Blenheim Court, King & Queen Wharf, Londo

Located on the top floor of a traditionally built former wharf, this one bedroom apartment at King&Queen Wharf brings residents close to Rotherhithe’s maritime history.

With the doors open, the Juliet balcony works as an extension to the reception room.

Entering the recently renovated flat, a small hallway leads through into the bright reception room serving as an open plan combination of living and dining space.

The Juliet balcony allows for mild summer evenings to be spent outside, while enjoying the views over the River Thames and London’s skyline with its iconic glass-and-steel towers.

Dark flooring, light walls and ample daylight make the bedroom feel calm and open.

Matching the reception room in size, the neighboring bedroom has enough space for a double bed as well as small storage solutions; additional storage in the hall increases the available space.

A stylish kitchen makes effective use of all available space.

Renovated to the highest standard, the apartment comes with a modern, fitted kitchen: dark, wooden fronts, in combination with white worktops, cream-colored overhead storage and modern appliances, feels up-market and inviting.

A bright, modern bathroom with marble-optic tiles completes the property.

Expensive-looking tiles and modern fittings keep the bathroom in line with the flat’s overall character.

The apartment benefits from a 24-hour porter service and under floor heating throughout.

Residents also enjoy access to the residents-only leisure facilities, including a swimming pool, Jacuzzi and sauna, the communal garden and a secure underground parking space.

From its location on a peninsula on the Thames’ south bank, Rotherhithe faces Wapping and Limehouse.

Walkie Talkie, Cheesegrater, Gherkin: London’s iconic skyscrapers are always in sight.

The nearest stations are Rotherhithe, served by the London Overground, and Canada Water Underground Station served by the Jubilee line, both of which can be reached through a ten to 15-minute walk or via regular bus services.

Sold through Knight Frank, the property is priced at £525,000 (€711,303, $803,417).

The post Blenheim Court, King & Queen Wharf, Londo appeared first on Gay Star News.

Stefanie Gerdes

www.gaystarnews.com/article/blenheim-court-king-queen-wharf-londo/

Actor Darryl Stephens Talks Being Closeted In Hollywood And The Stonewall Controversy

It’s hard to believe that a gay actor on a gay TV series broadcast on a gay cable network would have to remain in the closet, but that’s exactly what Darryl Stephens felt he had to do for the two seasons Noah’s Arc was on the air. Stephens recently published a memoir titled Required Reading: How To Get Your Life For Good, that chronicles his experiences as an openly gay black actor in Hollywood. His time on the hit Logo TV series, as well as other stories about typecasting, self-loathing and acceptance, is detailed in the revealing book.

In an interview with Salon, Stephens discussed how he and his fellow Noah’s Arc cast members handled the press at the time. When asked about the agreement not to disclose sexual orientation with the media, Stephens explained, “When we made Noah’s Arc, every interviewer was asking: Are the actors gay or straight? Now, with Jack Falahee on How to Get Away with Murder, we know straight and gay actors can play straight or gay characters. It’s less an issue for the press.” He went on to reflect, “The culture is changing a lot, and you are seeing 12-13 year-olds coming out. There is no way I could have come out when I was that age.”

Throughout his experiences in the entertainment industry, Stephens found out fairly quickly that “everyone has an idea of what we should look like,” and learned to have a thick skin about the portrayal of black gay men in Tinseltown. This has helped shape his perspective on respectability politics. During the initial debates about Jeffrey Tambor, a straight male actor, playing a trans woman in the hit Amazon series Transparent, Darryl found himself thrown into the fray of the online discussions when he was tagged in a Facebook post by an activist.

“Whatever part of the movement we are engaged in right now, we need to be sensitive to their experience, even if it’s the rich Republican who can afford all this plastic surgery. It’s important not to negate the things we don’t understand because we don’t understand them.” Stephens synopsized, “Ultimately, what I think was problematic with that activist including me on that Facebook post, is that while I’m not trans, I have trans friends, and I have done the work to try to understand that experience.”

The backlash Roland Emmerich is experiencing over his film Stonewall was also touched upon during Stephens’ interview. Seeing both sides of the coin, the actor-writer stated, “A white man imagined a story of a white kid who experienced this moment in history. Why is it always through the gaze of a white man? But we can only represent that which we can see and what we experience.”

