NEWS FROM ZIMBABWE

HARARE – President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party will block any draft constitution that does not reflect the views and values of the party, a top official has said, signaling more problems ahead for Zimbabwe’s troubled constitutional reforms.

                                     http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=6203

UNAIDS Salutes Country Leadership To Eliminate HIV-related Restrictions On Entry, Stay And Residence

UNAIDS Salutes Country Leadership To Eliminate HIV-related Restrictions On Entry, Stay And Residence

LIFE AFTER THE SCENE

So today i posed a question to you all out there. It something that has been on my mind for some time now and i think at one point or another we ALL end up thinking about it.

What happens to the elderly gay community once they 'fall off the gaydar' and they have reached their proverbial expiery date?

This is obviously not just pertaining to men, but also to women and the rest of the LGBTI community. In what a friend of mine would like to call the 'GAY STOCK EXCHANGE' it seems that at some point we all face our individual 'retirement-plan' and unless you are loaded with cash or have the good body or wear the right clothes etc, you are pretty much going to end up being one of those guys (or girls) who either sits alone at home, or a room, without any real friends (maybe) or on the corner of a bar looking at all the young ones passing by and thinking to yourself, 'wow....those were the days....' only to go home again, alone.

What if there was a place that granted you the peace of mind to know that you were surrounded by your peers, not necesarily a partner, but just good riends around you. What if you were in a place where you knew you were being looked after in you old age, by professional people. What if you knew you were still important to the community, the village that you helped build.

So this weeks poll is pretty simple;

DO YOU THINK THERE IS A NEED FOR A RETIREMENT VILAGE/CENTRE OR EVEN JUST A SPACE WHERE THE OLDER FOLK CAN STILL FEEL LIKE A PART OF THE 'GAY VILLAGE'?

Go check out the poll and feel free to vote and have your friends vote too. After all, who knows, YOU might be the one that ends up feling left out and forgotten.

ciao
Charl

CBC News - World - Argentina Senate approves same-sex marriage

CBC News - World - Argentina Senate approves same-sex marriage

THE VERY LATE UPDATE!

Heya!

Ok, so first order of the day is to apologise for my VERY late posting. its been quite a while, but lemme explain!

About three weeks ago i boarded the plane for another trip to a foreign country. This time i set my course for Berlin, where i was to attend the Christopher Street Parade. Now for those of you who don't know, Christopher Street is in the West village, New York City. this used to be the hub of gay life in the 70's. It is also the street on which you would find Stonewall Inn. its patrons started a series of riots in 1969 and this is seen to be the initiation of the gay libration movement. In short, today, we have have these guys, and Christopher street to thank for our Gay Pride, and Berlin hosts one of the Biggest Christopher Street Parades in the world.

So anyway. it just seemed right that i go. Now this was not a social call. It was the first time i got to sit down with Eric and Tore, Directors of Mr Gay World, after the competition. I arrived on the Thursday morning and was accomomdated at the lovely Kempinski Hotel Adlon, thanks for that Bruce, it was truly such a great experience. On the Friday evening, once everybody had arrived from their respective countries, MR GAY EUROPE, Sergio Lara also being there, we attended a VIP Evening hosted by AIR FRANCE/KLM at the lovely Kempinski Adlon. here we got to meet with Celebrities and the like from Germany and it was an honour to be there as Mr Gay World representing the Greater Gay community.

The next morning we had just enough time for an early breakfast before Sergio, Eric and I headed off to Patrick Hellmann or our fitting. From the fitting it was straight back to the hotel to drop off our gear, then head off to the start of the parade where Sergio and i hopped onto the first Float and so began the four hour procession to the endline and the Brandenburger Gate, where a big concert would be held that evening with internatioal Dj's and artists, but our duties were not done yet, we still had a photoshoot! Back at the Hotel Sergio and I got out of our pride gear and into the suits for the Kempinski Shoot, in the Presidential Suite. Now to give you an idea, this suite is the very suite that the Late King, MJ, dangled his baby rom the window. so ther was a certain sence of awe about it. :)

Long story short, Saturday came and went and and I finally got into bed at about 3pm having sat in meetings for most of the night.

Sunday morning, was my last day in Berlin, so i managed to get some sight seeing done and get my hands on a few gifts for the folks back home. i made it back to the hotel just in time to pack, take a few more pics and head on down to the concierge where my ride was waiting. with my total trip coming to 4 days, i had a lovely long flight back home to think about what the weekend was all about. What did i learn? What will the fruit be from this trip?

Well, my dear friends, check out Part Two of this piece and find out....

(i have to do this otherwise it gets waaayyyy to long) the rest will follow soon!

Love always

Charl

Can you FEEL it, it is HERE!

So yesterday saw the first game of the first ever FIFA world cup soccer to be held on the African continent!

If there was excitement among fans across the world because they get to see their favourite teams again play in this world class tournament, then you can bet that here in South Arica it was amplified by a million! From the night before when the (first ever) official pre-party was held, you could feel the excitement build up. You could hear the sound of Vuvuzelas blurting out their signature tone from a distance and as the day of the game drew near, so did their sound!

With my own nerves and excitement building up on Friday morning (having to go for an interview at the German Consulate) I could feel a change in the air. The cheerful sound of fans walking the streets (blowing their vuvuz) greeting each other as if they knew each other for years, made me think back to the time of the World Cup Rugby in 1995, and how it had brought our country together. Once again, people had forgotten about what separated us, and focussed on the one thing that not only brought us together, but brought the whole world together on an equal platform, or should I say pitch. Interesting how a sport, where you’d expect fan rivalry and separation, was the one thing that brought people together!

I took a proverbial ‘step back’ and looked at the crowd that had filled up the seats at La Vie (where we ended up watching the Bafana Game). The place was filled with avid soccer fans, as well as people whom had never watch a match in their life (including myself). When that first goal was scored I vividly remember ALL of us jumping up as if we had all just received a jolt of electricity at the same time! The excitement and camaraderie (and vuvu-sounds) that came from that was incredible and I could only ask myself one question…

                                       

WHY CANT EVERY DAY BE A FOOTBALL DAY!

Mr. Gay World 2010 at Your Fingertips!

Mr. Gay World 2010 at Your Fingertips!

Hey ya'll!

It's a while since I updated my blog. The reason being that this past fortnight has been a bit of an adjustment for me. As some of you might know, Patrick and I are in the process of moving to Johannesburg. I have to admit, its both daunting and exciting as it's a new starts in a new city and along with that comes the unknown, but both of us have confidence in knowing that its all going to be OK. 

It's been an interesting time since I have left my old job. I have been trying to focus more on future projects I would like to take on as Mr Gay World. I also attended a March for the two guys from Malawi, Steven and Tiwonge. By now I'm sure you all know who they are and also the end result of their fate. I must admit I was ecstatic when one of my friends, Kevin Moore called me up on Saturday afternoon, telling me he had just heard they were released. Within seconds the news spread like wild fire! At the end of the day, our voices were heard, because we all took a stand and became the voice for people who could not speak for themselves!

 ON A DIFFERENT NOTE: Some of my travelling arrangements have changed. Unfortunately I will not be able to make it to NYC Pride this year, but I will be in Berlin from the 17th -20th June! So if you are in the area, come and say hi, or just come and have a good time in Berlin.

Also, check out the ink above for  QTown. its a US magazine that has just released its 6th edition. I'm on the cover and also doing some Q and A, so let me know what you think!

For now, ill say ciao.

C