msclelovr

The old saying comes to mind: I don’t pay for sex, I pay them to leave

It’s not a quibble @tassojunior but it’s important to be precise when it comes to the EU passport requirements. All the 26 countries that signed up to the Schengen Agreement require your passport to be valid for 3 months after your intended date of departure. (Of course, that’s not your arrival date into the EU/Schengen area but 3 months after the date of your return ticket - I think this is why it’s commonly asserted to be that your passport must have 6 months validity on arrival). I know I don’t have to tell you @tassojunior but others may be unaware that Spain’s regions have local rules and restrictions. For instance, Catalonia just reintroduced on Monday the closing of clubs as the rate of infection has increased. I was not at all surprised that in the Balearics the rate has skyrocketed - the young have mingled at beach-parties etc in defiance of the local laws and some international tourists have arrived - even though the restrictions have not been fully relaxed.

What you write is very interesting @PeterRS I’d like to add a few observations. I met Gielgud in Amsterdam in the early 1970s. It’s true that he suffered badly after his arrest in 1953, but did you know that on the first night he returned to the theatre (after his arrest and being fined £10 for importuning), he was extremely nervous before he walked onto the stage…to be greeted by prolonged, loud applause from the audience? I was a gay activist and quite involved with gay liberation from 1973-1988. I met many gay men who were involved in the performing arts; my second boyfriend was a ballet dancer. There certainly were actors other than McKellen who were out in London in the 1970s. Do you perhaps remember Ian Charleson? I met him several times. He was successful in films (Chariots of Fire, Gandhi) after working (with Gielgud among others) at the National Theatre. At that time, I met McKellen once at a party. I knew his boyfriend, the theatre director, a little better. IIRC they were living in Limehouse. I don’t know what McKellen’s income was, but his boyfriend was certainly well-paid as a theatre director - I can’t be sure but I think he was already under contract at the National Theatre then. I guess that my feeling that McKellen is over-praised as a ‘gay hero’ stems from my years as an activist. I feel that he shouldn’t be seen as a gay activist when all the ‘heavy lifting’ was done by many others. At the time, I was surprised at how readily some celebrities, gay and straight, offered to help; Elton John, Billy Connolly and Elizabeth Taylor offered generous support. I was very unimpressed that some well-known but closeted gay men like McKellen and Stephen Fry refused.

Thanks for the interesting post @PeterRS I agree with you on the importance of friendships, especially “close non-gay friendships” as you state. I have 3 such friends I’ve known for 50+ years and I’ve 2 gay friends I’ve known for 40+ years. I disagree with some of what you wrote about Ian McKellen (a tiny thing but that’s the correct spelling). I’ve seen him act on stage several times - I rate him as good but not one of the greats - and he’s popular because of his film-work. My view may be influenced by knowing more of him as a person. He was well-known as a gay man (in London at least) for many years and I met him in the 1970s. We did not get on well as I was a gay activist back then and came out at 21. He certainly refused to help or support gay causes for a long time. McKellen was in the closet for many years; he seemed to enjoy having what he termed the “queenly nickname” of Serena. I think he came out only in the very late 1980s after he’d achieved success and after his soon to be ex-boyfriend, a theatre director, had come out and IIRC disclosed their relationship in the media to no one’s surprise.

It’s clear that it does @Latbear4blk but that was not my intention. I noticed that you had not mentioned what locals term “the insecurity” and I felt that your reports might mislead foreign visitors to Buenos Aires. I understand that you are enjoying your stay in the city and that naturally you are proud of your heritage and culture. So let me be factual (since these crimes are not reported in the media unless there is a fatality) and state my own experience. 1. I visited Buenos Aires/Argentina 12x in the years 2005-2012; each visit was at least 4 weeks but did not exceed 8 weeks. I had a few Argentine friends and when in the city, I stayed in Recoleta. 2. I witnessed the immediate aftermath of 3 robberies in busy, well-lit streets in Recoleta (2x morning, 1x afternoon). 3. I intervened in a further robbery at lunchtime on what’s generally regarded as one of the best blocks in Recoleta. The thug got away with the woman’s gold necklace but not her bag. I was astounded that no local intervened to help me, tho many people (on the street, and security staff in the buildings) observed the thug robbing her. The woman said she knew instantly I was a foreigner because I had intervened. 4. An old lady (a friend of my mother) had her handbag snatched from her in broad daylight as she walked on Avenida Alvear by the shops. 5. A young friend (male, 24) had his iPhone snatched as he talked on it in the afternoon. A moped had left the road and come up behind him so that a passenger could grab the phone while the driver roared away. My friend was annoyed - he felt he should have known better as a similar robbery had happened to a friend of his the week before. 6. A notary (male, late 30s) I was using in a property transaction told me he’d been “foolish” the night before. He’d got out of a taxi before 10pm by La Biela cafe and decided to take a shortcut to his apartment across the small park near Recoleta Cemetery - when a man robbed him of his wallet at gunpoint. 7. Another young friend (male, 30) was robbed on the train home after an early dinner with me. It was before 9pm and again at gunpoint; this time, it was 2 young teenagers with an old handgun. 8. A Spanish boyfriend with 2 American friends (all male, 30s) were robbed at gunpoint when they foolishly got into a taxi on the street in Palermo Soho (they had eaten dinner in Casa Cruz, but it was before midnight) I do know of several other “incidents” (one is a violent killing) but I think the above make my point. Of course, crime happens everywhere and Buenos Aires is a lovely city. I was never robbed but I was always alert and knew exactly where I was walking to, especially at night; also I mainly was in the best areas and I made sure to be accompanied by a local when I went anywhere less good.

