“The what?”

“AMF,” he repeats, “it’s what everybody here drinks.”

“Right then,” I shout to the bartender behind the counter, “one AMF please. Whatever that is.”

Clearly I must have looked even more helpless than I felt to elicit such eager help from a stranger. Then again it isn’t the first time on this trip that a local’s interest levels suddenly perk up after he notices my English tones. For many Americans a foreign accent appears to be as irresistible as catnip.

Right now I am crammed against the counter of Pure, a Friday gay club night hosted at the otherwise straight Club Sound, and the place is filled to the gunwales. Unlike the tight-knit layout of European gay villages where different clubs and bars are usually within easy walking distance of each other, in Salt Lake, Utah (or SL, UT as I affectionately call it), venues are decidedly more spaced out. Only three of the dozen or so gay hotspots can easily be reached by foot from Pure. For anywhere else you have to get in your car and drive, or take a taxi. And considering Utah’s zero tolerance approach to drinking and driving it usually comes down to the latter. Forget about legal limits, driving in Utah after you’ve drunk anything with more kick than a Coke can land you in seriously hot water.

Back at Pure it didn’t take long for me to regret my own choice of drink. The pint-size glass that is being pushed in my direction now is filled to the brim with a concoction of toxic-coloured blue booze of seriously dubious origin.

“It’s called Adios Motherf**cker because after you drink it it’s bye-bye,” explains Shane. The two of us randomly met the previous night and Shane has kindly offered to act as my unofficial guide for the evening. “You’re gonna love it!”.

Had I known exactly what the club’s signature drink entailed, I might have been slightly more reluctant to follow the recommendation of a complete stranger earlier at the bar. Clearly there wasn’t going to be any more driving for yours truly tonight.

Oozing with queer cred

Salt Lake City, or simply Salt Lake as locals call it, is best known to many for its ties to the Mormon faith. After all, the city is the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with its 14 million global members and is also home to the world’s largest Mormon temple. But as my visit to the Utah capital has been progressing I’ve found it a refreshingly liberal and open minded city. Probably because unlike small-town Utah, Salt Lake itself boasts a non-Mormon majority among its 1.12 million residents.

In fact, the Salt Lake gay scene has moved forward with such great strides in recent years, that the city was recently crowned by The Advocate as the gayest city in America (beyond the obvious megalopolises of New York City, San Francisco and the likes). According to The Advocate, who based their list on “per capita queerness”, the far-less-oppressive-than-it-used-to-be Salt Lake City has now earned its queer cred and deserves its spot at number 1 judged by their “totally accurate if decidedly subjective criteria”.

Getting here is also much easier than you might think. If you happen to live near any of the major airports in the UK you will have no shortage of flight options, most of them with just one stop-over in the US. I opted to fly with Lufthansa so as to include a shopping trip in New York. Although it might not be possible to shorten the time of the actual flight, Lufthansa has one nifty way to help the time pass more quickly – it is the only airline to provide high speed internet access on transatlantic flights with connection costs starting at just £9. So whether you want to update your Facebook status, line-up some Statesides meet-ups through Gaydar and Grindr, or stay abreast of business emails, you can do all that and more aboard Lufthansa flights while merrily cruising at 40,000ft. From New York, suitcase crammed full of New York bargains of course, it was only a short flight onboard JetBlue to Salt Lake City, jetting off from the airline’s exclusive and impressively modern Terminal 5 at JFK airport.

Shooting fish the Mormon way

According to Shane, who can’t believe how little progress I have made with my AMF (I’ve barely dented it), the inescapable presence of the LDS Church does have its advantages.

“Those repressed Mormon boys are so easy to bang it’s like shooting fish in a barrel,” he grins when I ask him what it is like to live a city with such strong religious links. “Mix that with the gorgeous mountains and perfect sunsets every night and little Salt Lake is a slice of heaven.”

And he does have a point. Salt Lake certainly has its appeal: A decent gay scene, impressive shopping and striking sights, including as many Mormon-related attractions as you could wish for in one lifetime. But it is the spectacular natural attractions right on its doorstep that appeal even more to many of its visitors.

Take Park City for instance. Located just 30 minutes from downtown Salt Lake it hosts the prestigious and star-studded Sundance film festival every year and is home to three world-class ski resorts and some of the finest slopes in North America. Blessed with nearly 150 inches of light powdery snow every year it isn’t hard to understand why this picturesque ski village with its historically preserved Main Street played a key part during the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. This month the village will host a decidedly more rainbow-coloured event when Elevation Utah rolls into town for its second annual gay ski week, starting on February 23rd.

