Wednesday 18th April 2007. Los Angeles, California. United States of America.

Well here I am in LA and what is on my to do list...the Hollywood Sign, a visit to the Grand Canyon, Sunset Strip, Disneyland, a tour of the star homes? Some of these may well be included the itinerary but I am here to investigate the real Hollywood.

As I was passing I decided to drop into the gothic revival Hollywood United Methodist Church, which was sadly closed. However, I explored a little further and Laura from the church office came and opened the building for me. It was quite beautiful in all its darkness and the limited lighting really helped me get a sense of the majesty of the stained glass. Sitting here alone with the whole church lit just for me, I get a true sense of peace in the hussle that is LA.

This congregation plays a leading role in integration here in Hollywood. As a reconciled congregation the community welcomes diversity and opens its doors to all whilst lobbying for greater acceptance of same gender unions within the wider Methodist community.

A thought for the moment…I really believe that if Our Lord was alive today he would be throwing us all out of the temple for our hatred, our bigotry and the prejudices that we allow to exist in our world.



I dined tonight at a Hollywood icon where the great and the good have been dining since Hollywood made its mark. The Musso & Frank Grill so reminded me of dining with my dear friends Carol and Dick Duhme; indeed it was the Town Club in dear old Jamestown transported to California. It had that elegant charm of a 1950’s dinner club.

The Egyptian Theater, my venue for tonight, proves to be very arthouse. The Egyptian is actually the older of the two famous Hollywood theatres and it has a very deep stage. Pre-dating the more famous Chinese Theater, the Egyptian was built in the early days of cinema when movie theatres had to offer a stage show in addition to the movie if they were to attract customers to the new medium that was the movies. In the side aisles here you can still see the hidden boxes where singers once stood, hidden from public view, to accompany the silent movies.

I couldn’t come to Hollywood and not see a movie and this was definitely the theatre in which to see it. Less famous than its sister, but far more historic.

Tonight’s offering is Small Town Gay Bar an insightful and award-winning documentary that is a courageous examination of small town life in general.

Taking the gay community as its focus this documentary takes us into communities where even meeting your friends for a drink in a local bar could mean risking your life. It is a tribute to the brave, courageous, creative and passionate owners and patrons of gay establishments, but in highlighting one type of bigotry it is a deeper reflection on the moral compass of America.

The film was enlightening but the after show question and answer debate was fascinating.

Described as noble in its mission, cute but not hot, this was true of this piece of film-making. I was as fascinated by the portrayal of life in bible-belt Mississippi with all the bigotry and hatred of “niggers” and “fags” etc as I was by the life of the main characters.

The Redneck attitudes of ignorance make you wish that such hatred could not breed, with the preaching of the ‘God hates’ message destroying our environment in its very broadest sense. This was a powerful film reflective of mans continuing inhumanity to his fellow man…and yet, all we have is each other!