Buenos Aires is a huge city. There are some lovely districts and buildings. And it has a distinct culture that is quite different in many ways. I hugely enjoyed the many long vacations I took there. I’d recommend it to anyone. But please note that crime on the streets is a big problem (muggings, bag snatches, phones being taken even in daylight) and caution is needed - do not wear an expensive watch or jewellery and carry only a little money and one credit card on your person.

Just a “heads up” for any traveller to Greece… A friend of mine flew into Corfu yesterday. He’s fully vaccinated and had the required documentation but also took with him a negative COVID test from the day before. The Border officer laughed and said the negative test wasn’t required as of the previous night; the officer added that it was a good thing to have though, as “the (Greek) Govt. changes the regulations every 3 days”. What was unexpected by my friend is that everyone on the flight (no exceptions) was given a rapid-flow test on leaving the aircraft and before they could proceed to the line for Border Control.

I believe you @davet but I need to know what happened next… Was it a quick pluck-and-go? Or did you get a sauna-suite for a prolonged plucking?

Planning that far ahead @iendo means you may encounter a 3rd or 4th wave of Covid19 infection in Brazil, so I would only book fully refundable airfares…unless the price is so cheap for you that it doesn’t matter if you can’t travel.

Yes, @davet Contramano was the gay club on that street. It was certainly historic in the sense of being long-established and with a local crowd of all ages. I went a couple of times in 2008-2010. The first time I was chatted up furiously by a local young man; I think he saw me as a wealthy Daddy. The second time, there was a very muscled stripper who, on finding it was a 30something local’s birthday, proceeded to fuck his mouth to climax.

I wouldn’t describe Spain as ”open” @davet. Upbeat sentiments were expressed by the Spanish Prime Minister yesterday (16 June) but there are still numerous restrictions. The restrictions vary between the regions and, hard as it is to believe, even within a region. Recently in planning to travel to my house in the Balearic islands, I found that the restrictions differ in Mallorca from Ibiza and are different again in Formentera. Also the difficulties in arranging the necessary tests to travel within Europe mean that although I’m keen to travel again, I’ll wait until the whole process is much easier - hopefully, later this year.

Maybe there’s no help because you specified “a proper spa” and you emphasised “ with registration and male therapists”, better if “gay or friendly” and you want a business invoice for the expense. I get massage regularly but over the years, all the guys I’ve visited have wanted to be paid in cash. I’ve had massage too in hotels and spas in the US but I’ve not known them to “issue an invoice”; the cost went on my hotel bill and I always tipped in cash. This suggests to me that you should really just go to an hotel spa in London. Most of the major hotels have a spa and offer treatments. Maybe you can call ahead and say you prefer a male therapist?

Not to divert this thread but it triggered something in my memory. There was the strange double-homicide of a Canadian billionaire couple in their home in Toronto in 2017. AFAIK their murder remains unsolved.

@Latbear4blk I wonder if the astonishing remarks by the Argentine President have been widely reported in Argentina? He referred to Brazilians as being “from the jungle”! Alberto Fernández: Argentine president apologises for Brazil comments https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-57422758

So @Tomcal when will you transition to @Tomflo ?

Please continue your excellent reports @Latbear4blk. They bring back memories for me. I was last there 8 years ago, but @davet have they changed the names of the different areas of Palermo? I recall there were three: Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood being lively with plenty of shops and restaurants etc, whereas Palermo Chico was small and where the truly moneyed lived (as there were no commercial premises). At that time, a fourth area of Palermo was being developed. It I don’t recall its intended name.

I only ever saw 2 blue-rinsed ladies, and they were German lesbians. I did see many, many blonde women…far more than Nature intended.

Does the above post @Tomcal mean that, in response to the quoted post, you are lost for words ?

True @Lonely_John but I’ve heard of incidents involving the ‘Goodnight Cinderella’ (drugged drink) trick in various places, including cities in the US and South Africa, and not just Latin America. I feel gay men need to be very careful about the safety of their drinks, especially when out alone. It’s why I always ordered bottled beer.

Sorry to hear your news @floridarob Not being able to travel must be very disappointing. I hope that you are at least recovering well from the effects of the virus.

Nice recollections @Tomcal

IME other jobs. Bear in mind, they lived with their sponsor who supported them for the first few years. So sex work wasn’t really interesting for them. In later years, I know one who became a model, another Cuban is now an accountant and a couple have office jobs.

Thanks for writing further @iendo but I thought you’d said that you were “not into macho boys”. So when did the more feminine or slimmer young men feature in your adventures?

Well, earlier than 2019 -some years before - there were lots of great looking young Cubans with fit bodies. Many of them found older admirers and got exit visas for Spain. (And as is the way of the world, several young men left their older admirers after 3 years ie once they had established residency rights in Spain)

I have 2 French friends who live some way outside Montpellier, but visit the city often. May I ask where this happened so I can warn them to be careful? When I was young, I worked on a gay advice hotline. The advice after a mugging was that you should straightaway write down in detail what happened. Over time, you may remember more details and can add them to your report. And I’d encourage you to work with the police. It will help you regain agency and you may prevent this happening to other people.