Blackpool Showtown

We started at Manchester Piccadilly, with others joining on route, arriving in Blackpool North just before 12.00 noon. It was a short walk to the Layton Rakes – one of four Wetherspoon’s pubs in the town.

After lunch we had the opportunity for a short walk on the prom – Blackpool’s seafront – before our welcome to Showtown.

Showtown opened in March this year and is Blackpool’s brand new all-singing, all-dancing museum, next door but one to Blackpool Tower!

We discovered the stories of the comedians, dancers, acrobats and characters who turned the resort into the home of show business.

The six galleries showcase the very best of the seaside, magic, circus, Illuminations, shows and dance.

There was so much to see – see photos here.

We’re Still Here

This project is the first permanent collection of LGBTQIA+ heritage in Blackpool.

Oral history stories from members of the community have been recorded and are available here.

As part of the We’re Still Here… project photographer Stuart Linden Rhodes has exhibited some of his images from Blackpool’s gay scene in the 90’s outside the Grundy Art Gallery. The exhibition is open until 11 June 2024.

Ghost screenwriter comes out as gay at 81

Bruce Joel Rubin, the screenwriter who penned 1990’s Ghost, has come out publicly as gay.

“I’ve never not been gay,” Rubin, 81, said. “I am fully gay, and I always knew it.”

The Oscar winner recently published a memoir, It’s Only a Movie, in which he revealed his sexuality publicly for the first time. “I don’t like that I was closeted for so long, but it would just have confused people.”

That’s because Rubin has been married to a woman for close to 50 years. His wife, Blanche, has known that he was gay since shortly after they met. Rubin kept his sexuality mostly “internalised” because at the time he didn’t know how to come out.

Rubin says the couple have had what he describes as a “conjoined relationship” with another man. “She had a private moment with him, and so did I,” he says. “Also, I had a few other things along the way, which I didn’t write about because they might embarrass people. It’s not like I’ve been dead to that world. But I’m happily gay.”

Rubin and Blanche remain married, and he says he’s recently come out to their children and grandchildren. “I didn’t want to leave this world with any secrets,” he explained.

But now Rubin is “happily gay” and enjoying embracing his sexuality in his later years. “When you hit your 80s and you think your libido is gone, it comes flying back,” he says. “Male beauty for me is overwhelmingly powerful. Just seeing someone in the supermarket, I feel this explosive joy.”

Barclays Bank Branches

Barclays Bank branches throughout the UK will be showing the campaign films from 2023 (filmed by Punch) across June to mark Pride Month 2024. This should give some great exposure to our amazing stories and the Pride in Ageing programme across June.