Stephens emphasized the need for queer people of color to keep telling their stories.

“It’s the importance of all of us sharing our stories. If the black trans person doesn’t tell their story, who will? It’s hard for Roland Emmerich to tell a black, trans story if he doesn’t know anyone to illuminate the details of that. It’s more about storytellers of color and transgender and female and overweight and differently-abled folks telling their individual stories so they can share in that knowledge. It boils down to the legacy we each want to leave.”

Jeremy Kinser

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Carly Fiorina: Kim Davis’ Defiance of SCOTUS Gay Marriage Ruling ‘Not Appropriate’ – LISTEN

Republican Presidential hopeful and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina has called Kentucky clerk Kim Davis’ defiance of the Supreme Court’s ruling on gay marriage “not appropriate.”

Speaking yesterday with radio talkshow host Hugh Hewitt, Fiorina also stressed that, in her eyes, “it’s clear religious liberty is under assault in many, many ways.” However, Fiorina notably did not label Davis’ case as one in which so-called ‘religious liberty’ is under attack. Rather, Fiorina suggested that Davis, in her role as county clerk for Rowan County, is a “arm of the government” and must adhere to the government’s “will” or else resign.

Via The Washington Blade: 

“When you are a government employee, I think you take on a different role,” Fiorina continued. “When you are a government employee as opposed to say, an employee of another kind of organization, then in essence, you are agreeing to act as an arm of the government.”

“And, while I disagree with this court’s decision, their actions are clear,” Fiorina said. “And so I think in this particular case, this woman now needs to make a decision of conscience — is she prepared to continue to work for the government, be paid for by the government in which case she needs to execute the government’s will, or does she feel so strongly about this that she wants to sever her employment with the government and go seek employment elsewhere where her religious liberties will be paramount over her duties as as government employee?”

“Given the role that she’s playing, given the fact that the government is paying her salary, I think that is not appropriate,” Fiorina said. “Now that’s my personal opinion. Others may disagree with that, but I think it’s a very different situation for her than someone in a hospital who’s asked to perform an abortion or someone at a florist who’s asked to serve a gay wedding. I think when you’re a government employee, you are put into a different position honestly.”

RELATED: Rand Paul: Kim Davis’ Protest Against Gay Marriage is ‘Part of the American Way’

Listen to Fiorina’s interview below:

The post Carly Fiorina: Kim Davis’ Defiance of SCOTUS Gay Marriage Ruling ‘Not Appropriate’ – LISTEN appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Carly Fiorina: Kim Davis’ Defiance of SCOTUS Gay Marriage Ruling ‘Not Appropriate’ – LISTEN

Op-ed: How Queer Fashion Is Changing the World

As she preps for a queer fashion show at the Brooklyn Museum, the editor in chief of a style site for masc women and trans individuals says clothes can change society.

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Anita Dolce Vita

www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/09/02/op-ed-how-queer-fashion-changing-world

Gay man in Ghana saved from mob beating by passing soldier

A young Ghanaian man has been rescued by an unlikely savior after he was lured into a park and beaten for being gay.

According to a report by Pulse.com.gh, Abdul Kadiri Mutawakil was invited to watch a football game by a friend in Kawukudi park near the town of Nima in the capital Accra on Sunday.

However when he got to the park he was ambushed by a mob of youths who began to beat him up, demanding that he confirm whether the rumors about his sexuality were true.

Mutawaki reportedly admitted his same-sex attraction and told his attackers that it was not something he chose or could have any control over. However this only angered the mob further and they began to beat him more severely.

At this point a passing soldier noticed the crowd beating Mutawaki and decided see what was happening.

He reportedly decided to get involved after he discovered that Mutawaki was being attacked solely for being gay and not for anything he had done to or with another person.

The soldier, who’s name has been withheld in the Ghanaian press, stepped in and stopped the mob and prevented the situation for escalating further.

The attack on Mutawaki comes only a few months after another attack on a gay man in Nima district.

That victim was beaten up and whipped before being forced to admit his sexual orientation on video camera.

Consensual homosexual acts are punishable with up to three years in prison under Ghanaian law – thought the offense is only considered a misdemeanour.

