FUSE 01 Gay Love Life and Politics.

Editors Welcome Message FUSE01

My eyes are somewhat bloodshot from the endless late nights at my computer and my voice hoarse from all the hooting I’ve had to do to get Fuse off the ground. But hey, looking back now I think it was all worth it.

My partner and I arrived in Canberra just over six months ago. I was returning after being away for over a decade and for Christopher it was to be a whole new experience, being a Sydney boy.

Canberra is a pretty special place for me, it’s where I was first posted as a young sailor, learnt to be a designer and, most importantly, it’s where I first came out and met my first gay friends. I have a real feeling of being home again. A part of me thinks that you don’t get a real appreciation for Canberra until you’ve been away from it for a while — but I suppose that’s like most things in life.

When we first arrived in Canberra it was difficult for a new-comer to find community connections and we where surprised that Canberra did not have it’s own local GLBTQ paper or magazine.It started us wondering if we should maybe start one. This became particularly relevant when Sydney Star Observer and LOTL both decided that, in our current economic climate, we were no longer worth the cost of a courier… ‘go to the website,’ they said.

So we decided it was time for the Canberra GLBTQ community to have its own voice. And here we are… Woo-hoo!

Our first issue is jam-packed with some great stuff and we’ve tried our very best to make it as balanced as possible in relation to content. If you think we are missing something important, then here’s your chance to change that. We’ll always be looking for people who would like to contribute to the magazine and website.

I would like to extend a very special thank you to everyone that has already put in a tremendous effort to get our first issue off the ground. All our contributors who wrote their little hearts out, and to our advertisers, who’s support is very much appreciated.

The magazine would probably only be half as good if it was not for my wonderful partner Christopher who is always pushing me to go that extra mile, and the fabulous Yas, our associate editor, who is nothing less than a bloody genius.

Enjoy!
Alexander Thatcher