Made in Melbourne! Enjoyed Nationally ... - Q Magazine

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q current affairs: with ASH HOGAN It’s that time of year again. I don’t know about you, but I was always a huge believer in Santa Claus as a young boy. Something about the logistics of landing an overweight sleigh on a snowy roof with antlers as engine power seemed completely plausible. Of course as we mature, Santa Claus starts to mean different things to us; perhaps even known as Saint Nick, Dun Che Lao Ren, or Sintirklass - seriously, that last one is Dutch. And I hear he is popular as ever in the bear community… There is a serious side however to this time of year. The holiday season tends to bring added stress to religious holidays when you identity as GLBTi. Realistically, it can be hard to celebrate the interpretation of Christmas or Hanukkah when official readings say you are damned. Add in the pressure of visiting family who have conservative views and having to introduce Steve as “your best friend from high school/university/workplace”. Or when everyone is avoiding the elephant in the room that Aunty Gwen’s “friend” will be joining the family for lunch. For a community that is making such forward strides in relationship equality in the public domain, it’s questionable about how comfortable we are in discussing it with our closest blood relatives. I’m always saddened to hear of GLBTi friends who are estranged from their immediate family. Whilst I personally went through a somewhat challenging coming out experience in a fractured family, relationships can heal for the better. Sixteen Christmases on from that very strained time in 1994, I often have the pleasure of spending the holidays with either parent, their married partner, and associated step siblings. The spirit of giving can be as simple as letting history be forgotten, and taking the higher ground; tomorrow is always, just another day forward. For the first time last year, I found myself in a country that didn’t recognise me as openly gay, OR the holiday season at all. Regular readers to Q Magazine would know that I spent last year in Saudi Arabia, a country not known for Catholicism or Christmas trees. I found the complete blackout to be a very formidable experience, and ended up fleeing across the causeway to Bahrain where at least I could celebrate with a drink or two amongst close friends. This year I am very fortunate enough to be having a white Christmas for the first time ever with my extended GLBTi family in the Northern Hemisphere. Naturally, I’m going to see if my reindeer story really does check out. If you need to talk to someone this holiday season, you can always reach out to Lifeline on 13 11 14 (Australia wide) or the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard in Melbourne on (03) 9663 2939. Finally, on behalf of all the team here at Q, Magazine have a safe and happy festive holiday wherever you may be. Season’s greetings! Ashley Hogan is an Australian writer who calls the world home. Subscribe to Q Magazine Have Q Magazine posted to you on a monthly basis for only $36 / year. That’s a full year of Q Magazine, home delivered for only $36. Send your money order now to Q Magazine P.O. Box 7479 St. Kilda Road VIC 8004 - clearly listing your name and address so we can get it all happening for you.
q travel extra: A PIECE OF NYC GOLD On a recent trip to New York, I was kindly invited to view the Chelsea Pines Inn and the surrounding area of Chelsea. For those of you who have never been to NYC (New York City) I can highly recommend it (in fact I have often referred to it as my second home). The whole place (situated across five boroughs - Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island) makes you feel alive and really the centre of the earth. Whether you enter via La Guardia or the John F Kennedy International Airport, NYC is not a place you can see in one day. Fortunately I have had the great opportunity of visiting there several times over the past few years. I also have to say a big thank you to my darling friend, Alan Reiff for allowing me to stay in the second bedroom of his gorgeous apartment in Astoria, Queens. But now some information about Chelsea Pines Inn - a true gem in the crown of NYC. Located near the confluence of some of Manhattan's most famous 'hoods - Chelsea, Greenwich Village, and the Meatpacking District - the gay-owned and operated Chelsea Pines Inn has long provided affordable respite to queer and Aussie travelers in the know. Originally built as a private home in the 1850s, the five-story walk-up row house was used as the setting for Cool Air, a short story by horror master H. P. Lovecraft. Within the extremely walkable area are some of New York’s most innovative and exciting sites – the new High Line (a former elevated industrial railway now reinvented as a park), Chelsea Market (a foodie’s paradise and the largest indoor food market in NYC) and the Hudson River Park (a riverside park that runs the length of the island, where you’re sure to glimpse the occasional skating or biking Chelsea-boy shirtlessly working his way from Battery Park to the George Washington Bridge!). The 23-room urban bed-and breakfast, which has welcomed guests since the 1980s, recently underwent renovations including the addition of 1-Bedroom Suites and a Business Center with computers and printer available to guests on a complimentary basis. Every room is unique and dedicated to a celluloid hero from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and each has a flatpanel television with satellite reception (featuring HBO and LOGO), 300 thread-count luxury linens, and Gilchrist & Soames bath amenities. For further information go to www.chelseapinesinn.com
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Page 8 and 9: q people: with MARC J PORTER Daddy
Page 10: q food & lifestyle: with PETE DILLO
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Page 26 and 27: q scene: OUT & ABOUT Feast - Adelai
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Made in Melbourne! Enjoyed Nationally ... - Q Magazine

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