The post Gay man in Ghana saved from mob beating by passing soldier appeared first on Gay Star News.

Andrew Potts

www.gaystarnews.com/article/gay-man-in-ghana-saved-from-mob-beating-by-passing-soldier/

Transit Employee Refuses To Drive Rainbow Bus That Supports A “Radical Sexual Movement”

A bus driver in Calgary is having an absolute meltdown over the city’s new rainbow colored buses promoting this year’s Pride celebration.

Jesse Rau has been a driver for Calgary Transit for about a year now. He says his Christian beliefs forbid him for supporting homosexuality. Therefore, driving the rainbow bus would be a direct violation of his deeply held religious beliefs.

Related: Bus Driver Refuses To Board Bus With Sign Reading “Some People Are Gay. Get Over It!”

“I’m a Christian so, as a Christian, there are things like homosexuality that I just can’t condone,” Rau said during a press conference. “Unfortunately, we live in a culture where if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, the accusation is that you hate the person.”

Rau insists he’s not the only bus driver who feels this way.

“People are afraid to speak out against this radical sexual movement that’s happening for fear of leaving their job,” he claimed.

Related: Gay Couple Ejected From Chicago Bus For Kissing, Holding Hands

As a result of his stance, Rau says people are already out to get him. He claims a complaint was filed against him alleging that he had been texting while driving on the job, an allegation he refutes.

“I am very careful not to text while driving,” Rau said. “I am aware that public transit is a blessing to many and I always want to keep the people on my bus safe and secure.”

“I am being targeted for speaking out for my faith,” he added.

Related: “No Gays Allowed” Business Owner Learns There Are Consequences To Being A Hateful Bigot

But city manager Jeff Fielding has a different story to tell. He said he hasn’t received any formal complaints about Rau, nor has Rau approached anyone from management about not wanting to drive the rainbow bus.

“Anybody, at any point in time, can write me an email or make an appointment to see me,” Fielding said. “If these were issues of concern to them personally in terms of their own beliefs and practices, I would have dealt with it appropriately.”

Rau refuses to be intimidated by anyone. And he absolutely, positively will not drive the rainbow bus, even if it means getting fired.

“I have a family to support and I am very concerned about losing the job,” he said, “but when it goes against the most important things I stand for, or if I’m asked to compromise in such a big way for what I believe to be right, then I have to lose my job.”

Related: Creepy School Bus Driver Corners Kids, Lectures Them About The Evils Of Homosexuality

Graham Gremore

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Meet Four of The Advocate's Vanguard

The LGBTs at the cutting edge of business, science and technology, and activism.

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Advocate Contributors

www.advocate.com/print-issue/current-issue/2015/09/02/meet-four-advocates-vanguard

Dear American Christians, Kim Davis and your ‘martyrs’ are failing you

Kim Davis is on her way to martyrdom. Today the clerk from Kentucky defied every legal entity extending up through the Supreme Court and again denied marriage licenses to the same-sex couple wanting one.

She did so ‘under God’s authority’.

Her crusade could eventually land her with a year in jail for official misconduct.

The couple she has violated are forgiving. They have asked she only be penalized by fees. That won’t really work well for her agenda.

Kim is one of two clerks in Kentucky, both named Davis, that are the latest in a string of botched martyrs.

Casey Davis, the other clerk, has vowed to fight to the death – even though there is not a single person trying to kill him, who has hinted they’ll kill him, or even thought about killing him.

He is on a bike ride across the state in support of Kim Davis.

‘I cannot let my sister go to jail without my doing something to let others know about her plight,’ he states. (They are not blood related.)

Kim Davis’s quest for her ‘faith’ is at least a little more subtle. She has carried her cross up the stations of the US legal system and now seems eager to dive into her own crucifixion. I sent her a letter trying to persuade to be wary of the Liberty Counsel which is supposedly ‘supporting’ her and really profiting as they push her further down this path.

Even though the Bible does not address same sex marriage at all, and Jesus only comments on the issue of divorce, Kim Davis makes this claim: ‘I never imagined a day like this would come, where I would be asked to violate a central teaching of scripture and of Jesus himself regarding marriage.’

I have decided it is time to address, not them – been there, done that – but their followers.