Hitting the great gay outdoors

Fancy something a little more rugged? Then best head south towards Moab, some 230 miles from Salt Lake, and the heart of the American West. Billed as the adventure capital of Utah, Moab is located between two spectacular National Parks and one stunning State Park. The rugged terrain and expansive landscapes of the Desert Southwest stands in strong contrast to the Rocky Mountains, and begs to be biked, hiked and explored in a dozen other ways. Arches National Park is an unmissable destination here, with its wealth of over 2,000 natural red sandstone arches, including the iconic Delicate Arch which has graced the cover of many a travel guide.

Regardless if it is rock climbing and hot air ballooning you’re after, or if you lean more towards speed boating and off-roading, there is no shortage of adrenalin-filled activities for outdoor enthusiasts in Moab and its surrounds. Be sure to time your visit carefully though. Summer temperatures in these arid parts can hit scorching highs of 40°C and more while the mercury can plummet as low as -15°C during the winter months. Even in spring and autumn Utah mornings and evenings often have a bite to them because of the generally high elevation of the state, though midday temperatures are normally in the region of a very pleasant (and usually sunny) 25°C.

Homeward bound

Two days after exploring the fruits of Salt Lake’s nightlife with Shane, it is time to jet home again. All too soon. Despite the relative brevity of my homebound Lufthansa flight (it takes less than eight hours to travel from JFK back to Europe), the quiet of the cabin gives me the perfect opportunity to reflect on my trip.

Like any major city Salt Lake isn’t without its own set of problems, many of it linked directly or indirectly to the Latter-day Saints Church. Despite Shane’s notion that the Mormon Church ensures a fertile hunting ground, its “love the sinner not the sin” rhetoric has been linked to some cases of homophobia in the Utah capital. But beyond these isolated instances and underneath that perfectly pristine Mormon image is a city that rewards you handsomely with a virtually unrivalled outdoors playground, buckets of charm and surprisingly open-minded locals.

Travel Toolbox

Where to stay: Centrally located within walking distance from downtown Salt Lake and major attractions like historic Temple Square, the Red Lion Hotel Salt Lake is an excellent option with great value for money. It boasts 393 well-appointed rooms, a fitness studio and a pool for the hot summer months. Especially attractive is the Red Lion’s free shuttle service, which isn’t just handy for airport pick-ups and drop-offs but also when setting off to explore the city’s gay hotspots and shopping offerings. A worthy alternative is the Salt Lake Hilton, also located in the heart of downtown Salt Lake.

How to get there: While there are more direct options to get to Salt Lake, yours truly opted to fly with Lufthansa from Manchester to New York for a spot of Manhattan shopping before continuing the journey to Salt Lake. In 2011 New York became Lufthansa’s first A380 destination in North America, and the airline also debuted its brand new First Class cabin on this route.

Once in the US few airlines can rival the offering of JetBlue and their expansive route network. Despite being positioned as a low-cost airline, there is nothing cheap about the JetBlue experience other than the airline’s fares. Expect plush chairs, oodles of leg room, unlimited donuts and the friendliest cabin crew around for miles. Not surprisingly JetBlue boasts a long ream of awards including Top Low Cost Airline for Customer Satisfaction and Best US Budget Airline.

General: Utah’s dedicated UK website www.goutah.co.uk as well as their general www.visitutah.com website provide a wealth of information to help plan your trip and to make the most of your time in the Beehive State. For more information about Moab visit the official www.discovermoab.com tourism information website. 

The publicly unidentified man, 30, fell from his balcony on deck 11 of luxury liner Allure of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise liner.

Royal Caribbean International said that the incident, witnessed by a fellow passenger and CCTV footage, showed the man intentionally going overboard.

In a statement, the cruise line said the man had not responded to attempts to contact him in his room: “When the guest did not respond to the pages and was not found on board, the captain alerted the local authorities of the situation.

“A review of the ship’s closed-circuit camera footage observed the 30-year-old British male guest going over the balcony railing in his stateroom on deck 11.

“The location of the ship at the time the guest went overboard was marked on the ship’s Global Positioning System (GPS) and the US and Mexican coastguard were alerted.

“Our care team is providing support to the guest’s family and our thoughts and prayers are with them.”

