The much-loved Cardiff pub which has survived so much but could now close for good
The much-loved Cardiff pub which has survived so much but could now close for good
It's nostalgia meets eccentricity at the Golden Cross which is Wales' oldest gay bar
The Golden Cross is a legendary Welsh pub, but faces an uncertain future
(Image: John Myers )
In a hidden corner of Cardiff's city centre, now swamped by modern high rise hotels and offices, is Wales' oldest gay bar. Of all the anthems played at the grade-II listed Golden Cross pub in the shadow of John Lewis and the second St David's shopping centre, Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive would be fitting.
It's nostalgia meets eccentricity at the pub which dates back to 1863 and became a gay venue in the late nineties having previously been set for demolition.
Now glitter portraits of stars including Welsh legends Ian H Watkins, Gareth Thomas and Tom Jones decorate the walls of the dark room at the rear. It's rather PG-guidance compared to the sort of dark room you'd find in Gran Canaria or Sitges, and yet it's where kinky lovers of Cardiff's leather scene regularly meet for a late night intriguingly described as 'anything goes'.
The main room features a long L-shaped bar - one of only 14 remaining ceramic bar counters left in Britain. The room appears almost unchanged from Western Mail archive pictures taken in the nineties, and includes an open space with a raised stage.
It doesn't look like much, yet the tight room where punters cram on a Friday and Saturday night has become a mecca for drag cabaret which rivals anything you'll see in Europe. You'll regularly find Amber Dextrous, Dr Bev and Baroness Mary Golds ripping the crowd to shreds - all in fabulous taste.
This picture of John Gallagher, then new manager of the Golden Cross, was taken in June 1986 after the pub was refurbished following it being saved from demolition
(Image: Mirrorpix )
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A third room, where custodian Rob Burnett chats to us about his decade running the place and sometimes having to prop it up financially himself, is a throwback - the sort of pub room which feels like you're sitting in your nan's dated lounge. Challenge is on repeat - usually Bullseye or The Chase - on the television which hangs from the wall.
"After everyone was allowed to come back after Covid so many people said it was like coming home," Rob tells WalesOnline ahead of Wales' biggest queer weekend in the calendar - Pride Cymru in Cardiff. "That's when I knew we'd cracked it. I think that's what a pub should be. It's a community above anything else." You can read all the updates from Pride Cymru in Cardiff here.
A third room, where owner Rob Burnett chats to us about his decade running the place and sometimes having to prop it up financially himself, is a throwback - the sort of pub room which feels like you're sitting in your nan's dated lounge
(Image: John Myers )
This weekend the Golden will be a picture of gloriously colourful chaos in what will be Rob's last Pride Cymru here and he's putting on a street party to celebrate.
Rob, who is originally from Portsmouth and made his money in the motor transport and cleaning industries, took on the pub in 2015. 'It was an old man's dying pub really,' he recalls. "I remember a lot of hype in the community when people heard it was being rescued.
"It's a very loved place. It's not just running any old pub. We've got a married gay couple here who have been together for 65 years - they've seen it all, and lots of young LGBT+ people too who feel they need a safe space. It's so important.
"It was something I'd honestly never planned on doing but after being here I could see how much people truly cared about it. It would have been such a shame to see that lost. I'd never run a pub before but I'd been successful in business and thought I'd give it a go."
Leonard Davies, then manager of the Golden Cross, leans on the bar in January 1979
(Image: South Wales Echo )
A decade on, the Golden again finds itself on the edge of closure. Rob is desperate to find a custodian but is concerned time could run out. A countdown to the pub's closure if no-one is found to take it on is above the bar, in the hope someone will come forward.
In an era where fewer people are going to the pub and the younger queer folk of Cardiff seem to be more partial to an iced matcha latte than a pint of lager, the Golden is proving a hard sell and yet Rob says he can't lie to potential custodians about how difficult it has been at times.
'I'm concerned about it,' he explains. 'I'm trying to separate emotion from a commercial sense. The building is so expensive to run. If you stick entertainment on stage costs go up but if you don't stick entertainment on stage the crowd disappears.
