs exactly twenty years ago today, on August Bank Holiday Monday 1990. This is how the Manchester Pride that we either love or loathe started off (although the word 'pride' wasn't used in the name until 2003).
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Pet snatched from gay village and BBC reporter attacked

GS — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:08:39 +0000

I saw this sad little poster in Sackville Park about a pet dog that is believed to have been ‘snatched’ from the Park by three people.
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LGBTory event in the gay village is met with protests (video)

GS — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:29:38 +0000

The Conservative party conference is taking place in Manchester at the moment and last night Spirit Bar on Canal Street was the venue for their LGBTory event. The first-ever official conference Pride event.
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