Bee Corner

After a bee-utiful lunch in Manchester city centre, we made a beeline for Bee Corner, an urban beekeeping experience, tucked away bee-hind Islington Mill in Salford. As luck would hive it, a bus came straight away.

I know I’m just winging it, but bee puns are good for your health. It’s true: they give you a dose of vitamin Bee! OK, I’m pollen your leg.

Our host, Amber and her team, really looked after us – you’d better bee-lieve it. We started off with refreshments before donning our protective outfits and visiting the hives.

The experience is very “hands on” and Amber is very knowledgeable. We bought some Salford honey, and If truth bee told, this trip is un-bee-table.

And now Culture Corner – a poem and a riddle:

The Last Bee

After the last ee
had uzzed its last uzz,

the irds and the utterflies
did what they could.

ut soon the fields lay are,
few flowers were left,

nature was roken,
and the planet ereft.

Poem by rian ilston

What music do bees like?

If you answered Bee-thoven, Bee-yoncé, The Bee-tles, The Bee Gees, Justin Bee-ber or Sting, give yourself a point.

Some fantastic photos can bee seen here.

The perfect party to make your Eurovision week go with a boom bang a bang!

Join the gorgeous Angel Delight, for an evening of singalongs, card games, bongo bingo, music quizzes and lots of surprises, all with an added Eurovision sparkle!

Doors open at 7.30pm. Bar will be open all evening. Over 18’s only

Wednesday, 10 May 2023 8.00pm

Register here for Angel Delight’s Eurovision Drag Party

Manchester Central Library

Will King Charles III address LGBT+ rights?

In a solemn ceremony the Archbishop of Canterbury anointed Charles III king.

What will be the new king’s stance on the issues that impact the LGBT+ communities? Queen Elizabeth’s 70-year reign saw transformative changes in the UK, including major laws that advanced LGBT+ rights including the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967 and the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act in 2014.

However, the late queen avoided commenting publicly on LGBT+ rights. She kept herself out of social and political issues, and it seems that LGBT+ rights, even in the 21st century, were considered just that.

LGBT+ rights advocates in the UK, and in the Commonwealth of Nations that the king will now head, are waiting to see if he will be more vocal about LGBT+ rights. Charles has largely followed in Queen Elizabeth’s footsteps, and there is no record of him speaking on LGBT+ rights.

For the transgender community, especially in Scotland, which passed an updated Gender Recognition Law only to have it blocked by the conservative government, barring it being signed into law by the king in the process known as “royal assent,” the king remaining silent has become problematic according to LGBT+ rights advocates.

Same-sex relations remain illegal in many countries once colonised by Britain — many of which now form the Commonwealth.

Obviously, things don’t happen instantly. You can’t change a culture and people’s way of thinking over night. Homophobia is one of the many lingering legacies of the British Empire, which carried over into the Commonwealth of Nations headed first by Elizabeth and now by her eldest son.

Around the world LGBT+ people are outlawed by legislation criminalising same-sex sexual activity and through so-called ‘cross dressing’ laws and public order offences, which disproportionately affect trans people.

Many of these laws remain virtually unchanged since they were first introduced in the 19th century. Throughout Elizabeth’s reign, as the British Empire gradually fell away and was replaced by the Commonwealth, many of those former British colonies — now independent countries, have begun working to recant anti-LGBT+ laws.

While some, such as Uganda where a draconian law was passed to essentially imprison LGBT+ people, there have also been advances. Recently the premier of Australia’s Victoria state castigated anti-LGBT+ groups and in New Zealand lawmakers recently banned so-called conversion therapy and recognised self-identity for trans New Zealanders.

LGBT+ rights across the Commonwealth are changing rapidly, though unevenly. It is hugely important that the government owns up to the nation’s past. Given this legacy, the UK has an important role in supporting LGBT+ people around the world.

The question now is as Charles takes the throne and the reins of both the monarchy and the Commonwealth, will the king remain silent or speak out?

Pride on the Range

Whalley Range Pride features a parade, music, entertainment galore, a dog show and loads more!

Meet at the Nip & Tipple, Upper Chorlton Road, Whalley Range, Manchester at 11.30am, Saturday 27 May followed by various events at The Carlton Club.