Dear American Christian nation,

I am not addressing all Americans or even all Christian Americans. I am addressing those of you for which there is no separation of church and state in your mind. Those who ostracize all who you believe do not fit into your vision of a Christian nation.

We have an election going on, temporarily eclipsing even the Presidential. The bid to be seen as the biggest ‘Christian’ martyr, ready to ruin one’s life for God. It is time to scrutinize the candidates.

Every one is failing to uphold the very foundations this Christian nation is founded on.

The only requirement to be a candidate: Be extremely homophobic and seek to expel LGBTI people from anything resembling a decent, responsible life.

First we had the baker, the florist and the pizza maker.

The pizza maker’s martyrdom did not last long. They had insulted invisible people for a non-existent event. And they became instant millionaires – which disqualified them as martyrs.

The baker fell into a similar conundrum. They thought they had martyr’s pain over a $135,000 (€120,000) judgment against them, but then they got four times that amount in fundraising.

As riches filled their homophobic coffers, they cried ‘let them eat cake,’ and sent out free confections to all the people whose weddings for which they would have refused to bake.

If you can’t figure out when to bake or when not to bake, and you earned a big payoff, you’re not a martyr.

The florist’s quest for martyrdom wilted for lack of damage. She claimed loss of a vocation, home and all she held dear. The truth was a $2,000 (€1,770) fine and a finger wagging.

Those who don’t really get punished aren’t martyrs. They are drama queens.

There was also the Idaho wedding chapel guy who told everyone he was going to prison. He barely makes it on this list since nobody wanted to patronize him, no authorities questioned his action, no ordinances were violated, and no issues raised on how he was doing business.

If you have to beg to be harassed, you are not a martyr.

Then we have Kim and Casey Davis…

American Christian Nation, it is time to take a hard look at your players. They are not serving you well.

No one is being inspired to Christ due to their actions. No one is relating to some grand principle. All they see is cruelty to innocent people who want nothing more than to love who they love, and to be able to start their families with dignity.

Your martyrs are becoming objects of financial opportunism of a giant Hate Industry. This is not about following God, it is about following the money. Every year billions are used to attack other families so you can feel self-righteous.

Here is the really sad part. That money is only feeding your need to get at people you don’t know and don’t understand.

You are bankrolling this campaign of oppression that your grandchildren will come to mock and deride. They will, in years to come, wonder how anyone could have been so stupid.

It is mind-boggling to think what you could do if you focused on things Christ does care about. Like helping the sick, the unfortunate, the homeless and hurt.

It would change this from the age of the Wanna-be Martyr, to the age of Christian Miracles.

These are the choices God leaves up to you.

The post Dear American Christians, Kim Davis and your ‘martyrs’ are failing you appeared first on Gay Star News.

Rob Watson

www.gaystarnews.com/article/dear-american-christians-kim-davis-and-your-martyrs-are-failing-you/

First gay film to show in China theaters

Seek McCartney will become the first gay film to show in Chinese theaters later this year.

The Chinese/French co-production, starring popular singer Han Geng and award-winning actor Jérémie Elkaïm, passed censored in its entirety after a year of deliberation.

Director Wang Chao hailed the decision as ‘a small step for the regulator and a big step for filmmakers.’

‘It was not easy, but was delightful,’ he wrote on Weibo.

Another 2015 film, The Dead End, features a passionate kiss between two male actors and passed censors earlier this year.

But Film critic Cheng Qiusong said Seek McCartney was ‘China’s first film about a gay relationship in the true sense.’

Other LGBTI films such as Brokeback Mountain, although banned from cinemas, are available on video-streaming sites.

China’s media watchdog removed homosexuality from its list of pornographic and vulgar content in 2010.

The post First gay film to show in China theaters appeared first on Gay Star News.

Darren Wee

www.gaystarnews.com/article/first-gay-film-to-show-in-china-theaters/

'Old Redneck Hillbilly' Husband of Kim Davis Has a Warning for Nosey People

He may be her fourth husband but Joe Davis is the first in line to defend the antigay Kentucky Clerk. And for Davis, the number top of mind these days, is the number 2, as in the Second Amendment.

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Dawn Ennis

www.advocate.com/marriage-equality/2015/09/02/old-redneck-hillbilly-husband-kim-davis-has-warning-nosey-people