Latest 7 magazine

Katie is not a fan of life in cartoon motion, and stumbles across Mika’s dark secret

I am not a fan of Mika. I hope he takes this personally. He should. Because the reason I don’t like him is not that his sell-out sugar drenched pop makes me want to reach for a bottle of gin, a packet of painkillers and a sharp razor. It is because he is a twat.

Anytime I have met Mika he’s been a moron. (Never was alliteration so satisfactory). Reserving his multicoloured charisma for the likes of music videos and daytime TV he manages the feat of consistently behaving like a spoilt diva and a nobody at the same time.

This off-message muppetry comes across in various forms, but most significantly so in his miserable antisocialness.

The first time I meet Mika it was at a hugely public event – 200 plus people had been invited, Read the rest of this article »

Katie finds herself on the red carpet and hanging out by the toilets with Mel C

Award ceremonies are fun but they’re also exhausting. Entering a room filled with celebs should be a dream come true for a gossip columnist, but confronted with a million people you should be talking to at once when your editor is screaming for results, sometimes feels like more trouble than it’s worth.

I’d rather have a million good stories from bad parties where no-one was expecting anything, than have to scrabble around the Oscars in a mad panic, knowing your editor is expecting gold. Read the rest of this article »

Katie spends time contemplating how much easier life would be as a teenage boy

I am lying on my bedroom floor, eating ham, watching Hollyoaks and texting the boy I met on the tube, when my flatmate walks in. He takes in the mess – imagine a room that looks like a wardrobe and a Rizla factory have imploded on it. He clocks the Burberry check shirt I am wearing and, poking the half eaten packet of ham with his foot, informs me: “Your life has reached a new low.“

“Oh bugger off“, I tell him, “my room’s no worse than any other teenage boy“.

“That’s the point Katie“, he scowls down at me, witheringly: “you’re not actually a teenage boy. You should take some responsibility for your life“.

If only Simon knew what responsibility was.

The problem with going to posh parties all week is that it gives you a taste for the anti-social.

“Once you have discovered that celebrities are self-obsessed muppets, celebrity parties lose their appeal“

Read the rest of this article »

It’s fun; it’s sporty and very social. Paul Disney caught up with Tim Rose, chair of Brighton Lesbian and Gay Sports Society

Describe yourself.
I’m 62 and I have been very happy living as a gay man in Brighton and Hove for ten years. I retired from my job as a schoolteacher as Head of Humanities nearly three years ago. I currently work two days a week for the Aim Higher organisation that aims to get more people from disadvantaged backgrounds into university.

Why Brighton and Hove?
I had been in denial about my sexuality for decades and I had just got divorced from my wife, it was a particularly difficult time for me, so I thought Brighton would be a good move although I didn’t know anyone who lived here. Also I have four grandchildren, two who live in Michigan US and the other two in Worthing here in Sussex. We are a close family and it’s good to be near my daughter and grandchildren.

What would be your ideal night out?
I enjoy meeting people. I love eating out. A night out at a bar such as Legends is a great option. I also sing in a classical choir, and I really enjoy going to concerts. Also my work with BLAGSS, as well as being the chair, I am also a co-ordinator for the walking group.

Read the rest of this article »