Travel – Alberta: Edmonton & the Canadian Rockies

Home to the Canadian Rockies, it’s even where they shot Brokeback Mountain! Adrian Gillan visits the province of Alberta for soaring peaks in Jasper and big city buzz in capital Edmonton! Born out of Canada’s own Wild West – where outlaws, prospectors and trappers moved amongst native peoples before the British Empire took hold, naming [...]

Bent Travel – Mumbai guys!

It’s not all “slumdog” in buzzing Bombay – or Mumbai, as now known! Gay ban recently lifted, Adrian Gillan flies, with Virgin Atlantic, direct to India’s financial, media and party capital! Originally a string of scarce-inhabited islands off the mid-west Indian coast; snubbed by the Portuguese who preferred Goa a few hundred miles south; gifted [...]

Travel – FAB FAL!

Bugger Bondi! Adrian Gillan far prefers the handsome surfer types wafted in by warm Gulf Stream winds all-year-round down in and around Cornwall’s lovely, balmy Falmouth! And there’s never been a better time to visit than during the Fal River Festival  (24th May – 2nd June)! It’s a surprisingly long chug down to, then along, [...]

Travel – Breathless in Venice

Gaping gondolas! Adrian Gillan visits one of the most genuinely unique, beautiful – and frankly unlikely – cities on Earth! But quick… the waters are rising! It makes Amsterdam look positively land-locked! And gives Canal Street a whole new meaning! One of our planet’s indisputable urban wonders, former wealthy city-state Venice – once conquered by [...]

Travel – St. Moritz: budget Glitz!

Adrian Gillan is far from neutral about the surprisingly affordable non-downhill-ski winter options in and around the world-famous glam Swiss resort of St. Moritz! Perched at around 1800m in the stunning Engadin valley – in the Eastern canton that is Switzerland’s largest winter sports region, Graubünden – the well-nigh iconic resort town of St. Moritz [...]

When in Rome? Men in Rome!

by Adrian Gillan for Bent   Spread across seven hills, the grandeur of Ancient Rome still bedazzles! And as for the Roman men! TO SEE ‘N DO Take in the iconic Colosseum, where naughty Nero thumbed-down gladiators, and Christians fed lions; the vast yet still elegant hole-in-the-roof Pantheon, built for Hadrian; and those former hubs of [...]

Travel – Yorkie Bars!

It bore Guy Fawkes, and Judi Dench – but it won’t bore you! Bent’s Adrian Gillan hits student-brimming York – almost exactly 800 years after King John granted it city status. From Roman Eboracum to Viking Jorvik, from the Normans and the Plantagenets to modern-day tourist and student hoards: the small city of York may [...]

Travel – Bent on Kent!

                                                             Photo: Visit Kent From the history of the Medway Towns to the seaside frolic of the Isle of Thanet, Adrian Gillan finds that the north coast of Kent – the ‘Garden of England’ – is full of low hanging fruit! From Normans and Dickens in the Medway Towns, to esplanades and Tracey Emin on [...]

Hot, Fit, Swiss!

Chocolate ‘n cheese, mountain ‘n lake, money ‘n men: Adrian Gillan is far from neutral about the sporty summer outdoors and butt-bare spas of Switzerland, amidst lofty Alps and fit male bods! Naturally dramatic Switzerland has it all, even in the non-snowy seasons: invigorating outdoor activities, relaxing spas and finest food! And nowhere more so [...]

Travel – Man oh man, oh Manitoba!

                                                                 Photo: DanHarper The ultimate high-contrast town-country combo, in central Canada! Adrian Gillan hangs out with polar bears and beluga whales in the wilds of northern Manitoba; then enjoys the spas, eateries and culture of provincial capital, Winnipeg! The central Canadian province of Manitoba, and its vibrant provincial capital Winnipeg, can be readily reached from [...]

SEXY TEXAS

     How ya’all doin’ ya’all? Adrian Gillan rates raunchy ranchers in Fort Worth and pumps barrels of creamy man-oil in Dallas down in sexy Texas! Yeeee… ha!   Like things big? Texas may be the second largest and second most populous US state; but you’d have to rank it first for friendly attitude and [...]