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We are aware that a British national has been reported missing in Mexico.

“His family have been informed and we are providing consular assistance.”

The man reportedly fell at 12.10pm GMT, or 7.10am local time, on Friday of last week.

The ship had been chartered by Atlantis Events.

In November of last year, an American man was jailed for selling drugs on the Allure of the Seas from what the sentencing judge termed an “apothecary” in his cabin.

Steven Krumholz, 51, from California, was found with more than 142 ecstasy pills, methamphetamine, a small amount of ketamine, and about $51,000 (£31,000) in cash.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 21 months in prison for dealing drugs to fellow passengers on the gay cruise.

This is the result of new rules, introduced last July, but only now coming to light, which state that an air carrier “shall not transport a passenger if … the passenger does not appear to be of the gender indicated on the identification he or she presents”.

The reason that it has taken so long for this provision to percolate through to public awareness is that it was introduced not through formal legislation before the Canadian legislature, but as part Identity Screening Regulations, implemented unilaterally by the Ministry of Transportation, in support of Canada’s so-called Passenger Protect programme.

Its impact will be felt first by members of the Canadian transgender community, who may only change the ‘sex’ designation on a Canadian Passport, on provision of proof that surgery has taken place, or will take place within one year. This, it is argued by blogger, Christin Scarlett Milloy, means that non-operative transgender persons, gender nonconforming (genderqueer) persons, and the vast majority of pre-operative transsexual persons will find it literally impossible to obtain “proper” travel documentation.

However, there is likely to be some degree of impact on trans persons from any other country travelling through Canada on documents that fail to meet these new criteria.

A petition calling on the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, to have these regulations set aside has been launched on change.org.

Meanwhile, cynics are speculating whether this move is ill-thought accident – or a rather more sinister piece of revenge by Conservative MP and Minister for Transport, Denis Lebel.

The change to regulations took place shortly after the federal election in 2011. In the previous parliament, Bill C-389, a bill to amend the Human Rights Code to explicitly enshrine protections against discrimination for transgender people, had successfully passed in the House of Commons, only to die on the Senate floor when the election was declared.

As Ms Milloy asked yesterday: “Is the timing of this disturbing and blatantly discriminatory regulatory adjustment merely a coincidence?

Analysis

Some people have been asking how many individuals have actually been prevented from flying by these regulations: but that misses the point entirely – which is that the use of perceived gender in this fashion is deeply offensive not simply to trans men and women, but to all men and women who fail to live up to societally imposed “norms” of gender and appearance.

A particular issue, which i have reported on in the past, is how women whose appearance is in any way “butch” or masculine frequently report difficulties in some women’s spaces.

While some will inevitably defend this move on grounds of “security”, it is important to understand what is being required here. No-one is objecting to government rules that require an individual’s appearance to match to their description on their pasport – or indeed that they should be allowed to duck out on biometric measures such as fingerprinting or retinal scans.

But this is about something else: whether an individual fits with the preconceived notions of what a border guard believes constitutes a “normal” appearance for their declared gender.

Over the last twelve months, Australia has stated its aim of permitting an “indeterminate” status to be recorded on passports for intersex individuals: and the UK Government has revealed that it is examining the entire question of whether gender markers on official documents are useful – not just, as critics would have it, for reasons of “political correctness”, but because there are genuine doubts that it really adds much that is useful.

This makes the Canadian regulation looks all the more like a seriously retrograde – and spiteful – step.

Jane Fae is an independent writer and sexual rights activist. 

The Rainbow Reykjavik Event Team along with tour operators Pink Iceland and Reykjavik Excursions, have put together a programme of events and tours.

Audur Halldorsdottir from Visit Reykjavik said: “We are really excited about hosting Rainbow Reykjavik and welcoming the LGBT Community from across the world to our beautiful and very LGBT-friendly country!”

Eva María Thorarinsdottir Lange, Managing Director of Pink Iceland said: “The Rainbow Reykjavik program provides a colourful mixture of various events, including tours to see the Northern Lights, geysirs, waterfalls and the Continental Divide, great meals, cocktail receptions and dance parties….as well as pure wellness and relaxation in the world famous geothermal spa of the Blue Lagoon.”

In addition to experiencing Iceland’s unparalleled nature, a ‘Queer Concert’ in Reykjavik’s new Harpa Concert Hall is also included in the programme.

