The Beer Bar

My hubbie and I will be going on a Danube trip in May, including several countries in which my understanding of the local lingo is either zero (Hungarian) or close to nonexistent (Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian, Romanian). I'm thinking of getting translating earbuds, but don't know anyone who's actually used them. Have you had the opportunity to use them? How well do they work?

Just as the bombing of Iran has hit the headlines, a huge 250 kg WWII British bomb has been discovered in Dresden forcing the evacuation of much of the centre of the city. 18,000 residents. commuters and tourists have already been evacuated. The old town includes many buidings destroyed in the war and only finally rebuilt this century. They include the glorious Frauenkirche, the Semper Opera - one of the finest in the world - and many other major buildings. The fire bombing of Dresden on the night of 13 February 1945 remains one of the most contentious allied actions of WWII. The hope is obviously that the bomb disposal squads will auccessfully defuse the newly disco…

Trump's forces' assassination of the Supreme Leader of Iran will, I believe, be welcomed by many millions in Iran. They knew he was a tyrant and very corrupt to boot. But Iran or its proxies have started to retaliate. Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman have been the target of drone and other attacks at airports and elsewhere. One man has been killed at Dubai Airport which has since been closed to air traffic. Emirates has cancelled all flights until 3:00 pm UK time. As of 50 minuutes ago, there was still no notification as to when the airport will reopen. Emirates will then determine if any can flights can continue depending on the status of the airport. Bri…

Looks like I might share the same birthday with Guido..... https://fb.watch/FCjq5n43S8/

I ran across what I thought were some hot photos of this man with birthmarks. I looked him up on LPSG, and apparently he's AI! I then also noted that his birthmarks changed. He has a Pay-Per-View site (to which I did not subscribe). After careful exam, the birthmarks did move around. He goes by "Alex Pumar," or "Alex Pumare," stating he's 25 and living "somewhere in the USA." He apparently just popped up out of nowhere a few weeks ago. Soon we'll be paying PPV/OnlyFans, etc., for AI content. If they're going to charge us for artificial beauty, I hope they get the technology for hot androids soon... https://linktr.ee/alexpumar86 https://www.instagram.com/alexpuma…

One of Britain's fallouts from the Epstein scandal has been the sacking of a man who has been almost at the centre of much of British and European politics for almost 30 years, the British Ambassador to Washington Lord Peter Mandelson. There is now an enquiry as to whether he might have given away state secrets to Epstein. My own politics aside, I have always found Mandelson a somewhat creepy individual. It has nothing to do with his being gay. It is on the political influence he has exerted when he seemed to have little importance other than having been a key PR figure responsible for the election of Tony Blair to the PM's job in 1997. I found him creepy because I …

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/02/rightwing-brazilian-influencer-junior-pena-arrested-by-ice "A rightwing Brazilian influencer who claimed Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown targeted only “crooks” has been arrested by ICE agents in New Jersey. Júnior Pena, whose full name is Eustáquio da Silva Pena Júnior, declared his support for the US president in a recent video message to his hundreds of thousands of social media followers. “I [support] Donald Trump – I like the guy,” announced the South American TikToker and Instagrammer whose account purports to show “the reality of the United States” from a migrant’s perspective. In a previous video, Pena …

Because of my concern of conversations being spied upon, I don't own any of those spying machines such as Alexa. But last night we had some friends over for dinner and cocktails. One of them recently went to Düsseldorf for some music festival, and I asked him some questions about the city (which I have passed by in the past but never visited). This morning, the first suggestion I found from YouTube videos was a video on what to see in Düsseldorf. We're taking a Danube cruise in May, and I have searched for things to do in Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, and Hallstatt, as well as made hotel reservations in Austria, Budapest, and Moldova, but never any searches in Germany, muc…

I have noticed today - and on a few days over about the last month - that there seems to be a small problem with the site. When trying to log in, or indeed having logged in and trying to make post, I get this message - We're sorry, but a temporary technical error has occurred which means we cannot display this site right now. Too many connections The interruptions do seem to be temporary and the page comes back with 15-30 minutes. Is this something to do with regular maintenance or just an occasional glitch?

On today's ABC News with David Muir, he said that "Martin Short's family break their silence on his daughter's death!". His daughter had only died the day before! He made it sound as if Martin Short "owed" him some kind of statement the moment his daughter died. It seemed rather disrespectful to my ears. The clip is at 16:35

LA can be at its most beautiful in the winter...

Many of you won't have heard of her unless your from Scotland🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 or 🦘, particularly Sydney She performed at gay bars such as midnight shift ,Universal and kinselas Maxi Shield who performed between her homes in Sydney Australia and Scotland has passed away today 5 months after her throat cancer diagnosis at age 51 ✝️✝️ Always with a sense of humour to the end she joked she had been sucking too many cocks !!! Only just bumped into her on Sydney's Oxford Street last July where I saw her talking to a guy on the street , I walked up taking my phone out , Photo ! Photo ! I said Her reaction , "Do you always ask people for something in that manner…