Travel – Terrific Dubrovnik

    Jewel of the Adriatic! Adrian Gillan enjoys history, food and men in Croatian gem, Dubrovnik!  Undisputed jewel of the Croatian Adriatic coast, in medieval times Dubrovnik rivalled Venice, as witnessed by many surviving buildings in the UNESCO World Heritage old town – surrounded by its impressive walls and bisected by a main street, [...]

Travel – Hello Sailor: Gay Portsmouth & Isle of Wight!

  Ahoy me boys! Manly mariner Adrian Gillan drifts into dock for a naval binge in Portsmouth – plus the neighbouring Isle of Wight!     A pleasant 1½ hour journey from London – on South West Trains – wafts you down to Portsmouth: the place that gave Nelson his Victory and has given sailors [...]

Travel – Hot in Ottawa!

It may be winter in the Canadian capital, but Ottawa’s history, culture and men leave Adrian Gillan all in a sweat! First sighted by French explorers in the early 17th Century, settled (largely by Brits and Irish) since the early 19th Century and made capital of the Canadian Province by Queen Victoria in 1857, grand [...]

Travel – Barca Boys

You know… that place near Sitges! Adrian Gillan visits the Catalan capital of camp and cool and finds Barcelona still one of the hottest, hippest gay places in Europe!   Though truly steeped in grand, opulent Spanish history, and fiercely protective of its distinctive Catalan culture and tongue, Barcelona really began to newly sing-and-hum ever [...]

Newquay nookie!

Photo: Newquay PR team.   Who needs Hawaii? Adrian Gillan far prefers the gorgeous surfer boys wafted in by warm Gulf Stream winds all-year-round down in Cornwall’s lovely, balmy Newquay!   It’s a deceptively long trek down to, and then along, Cornwall’s devastatingly beautiful peninsula, in the South West of England. But as your train [...]

Travel – Edinburgh

Great Scot! Adrian Gillan takes the high road for a queer cultural treat in Scottish capital, Edinburgh!   From medieval Old Town with Castle, Vaults and Royal Mile, to Georgian New Town with its stucco squares, this “Athens of the North” blends historic heritage with living culture and even boasts its very own well-nigh “inner-city [...]

Queer Windermere?

Adrian Gillan enjoys the extreme non-scene on and around England’s largest natural lake, Windermere. The Lake District’s majestic fells, spectacular lakes and old-world villages make it a haven from the humdrum bustle of the outside world – an extreme non-scene. Whether seeking peace and tranquillity, a fun-filled family holiday, adrenalin-rush japes or local culture and [...]

Queer Canaries

Bent’s intrepid Adrian Gillan explores some high-contrast Canary Islands – indisputably gayest Gran Canaria; plus quiet little La Gomera, reached by short ferry ride from mighty Tenerife! Just three and half hours from the UK by plane, due south, the gay-friendly Canary Islands – volcanic idylls, rising up out of the mighty North Atlantic – [...]

Delhi good!

India’s gay ban has just been lifted! Adrian Gillan flew direct to buzzing capital, Delhi. First populated hundreds of years BC, in the misty eons of the times of the proto-Hindu Mahabharata tales, one of the first major external civilisations to leave substantial physical traces on the city and region of Delhi in North West [...]

Ibiza Geezer! – By Adrian Gillan

Already mad about Mallorca and Menorca, Adrian Gillan samples that gayest of Balearics: Ibiza! It attracted artists in the 50s, hippies in the 60s, the jet-set in the 70s and clubbers in the 80s and 90s. 150 miles south of Barcelona, the Spanish, Catalan-speaking Mediterranean island of Ibiza is constantly reinventing itself, currently developing chic [...]

Hello Sailor: Royal Caribbean Cruises

Adrian Gillan enjoys the big cruise experience aboard gay-wooing Royal Caribbean International’s amazing Brilliance of the Seas. 90,000 tonnes; 300 metres long; 2,500 guests! Royal Caribbean International’s 13-deck mid-size Radiance-class ship, Brilliance of the Seas, is jaw-dropping enough even pre-sailing – viewed from the port – its balcony windows and glass-clad central atrium dazzling in [...]

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