February 2004 |
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Now, there's something I haven't done in ages. I went to the Skin Party at Headquarters. Yeah, yeah, it's a filthy sleazy sex venue, but then I'm a filthy sleazy kinda guy at times. I was a bit worried at first because when I arrived there were about 20 very unattractive men there. I should have held off another hour as it was a nice sunny day and all the cute boys were at the beach. Mind you, I end up meeting a cute 21 year old swimmer who seemed to take a liking to me. In fact, we were together for the whole time I was at Headquarters, occasionally hunting together for others. I also spent some time with a rather nice muscle boy in his 30's who seemed happy to spend his time on his knees in front of me with his hands locked behind his back. I didn't get his number, dammit. February marks the start of Mardi Gras month here in Sydney and Greig and I marked the start of Mardi Gras by attending the Launch ceremony in Hyde Park in the centre of the city. There were thousands of boys and girls there and we managed to position ourselves so that we could say hello to most of them as they walked past. We sat on a rug sipping We staggered out of there when it finished at 11pm and zig-zagged down the road to City Gym where we insisted that Jimi drive us home. Kirk, a friend who moved to London almost 2 years ago has also arrived in Sydney bringing his new English boyfriend with him. I'm told that on the day they arrived, Will (the boyfriend) commented that so long as the weather didn't get any hotter than it was when they arrived, then he would be fine. That was 8 o'clock in the morning, so he was in for a shocker. We've been having some great summer weather here lately with the temperatures getting up to 44 degrees in the west of Sydney. We had dinner with Kirk and Will on a Saturday night in a rather nice Thai restaurant in Newtown. Some alcohol was consumed and a good time was had by all. Actually, we started the evening off with drinks at what remains of the Newtown Hotel, a gay pub in Newtown. It's not quite the same as it was in it's hey-day. After dinner we wandered down to the Imperial Hotel, another gay pub that's only claim to fame is that the opening scenes of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert were filmed there. Now, ten years later, the pub is still milking it for all it's worth with the regular Priscilla, Queen of the Desert drag shows. A quick scan around the room shows that it is now the favoured party place for girls "hens nights". Downstairs, in the cellar bar, the dance floor was just about empty. It reminded me that the last time I was there was for Peter Gatt's wake after he died in 2002. Petey was the resident DJ there and used to pack the dance floor. Anyway, after quite a few of the Imperial Hotel's watered down drinks we bounded out the door and headed home, none worse for wear. On the way we dropped Kirk and Will off at Oxford Street. As they got out of the car, they told us of their agreement that they would be in bed by 3am on every night of their holiday, except for the actual Mardi Gras Party nights. The next day was Mardi Gras Fair Day. Greig went to Kirk and Wills hotel to pick them up, but couldn't raise them. Unfortunately when they left us the previous evening, they made the mistake of going to the Columbian Hotel for a couple of bottles of Champagne. They ended up at Gilligans in the Oxford Hotel for a couple more bottles of Champagne before being politely asked to leave at about 8am. They eventually made it to Fair Day, looking very much unwell, but I had to leave early to head off to the gym so I couldn't spend time laughing at them. Fair Day is basically what it says. It's a fair, and it's held during the day. Fair. - Day. Get it? It was a warm sunny day and about 75,000 people attended (according to the gay press, which usually means about 37,500 people were really there). The place was full of gay and lesbian businesses trying to sell their stuff and all sorts of entertainment ranging from tragic singers spouting show tunes, through to the ever-popular dog show and even the "lube slide". I decided to give that one a miss. I didn't notice many of the stands as I was too busy noticing the thousands of hot boys wandering around with their shirts off, their oiled muscles glistening in the afternoon sun as they moved. Not that I'm obsessed. The final event for the month was the annual Harbour Party, now renamed "Azure" after it was taken over by different promoters. Harbour Party has always been one of my favourite parties on the gay scene. It takes place on the shores of Sydney Harbour, with spectacular views of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge as well as the skyline of the city itself. A massive dance floor is placed down in parkland and about 3,000 boys take their shirts off, their oiled muscles glistening in the afternoon sun as they move. (I am not obsessed!) This is a very pretty crowd. If you don't have muscles, you do need to hire some for the night. The party starts at 4 in the afternoon and goes on until midnight. You get to see the sun set over the city and watch as the lights of the city take over. The lighting and sound on the stage was spectacular. Unfortunately the spectacular lighting and sound seemed to finish at the stage. The lighting and sound on the actual dance floor ranged from mediocre to shit. It would seem that the new promoters of the party have a few things to learn about putting together a dance party. For the tourists at least, the poor production was made up for by the spectacular views. Unfortunately, I've seen the Harbour Bridge and Opera House before, so I got bored and left at 11pm. Not to worry - next weekend is the Mardi Gras Parade and Party, so hopefully that will more than make up for a dull Azure Party. Unfortunately, next week is next month, so you will have to wait to find out. |
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