After an LGBT community dinner in the the beautiful Kolabrautin Restaurant in Harpa Concert Hall, Rainbow Reykjavik is proud to announce that some of Iceland’s most famous artists are scheduled to perform, including Lay Low and Paul Oscar.

Organisers say Lay Low “took the country by storm, seemingly coming out of nowhere, and quickly became one of Iceland’s most celebrated and popular singer-songwriters”.

Paul Oscar is described as one of Iceland’s “most beloved performing artists, leading and involved in LGBT rights since the early 90′s”.

He enjoyed a triple win at the Icelandic Music Awards in 2007 for his solo album, Allt fyrirástina (Anything For Love).

He also represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest, was a judge in both the Icelandic Idol and X-Factor TV series, and is Iceland’s most sought after DJ and performer. Organisers said his float in the Reykjavík Gay Pride parade is always the “most anticipated of all”.

Rainbow Reykjavik says temperatures are moderate year-round, with snow a rarity in the world’s northernmost capital city.

“And always bring a bathing suit, whatever time of the year you visit. A favourite pastime is year-round outdoor swimming in countless geothermally heated pools and lagoons, with a typical temperature of 25-28°C. And there is no better time to see the Northern Lights!“ says Audur Halldorsdottir.

Icelandair is a proud Platinum sponsor for the event, and organisers describe the prices of their package as “unbelievable”:

• Roundtrip flight to Iceland
• 3 nights hotel stay in either Reykjavik Natura or Hilton Reykjavik Nordica
• Flybus transportation from and to the airport
• A soak in the Blue Lagoon
• Welcome party with local performers
• Gullfoss, Gaysir & Fontana Tour & Lunch box
• Dinner at the beautifult Kolabrautin Restaurant in Harpa Concert Hall
• Concert in Harpa
• Party at Barbara & Trúnó
• Light lunch
• LGBT History Walk in Reykjavík
• Cocktail reception
• Dinner Dance Party – Viking Theme

The airline said it meant the word to mean “crazy”, its original English definition, and had not intended to use an anti-gay Jamaican term.

It had been described by one listener as a “disgrace”.

At one point in the new radio advert, an actor says: “Barmy prices in the bmi sale! Heathrow to Nice from a batty £48 one-way, Moscow from a bonkers £199 return and Marrakech from a zany £135 return, plus lots of other vaguely loopy deals!”

PinkNews.co.uk reader Richard Smith, who uses the airline, complained to the company after hearing the advert.

He told PinkNews.co.uk: “I’m furious at bmi’s reference to their new prices being ‘batty’ on their radio adverts, which have started this week. I think it’s a disgrace they would use this word.”

A bmi spokesperson told PinkNews.co.uk: “The concept of the advert was built upon the idea that bmi have got ‘crazy’ prices in the sale.

“We have used several different words to articulate this – Barmy / Zany / Bonkers etc and the word ‘Batty’ was included and used as per the definition given in the Collins World English dictionary.”

Collins defines ‘batty’ as ‘insane; crazy; odd; eccentric’.

The term ‘batty boy’ is derived from the Jamaican Patois term for ‘bottom’ and although partially re-appropriated by the gay community, ‘batty’ and ‘batty boy’ are often considered derogatory.

But the origin of the word used in English to describe someone who is mad is thought to come from the idea that someone may have ‘bats in their belfry’, equating a bell tower with a person’s head.

This phrase is believed to have originated in the US in the late 19th century and so pre-dates ‘batty boy’, which only rose to some prominence in the UK after the Second World War.

Last year, Clinton Cards apologised and withdrew a card which featured a character called ‘Batty Boy’.

On the card, Batman is joined by a man in a pink costume labelled ‘Batty Boy’ and saying: “Ooh! Love the suit Batsy! Meeow!!”

In November of last year, Robert Peston, the BBC’s business editor, was defended by many in the gay community for using the established term “Queer Street” to describe financial dire straits.

He described accusations that his use of the term was homophobic as “bonkers”.

Israel’s second city topped an online poll run by American Airlines and gay travel site Gaycities.com.

Tel Aviv won 43% of the votes, followed by New York City with 14% and Toronto with 7%.

London managed 5% of the public vote.

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency: “Winning this competition constitutes an additional strengthening of the fact that Tel Aviv-Jaffa is a city that respects all people and allows everyone to live according to his/her own principles.

“Ours is a city in which everyone can be proud of who they are.”

