It’s a South Coast institution, a beacon of gayness in a harsh straight city. News comes in that one of the very few gay nightspots in Portsmouth, down there on the south coast of England is to close its doors for good this coming Monday.
Martha’s, on Commercial Road in the city will host its final night on the Bank Holiday after it was announced it’s owners are pulling the plug.
Nick Hodgson, a students at the University of Portsmouth told The News: “I go to the club every Monday night and it always gets a big crowd. But I know other nights were really quiet. For me this venue was a good package – good audience and cheap drinks,” he added. “The fact a gay bar is closing disturbs the social aspect of Portsmouth for the LGBT community. That’s a big shame, a lot of people are disappointed.”
“It’s sad that it’s going, it’s been there for me many times, especially when I was just coming out and learning what it was to be gay” Derek a Martha’s regular and Southsea resident told us.
“It has long been a beacon of gayness in a harsh and sometimes homophobic city” Remarked Jason Shaw, “I remember travelling over many times to visit with friends or going there after doing some work in the city” The gay rights commentator and writer recalls. “But no matter how fondly it’s thought of, or however many memories it makes, if people are not going there enough, then closure is inevitable”
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