The pub that changed me: It had some nefarious characters but with lovely shoes'

"In a packed pub, revellers chat, sip lager and look at their phones. Suddenly a side door crashes open, and in walks drag sensation John Sizzle, dressed as a hair-raisingly accurate Diana, Princess of Wales. She saunters demurely to a halo, fashioned from tinsel and coat hangers and stuck to the wall, stands under it, and starts lip-syncing to Beyonce's Halo. The crowd erupts."

"Just a regular Tuesday night at the Glory, the Haggerston pub that had a decade of debauchery from 2014 to 2024. I worked at a nightlife magazine at the time and was there for most of it. I loved the fact that it offered an alternative to the ripple-muscled mainstream of London gay clubbing. Nothing wrong with rippled muscles of course, but sometimes you just want something a bit more inventive like the saucy Spanish-inspired night Gayzpacho (underwear-wrestling in a passata-filled paddling pool, anyone?)."

"I was there when they randomly decided to paper the pub's entire exterior in gold foil. I was there for groundbreaking drag contest Lipsync1000, where many of the UK's most infamous queens began, including Drag Race UK star Bimini Bon Boulash. I was there when they served microwaved pasta in that bizarre period during Covid when licensed venues could only open if they served food. They charged 1 per meal and called it Diana's Delish Dish."

"You didn't stand out if you wore outlandish clothes or acted strangely at the Glory. You stood out if you didn't. Straight couples occasionally dropped in by accident, or were dragged along by gay friends, and they too were welcomed with open arms, if perhaps some gentle teasing of sensible jumpers or footwear. As with any pub, it had some nefarious characters. It taught me that just because someone's wearing a sparkly sarong and a jaunty red beret, they shouldn't necessarily be trusted. Often, it's exactly the opposite."

The Glory pub in Haggerston hosted a decade of chaotic, inventive queer nightlife between 2014 and 2024. The venue staged outrageous drag performances, themed nights such as Gayzpacho, and spectacles including gold-foil exteriors and the Lipsync1000 contest that launched prominent queens. Performers lip-synced under makeshift halos and the crowd embraced outrageous costumes and gentle teasing of straight visitors. During Covid the pub served microwaved pasta sold as "Diana's Delish Dish." The space welcomed diverse patrons while accommodating occasional nefarious characters, teaching that flamboyant dress did not predict trustworthiness and that the community prized creativity and inclusivity.

Read at www.theguardian.com