In the summer of 2010, Tel Aviv’s Tourism Association launched a six-month initiative called Tel Aviv Gay Vibe, which aimed to encourage gay people from all over the world to visit the city, primarily targeting gays and lesbians in France and Germany.

But Hagai El-Ad, Executive Director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, told the Jerusalem Post: “For those at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Israel who devised the strategy of pitching Israel as a ‘gay promised land’ in the hope that this would somehow make people [...] look away from very serious and worsening human rights violations here, that’s a strategy that any decent person should reject wholeheartedly.”

In November, a New York professor said the promotion of gay rights in Israel may be “blinding” people to human rights violations in Palestine through “pinkwashing”.

In an Op-Ed Sarah Schulman wrote for the New York Times, she said gay people were being co-opted by “anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim” forces around the world, calling it a “nefarious phenomenon”.

In response, gay porn producer Michael Lucas said the idea was “ludicrous and offensive”.

“The two issues have nothing to do with each other; it’s like saying that New York legalized gay marriage to divert attention from Wall Street’s banking scandals or the war in Iraq.”

2,000 people attended Jerusalem Pride last year, though the event had attracted violence in the past and there was one police officer for every two attendees on the streets.

Tel Aviv, meanwhile, draws larger crowds at its pride event and usually enjoys a peaceful day, despite calls from some religious conservatives to ban the event.

In other results from the poll, New York came top for night life and dress sense, San Francisco won for its pride event, Paris had the best food and Buffalo, New York was voted the best up and coming city.

Diane Cervelli, 42, and Taeko Bufford, 28, claim they were turned away from the Aloha Bed & Breakfast in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2007.

B&B owner Phyllis Young told the couple she was uncomfortable having a gay people in her house, but added that she also did not allow unmarried straight couples to share rooms.

It is illegal in Hawaii to deny public accommodation to anyone on the basis of their sexual orientation, along with their race, gender identity, religion or disability.

Cervelli said they had been able to find alternative accommodation but added: “In my past experiences in Hawaii, people have been so friendly.

“It was just hurtful. It made me feel we weren’t good enough.”

The case bears several similarities to the ongoing dispute in the UK regarding two Christian private hotel owners who refused a gay couple a room because they were unmarried.

In January, Martin Hall and Steven Preddy, who are in a civil partnership, sued Christians Peter and Hazelmary Bull for sexual orientation discrimination.

Bristol Crown Court ruled that the Bulls had directly discriminated against the gay couple on the ground of their sexual orientation, and Mr Hall and Mr Preddy were awarded compensation of £1,800 each.

The Bulls’ appeal reached London in November, where their lawyer argued they were “entitled to outdated beliefs”, which he claimed did not directly discriminate against gay people.

Young is being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, the group which this summer was granted permission to intervene in two cases at the European Court of Human Rights where religious beliefs clashed with non-discrimination laws.

The ADF says its goal is “through strategy, training, funding, and litigation, to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family”.

B&B owner Young reportedly told the Hawaii Human Rights Commission that being gay was “detestable” and “defiles our land”.

The couple are seeking clarification of the legal obligations of hotel owners in Hawaii to gay couples, for the hotel to be forced to comply with the rules in future, and a sum of money in compensation.

Their lawyer added: “No amount of money is going to erase the humiliation and pain.”

The idea, proposed by Trine Bramsen, the Social Democrat MP for the writer’s birthplace, Funenn, was dubbed a “silly suggestion” by a political opponent, with others questioning whether Andersen was gay, or even bisexual.

Bramsen said: “There is so much palaver about Hans Christian Andersen’s sexuality, and I think we should use it.

“It should be a week where gays from all over the world can come to the island of Funen.”

Vivi Jelstrup, of the Danish Gay and Lesbian association, said: “To my knowledge, Andersen was not homosexual, but bisexual. It appears from his diaries that he alternately fell in love with men and women.”

Andersen appeared to have experienced unrequited love for both men and women in his life.

In a letter to a friend, Edvard Collin, in 1835 he wrote: “I long for you as though you were a beautiful Calabrian girl.”

Andersen also wrote to the Grand Duke of Weimar in 1847: “On that cool evening, when you took your cloak and threw it around me, it warmed not only my body, but made my heart glow still more ardently.”

Although he went on to spend summers with the Grand Duke, no evidence exists of Andersen ever having had a sexual relationship with a man.

Denmark recently announced the introduction of full marriage equality rights for gay couples.

