‘I was a local designer. That all sort of went under and I walked away and went to the darkside – they did a double page feature on it in the Sunday Times.
‘I find I have to prove myself again to people. There are always people who are going to wait for you to trip up and fall, especially those who are doing what I was doing. The fact that such a big thing that was bad in my life was printed in a newspaper means that nobody can gossip about me. For me, I have been given a second chance, which I am very aware of. I was dropped like a hotcake from all of the best parties, and I found out who my real friends were. Tim [Brown] was there and the club [Connections] was there.
‘There’s a lot of people who have a sense of ownership over Connections, feel they have the right to say what they think about it. All the rumours go round when you do anything that ‘they’re going straight’ To be honest we have to realise there’s a climate change, you really can find pockets of gay people in every night club. We are very conscious we are a gay pub, but we’re not separatists. Connections has always been a very accepting venue, a mix of all different types.
‘We have a great relationship with the Court. We support each other within the community. Russell and I go back along way – he saved my life once. The back of my house was burning down, and there he was knocking on my front door.
‘Running my own business has prepared me for a lot of stuff. You learn along the way what not to do. Fashion is not about drawing pretty pictures, being a designer is about problem solving and so is managing. The manager doesn’t have to pour the perfect beer or mix the perfect mix. It is about being able to direct people into what I want them to do. I’m a bit of a control freak. I had one Wednesday night off because they made me not come in, as every time I would turnaround something would fall apart. So I didn’t come in…and the smoke machine stopped working, the DJ didn’t turn up and the dishwasher broke down…’
