I haven’t blogged for a while. This is largely because Demonic has been released and I’m always spent after releasing an album, so like to take a little break while I recharge. But perhaps another reason is that I’ve been enjoying something very special, something fun and engaging; something that’s coming to an end.
The Forbidden Fruit is the only openly LGBT-friendly venue in my home town of Hastings. I host the quiz there every Wednesday, there’s karaoke on a Friday, a cabaret act on a Saturday and delicious home-made roast dinners on a Sunday. But on June 27 (or rather the morning of June 28), the doors will close for the last time as the building will be sold and made into flats.
So what? Why am I blogging about this? Well, over the last nearly-two years, The Fruit has carved out a place in my heart. It’s a safe haven where I can be affectionate with my boyfriend in public, it’s a place where I’ve felt most comfortable and free from judgement, despite my own quirks and silliness, it’s a venue with music I enjoy and, for the most part, people I get on with.
In fact, the people have made the place for me. When those doors close, I will walk away, having been there from the day they opened, with a bunch of people in my life that were never there before. And these are people who are now important to me. They’ve enriched my life, embraced me and helped me expand my view of the world and its people. People in The Fruit have made me smile, made me laugh like a drain, made me feel a whole lot better about humanity as a species and I can’t thank them enough. In one way or another, I love them all.
I could reel off a list of names right about now, but frankly, I think it would get too emotional for me. I’m left hoping that the social environment that has been constructed could be transplanted, wholesale, somewhere else, but I know this can’t happen. And that makes me sad. I can’t help but reflect on those important people I might lose as a result of all this; the people who brighten your day in little ways even though you don’t consider them to be close friends. The Fruit is packed with your five-a-day of such people and I’m going to miss them too.
It’s last orders at the bar, ladies and gentlemen. Best make it a double.
