EarthBoy

Corner of Norfolk Street and Charles Street? That's where the post office is, near Howden House. The Roebuck's near there, as was the Yorkshire Grey until it was knocked down about ten years ago, -it was where the Cheesegrater carpark is now. Do you mean either of those bars?

Dempseys has always been quiet in the daytime anyway. It makes most of its money after midnight.

4.45 on a weekday? Like the LGBT cafe, not convenient for most working people.

That cafe is only open one day a week, midweek at that, and only during daytime/office hours. So, no use at all to most working people. I wouldn't call that "strong and popular".

It's now the Hop.

The comments were quotes from the taxi driver's forum that aeinstein199 mentioned. aeinstein199's point was that we can't feel safe if taxi drivers with views like this are driving us home.

It became a gay bar in 2000. I'm told that back in the 80s it was a posh wine bar, and the place to go in Sheffield.

We only know what they've put on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1710866912467130/ It closed down very suddenly, just before Christmas last year. There was no announcement or warning beforehand and they made no statement afterwards, so it's anybody's guess as to why they closed. Presumably it wasn't profitable for the owners, which is why most venues close.

According to posts I've seen on Facebook, OMG had put their prices up last night (Saturday). It was £6 to get in and Carling was £4.20 per pint. As for having to leave drinks unattended whilst you go out to smoke, isn't that the case in most places? I thought the venue needed a special licence to allow drinking outside.

Nightclubs normally only open at night; that's why they are called "night" clubs. I don't think OMG is claiming to be anything other than a nightclub. From what I can tell from their website, their other clubs are only open at night.

It opens on Friday 30th October according to their Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/omgsheffield?fref=ts

It's not only the older folk who drink real ale.

Phalluses?!?!?! What's going through your mind? I think you mean fallacies. It's free entry for members before 10.00 pm. I think they've reduced the entry fee (for members, at least) because the last few times I've been it only cost £2.50.

It was working 15 minutes ago, because I was reading it, but it seems to have gone down now. I don't know what the problem with it is.

That was Affinity towards the end. Hope Icons isn't going the same way.

They would have gone bust and closed down long since if they'd done that. Even if people turn up on the correct night it will be dead because most of the students will have gone home for Christmas by then.

I'd do the opposite. Twist (downstairs) is spacious, nicely decorated with plenty of seating areas as well as a dancefloor. It could easily double as a bar/club. Fuel (upstairs) is small, dark and dingey. Close Fuel and keep Twist, would be my advice.

No. Only Twist will be opening Tuesday to Saturday. Fuel will still only open Friday and Saturday.

No, it's 14 years. Dempseys opened as a gay bar in 2000. 13th June 2000, to be precise, according to their Facebook page.

I passed it the other day and it's been renamed #31 now. No idea what it's like.

There are only three: Icons, Dempseys and Twist. Icons is at the bottom of West Street, near the City Hall tram stop, open daily from 4.00pm. Dempseys is on Hereford Street at the bottom of the Moor, open daily from 12.00 noon. Twist is on Snig Hill, past the Premier Inn, only open Friday and Saturday evenings. Twist also has a club, Fuel, joined on, which is only open later in the evening. Dempseys is the longest established gay bar in Sheffield, but only tends to get busy late at night, -say after midnight. Early evening, Icons is probably the best and busiest place.

Ask at Icons on West Street, behind the City Hall. Their upstairs bar is available for parties. They're on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ICONSSheffieldpage/info

Then don't expect to be taken seriously. Snap. Our experience must be very similar. I used to do London Pride every year in those days and have done Manchester Pride most years since the mid 90s, plus several Prides in Newcastle, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Bradford and Barnsley, so I know a lot about Prides, big and small. I also used to go on the marches against Clause 28 in the 80s, so I know how the gay community can stick together when need be. So why did you say that there weren't any social groups in Sheffield if you know there are some? I'm sorry about your experience. I have heard other reports about Dempsey's door staff not being very helpful when help is needed, but I can only say that I've never witnessed any such events myself. This is very sad, but that young lad clearly hasn't much experience of gay bars. There were usually several "older" customers whenever I went into Affinity. Twist and Fuel publish lots of photos on their Facebook page and they aren't all of spring chickens. Old Fuel has been closed for several years, so if you've never been out in Sheffield since then you can't possibly know what it's like now. Why not come down to Icons or Twist and find out? Clearly I don't know the circumstances of what happened but your friend's not being young and pretty can't have been the cause of it. Otherwise, the same could have happened to dozens of people. It used to be a free event but now it's cordoned off and ticketed, just like Manchester. Brighton and Liverpool Prides have gone the same way. Everybody's views will differ as to what they consider "quality" Everybody deserves respect, not just our elders.

Both Dempseys and Icons are open every night. Where do older people feel unwelcome? There are quite a few "older" customers in Dempseys and Icons and in my experience everyone is friendly and nobody is made to feel unwelcome. Also, you will find bitchy people on the scene everywhere. Sheffield is no worse than anywhere else for this. Dempseys has had a collecting tin for Pride on the bar for as long as I can remember. Icons had a courtyard launch party the week before Pride and an after party on the night. Twist and Fuel also had an after party. Few places have. I don't know of any in Leeds or Manchester, either. We do have gay social groups. See a list here: http://www.gaysheffield.co.uk/social/ Why not try joining one or two of the groups instead of whingeing? Or even start your own group if these aren't to your liking. What's a gay store? Don't gay men and women buy the same stuff as everybody else? Are there special gay products that only gay people buy? If you mean Clone Zone, they closed most of their branches some years ago because they weren't making money. I believe they now only have branches in four cities: London, Birmingham, Manchester and Brighton. Do we need a gay village? Discuss. Writing FACT in capitals like that doesn't prove your point; it simply means that you are shouting. That's no substitute for reasoned discussion. What constitutes a gay community anyway? People make their own community based round their friends, places they go to, and people they meet whilst out socialising. We do have a gay community but it sounds like you don't want to be part of it. Younger people don't like being ripped off either, and I don't see any ripping off taking place in Sheffield. Our drinks are certainly cheaper than in most of the bars on Canal Street. You can choose where you want to eat and drink anywhere; you aren't obliged to stay inside the Pride area all the time. Sheffield has plenty of nice bars and places to eat. "Good quality" cabaret and music is simply down to taste. I wouldn't put All Saints in that category, but each to his own. Even at the big Prides, like Manchester, most people won't have heard of half the acts they have on stage. They just have a few big name headliners to draw the crowds. You are caged in at Manchester Pride; it's just a bigger "cage" than the one at Sheffield. If you stay inside the cordoned off Pride area you can only buy food and drink from inside, so Sheffield is no different to Manchester in that respect. But you're not a prisoner, you can always eat elsewhere and return to the Pride area later. This sounds much like the weekend I had in Sheffield; yours was just on a larger scale. I'm surprised you had cheap drinks though; I always find Manchester's drink prices are a lot more expensive than in Sheffield. You should try Sheffield with an open mind, instead of a closed one. If you go out having already made your mind up that it's rubbish then you're not likely to enjoy yourself.

Icons was packed for most of the evening too.