Hello. I made a book! What is it about? Well, seeing as you asked…
They are three true tales from the last century. Three unexpected locations in the south-east of England. Three unique queer spaces you’ve probably never heard of…
The Hotel Roger Dee
Opened in 1972, it was one of the earliest UK hotels to be explicitly advertised as gay. Roger was a 60s cabaret artiste and would provide entertainment in his white catsuit, while partner David rustled up a mean creme de menthe at the bar. Possibly the strangest thing of all was that it was in Angmering, near Worthing!
The Magic Farm
Private parties in the late 1970s turned into almost festival-sized queer discos in the 1980s. It was a fruity farm indeed. As the parties got bigger the Medway Area Gay Independent Community (MAGIC) stepped in to organise things. Exactly who set up the darkened hayloft for gentlemanly pleasures is unclear, but people came from far and wide to drink, dance and erm, inspect the hay!
The Safari Bar
What happened when the café at a zoo was handed over to a bunch of gays in 1983? A fake fur fantasia, that’s what. The unlikely nature of this LGBT watering hole more than makes up for its rather brief existence. A word of warning – make sure you say ‘Hello Captain’ to the parrot or there will be all manner of trouble!
How and why?
Those are very good questions. The book began during lockdown when I started doing some online interviews to have some meaningful human contact. The interviews and research carried on for a couple of years, by which time I felt that the existence of these three community-created LGBT spaces deserved a wider audience – the world in fact! The tales are told through people’s own words, with almost 40 photographs, to help you step into the queer past that will appear before you. Enjoy!
I just want to order the damn book!
Gotcha! Sorry for the waffle. You can order The Magic Farm from the Colossive Press website, or from the bookshop of your choice with the ISBN: 978-1-3999-6787-7.