Denmark was the first country in the world to legalise same-sex unions, in 1989, and acts of homosexuality were decriminalised in 1933.

In 2009, Hitchens, a vocal supporter of gay rights, revealed in his memoirs he had gay liaisons at Oxford with men who later became Tory politicians.

Hitchens, who studied at Oxford in the 1960s, wrote in his memoirs, Hitch-22, that although he liked women, he occasionally had “relapses” with future members of Margaret Thatcher’s government.

He wrote: “Every now and then, even though I was by then fixed on the pursuit of young women, a mild and mildly enjoyable relapse would occur and I suppose that I can ‘claim’ this … of two young men who later became members of Margaret Thatcher’s government.

“For this very reason I can’t really give any more names.”

Hitchens was a vocal critic of the Catholic Church. In a debate on the BBC in 2009 in which he and Stephen Fry argued the Church was not a force for good, he said: “The church can apologise, too, for condemning my friend Stephen Fry, for his nature.

“For saying he couldn’t be a member of your church even if he wanted to. Don’t condemn him for what he does, condemn him for what he is!

“This is obscene, disgraceful and inhumane, and it comes from hysterical, sinister virgins who have already betrayed their charge of children.”

Stephen Fry wrote on Twitter: “Goodbye, Christopher Hitchens. You were envied, feared, adored, reviled and loved. Never ignored. Never bested. A great and marvellous man.”

Richard Dawkins said he was the “finest orator of our time”, a “valiant fighter against all tyrants including God”.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, once an intern for Hitchens, said: “Christopher Hitchens was everything a great essayist should be: infuriating, brilliant, highly provocative and yet intensely serious.”

US pastor Rick Warren, who has compared gay marriage to incest in the past but denied being homophobic, drew condemnation for tweeting: “My friend Christopher Hitchens has died. I loved & prayed for him constantly & grieve his loss. He knows the Truth now.”

Some on the micro-blogging site have described Warren’s reaction as “sick”, “disrespectful” and “gross”. One said, “You couldn’t resist, could you?”.

One of Warren’s supports thanked him for “speaking kindly” of Hitchens, when “it would be so easy to do otherwise”.

The competition gives couples a chance to win one of 16 “dream” weddings, to take place simultaneously around the islands next year.

The ongoing competition was open to “residents of the United Kingdom aged 18 and over, who are legally entitled to enter into marital/civil partnership in the UK and in The Bahamas”.

In a separate clause further into the terms and conditions, was written: “it is not Bahamas Government policy to provide marriage licenses for same sex couples and therefore same sex marriages cannot be performed.”

But confusion arose for one PinkNews.co.uk reader over why the civil partnerships eligibility clause had been included, as Bahamian law does not allow for these either.

As gay couples are not able to enter into civil partnerships in the Bahamas, and straight couples cannot have civil partnerships in the UK, no one would be eligible.

Speaking to PinkNews.co.uk, the Bahamas Tourist Office accepted the confusion, noting that the clause had been intended to refer to a non-religious marriage ceremony, not a civil partnership, and has clarified the rules.

However, one of the judges, Ruth Benford, Marketing Director for Goldsmiths jewellers, voluntarily stood down from the judging panel after the rules on gay couples were brought to her attention.

A spokesperson for Goldsmiths, who are sponsoring the competition, confirmed to PinkNews.co.uk yesterday that the company did not want to be seen to endorse an event which excluded the gay community.

In January, Peter and Hazelmary Bull, who own the Chymorvah Private Hotel near Penzance, were found to have acted unlawfully when denying civil partners Martin Hall and Steven Preddy a room.

The hoteliers were ordered to pay the gay couple £1,800 each in compensation, but were given leave to appeal the ruling.

James Dingemans QC, for the Bulls, told the three appeal judges this week that the hoteliers’ policy was designed to obviate the sexual practices they objected to, not to discriminate against guests on the grounds of sexual orientation.

He said the Bulls’s policy was not directly discriminatory, and that they were not trying to undermine the rights of Mr Hall and Mr Preddy.

He said their “religious beliefs might be considered outdated, or uneconomic for those operating a private hotel, or both, but it is respectfully submitted that, in the particular circumstances of the case, [they] are entitled to manifest them.”

Mr Hall and Mr Preddy are represented by Robin Allen QC, who said the Bulls were “missing the point”.

He argued that the men’s civil partnership entitled them to be treated like a heterosexual married couple.