1. Naked Homophobia There is one anniversary which I consider very important in our gay calendar which I will write at length about next month (yes, for those who don’t like long blog-type articles, please do not bother to read either this or it). There is an event about to take place in England which I now remark on here. Both refer back to major events in gay history around 60 and 70 years ago, one in the USA, the this one in England. Both should be remembered even at length when we consider the relative freedoms we all now enjoy as gay men. (As this post deals with England, American readers may wish to skip it, although it is no doubt mirrored by similar events in…

hi all , been wondering if the massage shop down the side street on right hand side of tukcom (opposite the side entrance ) has any new massuers ? i hope to visit shortly and would love to know if there are new and younger workers there ? photos if possible would be greatly appreciated

I never used to take much interest in the Winter Olympics until those held in Nagano in 1998. Even then, what sparked my interest was less the various events but the Japanese cross country skiers. I thought they looked quite wonderful! In 2026 the Games take place in Milan and Cortina in the amazing Dolomite mountains throughout February which will have me in front of the television most days. My favourite is now the men's ice skating. What sparked that interest was another Japanese, the amazing 19-year old Yuzuru Hanyu who took the Gold Medal in the Men's Figure Skating Competition in Sochi in 2014, the first Asian to win Gold. Like many, I began to follow his caree…

It hasn't been that long since I posted a string about a GoFundMe page for, I believe it was Mickey Rourke, which had me going "Hmmmm...". At least in this case Mickey Rourke called BS on that (he wasn't the one who set up or OK'd the GoFundMe page), and made sure all monies were returned. I was saddened to hear about the early passing of James van der Beek at the age of 48 with colon cancer. (Public health reminder: the USPSTF strongly [A-level recommendation] advises colon cancer screening starting age 45. Colon cancer screening is by far the most effective cancer screening we have) I was surprised to read, however, that his wife is now claiming poverty, although the ma…

We thought we had found just the right Chinese restaurant to get take away dishes for out Chinese dinner. We usually order enormous amounts of food to have a dinner on Chinese New Year's Eve and the Chinese New Year itself. Once again we come home to disappointment- not enough cashews in the chicken cashew. I have tried to make it clear that we want plenty of cashews. It never does any good. So, for tonight's dinner, should I go about getting some raw cashews locally and then roast them, or would added cashews not mix well with existing food? What's the point restaurants? Why advertise cashews in the chicken if one can barely find them? I'll bet Vinapu…

To coincide with the Lunar New Year.......its DUMPLING WEEK...... Nothing I like better than popping "juicy little nuggets" into my mouth and "sucking out the filling"....... Indulge and enjoy some sweet or spicy Dumplings this week.....

恭喜發財 to all members and lurkers. May the year of the Horse bring you peace, harmony, prosperity, loads of luck and the boy/s of your dreams. There are 12 houses in the Chinese zodiac each representing an animal. If you were born in a Year of the Horse (whereby multiples of 12 years have passed since you were born), be aware that there are also five traditional elements in each year – wood (creative), fire (passionate), earth (practica)l, metal (determined) and water (adaptable). If you are a 2026 Horse, you are known as a Fire Horse. The age 72 is especially auspicious in your Chinese calendar. Interpreting the characteristics of each type of animal …

The Last In The Series Marking LGBTQ-History Month LGBTQ-History month is celebrated in many countries, although the months are different. I chose that celebrated in the UK and a few other countries since the low season has approached in Thailand and there is less being written about. I believe our gay history deserves to be remembered. Wherever it falls where you live, this is my final contribution on the subject. Our LGBTQ history is almost certainly as old as recorded time. Even just going back as far as the Greek and Roman worlds, when much male to male sexual activity would almost certainly today be called pederasty, there were genuine homosexual bonds. A…

To my fellow forum members...... wishing you all a happy, peaceful, loving Valentines Day....... "I have a Heart-On for You !"

I can't remember the event, but my husband and I listened to the song "Goodbye to Love" by the Carpenters, and, as I often do when listening to old music, I asked him if he'd heard that song before. He said he hadn't, but remarked "Those lyric are really dark!" (or words to that effect). I was a young child when it came out, and it had never occurred to me to listen to the lyrics. I was shocked to read them, especially since we now know she died due to mental illness, apparently feeling unloved (she had an unhappy marriage and filed for divorce prior to her death). If a friend of mine had sung such lyrics, I would have taken him aside and expressed by concerns. It feels s…

I was amused to read, today, that a French guy went to hospital with a World War 1 shell, 16x4cm, lodged up his ass! It caused the temporary closure of the hospital, and the attendance of the Bomb Squad! The shell, and the guy, were safely defused. A rather advanced form of Russian Roulette, perhaps? One reads of unusual insertions, but I thought this takes the biscuit, so to speak. Entertainingly, the guy may be charged under French weapons legislation. Interesting to speculate what the charge (sic) might be!

FInished earlier as I had a free day today! LGBTQ-History Month – (Part 2 of 2) It is hard today for us to think of Mineo as a big star because he never landed a really starring role. Yet as a teen idol he was massively popular and had a huge young fan base. By 1960 "Mineo Mania" was sweeping America. Mineo Mania In America As the young writer/director Peter Bogdanovich who first met him on a movie set mentions in an Esquire Magazine article, “I have never met anyone quite so instantly disarming as Sal could be; inhibitions and prejudices dissolved in the heady rush of his good humor and happy conspiratorial manner. No one took himself less seri…