This weekend is the biggest in the calendar for the Golden - Pride Cymru
(Image: John Myers )
'It's a rock and a hard place. At times I've had to prop it up myself with my own money from my other business. I put it out there on social media about a £2 door charge and most people say it's fine and they'd happily pay but then of course it's very difficult attracting a younger crowd when charging on the door.
"We're also finding now a lot of the younger crowd don't drink either. Many come in looking for a pint of water or a non-alcoholic drink. We've had to expand our range of non-alcoholic stuff but also soft drinks.
"The rising cost of living has significantly impacted people's spending. People used to come out multiple times a week and those same people come once a week now. I can't lie - it's hard. But I don't regret doing it. We've essentially done it as a social investment and it needs someone to take it over who really loves the place and wants to keep it going."
Rob arrived in Cardiff having had a varied life. Realising he was gay in his twenties when he already had a wife and a daughter, he came out at 27 and began a new life
(Image: John Myers )
Rob arrived in Cardiff having had a varied life. Realising he was gay in his twenties when he already had a wife and a daughter, he came out at 27 and began a new life - although he has always prioritised being a father.
"I was married at 23, a dad by 25 and this year I'm going to be a grandad - although I'm definitely not being called grandad, I'll be called papa," he laughs.
"I came out when my daughter was three years old. It was very hard at the time. I had no real gay outlet. I am now in contact with one gay friend who I went to school with back home and to our knowledge we are the only two openly gay people who were at that school at the time.
"I came out in 2000. I was living with my family in Dumfries in Scotland at the time, where there was no gay bar or obvious gay community. But I did meet someone who was clearly openly gay and when I saw him and saw how happy he was in himself and how accepting people were of him, I realised the possibility of being myself and realised I could be gay.
"We were quite different. He was young, single and free. I moved to Milton Keynes but travelled back to Scotland every weekend to keep up the relationship with my daughter. The way I saw it was that it wasn't her fault and my first responsibility had to be and will always be as a dad.'
The pub in 1999 just after it began operating as a queer venue. It is now Wales' oldest operating LGBTQ+ venue
(Image: Mirrorpix )
Rob, who has been honoured with a top three place in this year's WalesOnline Pinc List, has been a father-like figure to many who've come through the doors at the Golden too. 'You can't be a shrinking violet when you run an LGBTQ+ venue. You can't be someone afraid of sticking their head above the parapet. It's not just about opening the doors every day.
"People will always need places like this. Look at the recent Supreme Court ruling against the trans community. We have to make sure trans people especially now do not feel on their own. They must know they have a community in Cardiff's LGBTQ+ spaces.'
Rob says while LGBTQ+ people might always face challenges, Cardiff is a friendlier place now. 'When I first came to the city even the bars wouldn't talk to each other. I asked for a coffee with all of the other LGBTQ+ venues and only three turned up. We put our heads together and decided to stop competing with each other and work together, agreeing to do our cabaret nights on different days, and it worked brilliantly. Mary's and I have worked really well together over the years. If I'm not drinking in here I will be in there.'
While many queer venues have now changed their tag line to all-inclusive to welcome straight punters, others have remained just for LGBTQ+ or, in some circumstances, still gay men only. Some queer venues even only allow gay men with membership cards and say they rely on their strict entry codes to remain profitable, and Rob says he can see a 'dilemma' but ultimately it's 'ethically wrong' to turn down people who don't identify as LGBTQ+.
Inside the Golden Cross in April 1991. The long L-shaped bar is one of only 14 remaining ceramic bar counters left in Britain
(Image: Mirrorpix )
'For years we've wanted our own safe spaces as LGBTQ+ people and then we got them. But following that more and more we were accepted into straight spaces too. We're now in a position where we'd be accepted as our authentic selves in most straight spaces in Britain.
'Gay bars still like to be known as gay and sometimes shun the appearance of straight people in their bars. To me that's ethically wrong in Britain today. In my mind you can't fight for equality and then say: 'Well these are our safe spaces so straight people aren't welcome.'
'We have lots of straight people who come in and feel it's their home too. Fantastic allies. One straight couple comes in and they dance with us every Sunday evening. When I say community it really is all encompassing. I think it has to be.'
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Rob reserved special mention for Baroness Mary Golds, who he said has been a "huge part" of the Golden's success over the last 10 years.
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