::   Giovanni's Room, a gay bookstore in Philadelphia, celebrated its 35th anniversary last week. It's the second-oldest gay-and-lesbian bookstore in the country, behind only New York's Oscar Wilde Bookshop, launched in 1967. The store is struggling, but owner Ed Hermance says persistence has allowed his shop to stay in business and become an institution in the Washington Square West "gayborhood". "If ever a business was created by a community, this is it," Hermance says. "People made this place with their blood and guts. The first three years, we were 100 percent volunteers." But Hermance, 68, admits he's worried because hasn't been able to find a buyer who's willing to take over his labor of love.

      ::   His own diocese has called anti-bay comments by a Church of England rector "highly offensive". Rev Peter Mullen wrote on his blog that gay men should be forced to have "sodomy" warnings tattooed on their backsides. He also called for all gay pride parades, which he branded "obscene", to be outlawed, and condemned a recent wedding ceremony for two gay priests. After his remarks were widely publicized, Mullen claimed they were meant as a joke, and resorted to the Palin excuse: "I certainly have nothing against homosexuals," he said, before actually mouthing these words: "Many of my dear friends have been and are of that persuasion."

      ::   An Associated Press story running in several newspapers takes a look at the unique challenges facing gay seniors. The story follows a similar, but more extensive feature run in Newsweek. The nation's 2.5 million (and growing) gay and lesbian seniors "are emerging as distinct community, getting more help and attention as they confront challenges that differ in many ways from their heterosexual counterparts", according to AP. AARP, an insurance company outfit that started out as a lobbying group for seniors, has agreed to co-sponsor a conference with New York City-based gay seniors network SAGE. Both articles tell of horror stories faced by some gay seniors, including health-care workers who use gloves to treat only their gay patients, or those patients being shuffled around from room to room to avoid harassment from other residents.

       ::   Till Kleinert's Cowboy, a "haunting" film about a city dweller and country lad who pay a terrible price for love has been named as the 2008 winner of the Iris Prize at the Cardiff LGBT film festival. Kleinert was presented with the £25,000 award by Torchwood creator Russell T Davies. A new £1,000 award for best feature film, was won by American James Bolton for Dream Boy. The film, which had its US premier at the Seattle International Film Festival, chronicles the romance of two gay adolescents. The emotions the boys cannot deny lead to a brutal reality as they try to navigate through the ghosts of prejudice in the rural South, according to SIFF.

anglican, gay business, bigotry