Getting there
If you’re lucky enough to be one of the hundreds of thousands of PinkNews readers within reach of a London airport, you have a multitude of options to fly to New York. Book far enough in advance and you’ll be sure to grab bargains.

PinkNews flew from Heathrow to New York’s JFK airport with Virgin Atlantic, as we were on a trip to pamper ourselves, we decided to opt for Virgin Atlantic’s Premium Economy class. It’s not as pricey as going Upper Class (which features the longest flat beds in business class) but it’s still worth paying a small premium for.

After the sparkling wine on boarding, you’ll settle down into a comfy purple leather seat with more legroom than you’d find with a standard economy seat. You’ll be grateful of the extra leg room on your return flight, which is likely to be overnight. We landed back in London and went straight back to work!

Meals inside the premium cabin are served on china with silverware, making for a much more elegant dining experience. With an in-seat ‘media centre’ of films, music and games, the flight of just over seven hours, literally flew by.

JFK airport is a fair way out of the city, so don’t expect a big NY skyline when you land. The easiest and cheapest way to the city is via the Subway,
having first paid $5 for an AirTrain to the nearest station.

Getting around New York
If you’re a Londoner, then you’ll probably used to using the Tube and you’ll probably think that exchanging it for the Subway will be an easy task, well think again! This sprawling mass of numbers and letters are a far cry from London’s easily colour-coded, quaintly named lines. But with a bit of practise you’ll soon work out where you are going. Just remember if you’re aiming to head ‘Uptown’ or ‘Downtown’.

But if like us you are staying in central Manhattan, you will probably find that the Subway isn’t really needed that much. The city is incredibly accessible on foot and so it’s probably worth only splashing out for a pay as you go subway pass, it’s not quite as sophisticated as London’s Oyster system but you’ll get the idea. Getting around Manhattan is pretty easy if you’re any good with basic numbers and left/right directions. The avenue numbers go roughly east to west and the street numbers go roughly south to north. And if you’re not feeling like walking or Subwaying it, a yellow taxi is incredibly cheap, especially compared to the UK.

Where to stay
We booked into the brand new Yotel on our arrival. The first city centre hotel from Simon Woodroffe, the founder of Japanese restaurant chain Yo! Sushi, modelled on Japanese capsule hotels, It’s literally an ‘out of this world’ experience with a space or air travel like feel. Indeed the ‘cabins’ as their rooms are labelled were designed by Softroom, who designed the interiors of Virgin Atlantic Upper Class.

Everything about the experience of staying at Yotel is different to a regular hotel. You don’t get checked in, you check yourself in at an airport check-in kiosk style touch-screen station. It’s speedy and quite fun. The keys to your cabin then slots out of the machine and you make your way up to “Four”, the lobby area of the hotel on the fourth story. It’s from here that you can pick up complimentary muffins and hot drinks in the morning. From this floor, you journey up in the lift to your cabin floor, complete with space age style theme music.

We found ourselves on the ‘Premium Queen’ floor with a magnificent view over Manhattan, primarily unobstructed by other buildings as is normally the case with New York. The cute bed doubles as a sofa and when you open the door for the first time, it’s folded back. When you’re ready to sleep, click the button and your bed extends, just like in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class, which the rooms are modelled on.

The rooms are small, even by New York standards but they are really functional. Going to a city like New York on holiday means you’re unlikely to be spending too much time in your room. You want to get a great night sleep, in a comfy bed in a great location but that’s about it.

The Yotel is perfect for gay tourists because of its location right by Hells Kitchen, home of many of the best gay and lesbian bars and restaurants. Turning on an app like Grindr firmly shows you that this is one of the centres of gay life in New York, most of the people that pop-up are less than 100 metres from the Yotel, and not all of them are staying there!

Checking out of the hotel is also a pretty amazing experience. Rather than simply handing your baggage over to a bell boy, instead you get to use the stunning Yo! Bot, a robot that pulls you out a draw to fit your suitcase in and then secures it safely for you. The only downside is that it takes a little longer than using a human, but it’s way more fun!

Part two of this guide (what to do, where to party, where to eat, where else to stay) will be published next week.

Yotel
Yotel Premium Queen Rooms are priced from $239 per night (including continental breakfast)
To book visit Yotel.com

Virgin Atlantic fly five times daily to New York from London Heathrow. Premium fares start at £234 + £300.93 tax. For reservations please call 0844 2092770 or visit VirginAtlantic.com