Bristol Leather Weekend #BLW2014

Well, blow me! What a weekend! My Bristol Brothers have done it again. They surely know how to throw a fetish fiesta. The Bristol Leather Weekend was a fantastic gathering of leathermen from across the south west of England, across the country, from Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia and beyond. 

The weekend's festivities commenced with welcome drinks at the Bristol Bear Bar. Despite the rain, the leathermen were pouring in. I cannot imagine the bear bar, or Bristol, ever had so much 'dead cow' in one space before. At one point, looking across the bar, it was a sea of Muir caps, Langlitz, and leathermen! 

After catching up with some friends, and getting to know new ones, it was time to eat. For those leathermen who were BLUF members, our Bristolian hosts had organised an exclusive evening meal at The Retreat, just a few stomps from the bear bar. For me, it was amazing to see so many leathermen in one place sitting down for dinner, socialising and sharing stories with one another. For this occasion, my recently acquired Langlitz jacket was staying on! 

During dinner, I nipped downstairs to use the facilities, where I accidentally spotted the 'interactive art installation' on the pool table. This was shaping up to be an interesting evening! As I walked into the gents, I noticed the iron bar gate. Great for photos, I thought. After dinner, with more leathermen arriving, my partner and I went downstairs to explore. It was then we spotted the official photographer for the weekend, Neil Page. As we got chatting, the conversation came around to my partner and I saying 'wouldn't it be excellent to have a few photos taken.' And so we did, with Neil fixing the settings on his equipment to capture us in the dimly lit basement. After several shots, and trying not to giggle, Neil got a few photos to show us. WOW. They looked fantastic! Then we remembered the iron bar gate at the entrance of the toilets. Over we went. 'Snap, snap' - a few photos of us behind the bars. Some direction from Neil, and, again, 'snap, snap' the shutter went. As we were reviewing the photos, we were all very pleased with how they turned out. (When we got the e-versions emailed to us afterwards, we were extremely delighted, as was Neil, the photographer. And now they are getting loads of 'likes' and positive comments on Facebook. I have to say, a huge thank you to Neil for the quality of the photos, and to everyone for the fantastic comments. Much appreciated.)

Buzzing after the impromptu photo shoot, we made our way back upstairs to grab our drinks and chat further with our leather brothers. All-in-all, the first night of the weekend was very enjoyable and set the weekend off to a good start.

The Saturday was filled with an art expo that included sketches and paintings, accompanied with leather literature on sale, and a speed dating event, before the first ever Mr LeatherWest competition. Very well hosted by our leather brother, Spencer, the event was something very special to be part of, especially given the amount of effort the Bristolian leathermen put into it and for the first of its kind in the south west. Huge congratulations to the winner, Neil Harris, on being crowned the inaugural Mr LeatherWest 2014. Further details on the runners-up are available on the LeatherWest website. The atmosphere was electric after the announcement of the winner, and the party continued into the wee hours, with many leathermen joining the revelers at The Palace for post-competition shenanigans.

The Bristol Leather Weekend was definitely one of the best leather gatherings in the UK in recent years. Those guys have demonstrated how dedication, pooling resources and efforts, and nurturing a strong spirit of camaraderie can achieve great outcomes. A huge thank you has to go to Tim, SBerg, James Langlitz, Spencer and all the other organisers for making this a very special leather gathering. You should all be very proud of what you have achieved. And I am delighted that my partner and I were part of this wonderful weekend. I hope to see you - and many of the other guys from the weekend - in Dublin at a GEAR/BLUF night in the future. Get planning guys!

Leathercolt 

Next GEAR Ireland night coming up soon!

GEAR Ireland's first birthday celebrations - 17th May 2014

GEAR Ireland - 19th April 2014

GEAR Ireland - Saturday 18th January 2014

GEAR Ireland - 21 December 2013 (including Mr GEAR Ireland competition)

GEAR Ireland - Saturday 26th October 2013

GEAR Ireland - Saturday 21 September 2013

Fetish BuBu - special appearance by Bruno Knight

It is great to see a local fetish night on offer in Belfast. Delighted that the actor, model, director and promoter, Bruno Knight, will be making a special appearance. 

GEAR Ireland - 8th June 2013

GEAR Ireland – the fetish frontier for guys into gear

The journey back from Dublin to Belfast was filled with one yarn after another about the night before at the launch of GEAR Ireland. With over 100 guys in gear—mainly leather, which made me as happy as Larry—the atmosphere was welcoming and full of the Irish banter, yet filled with a sense of enthralling anticipation of what sexy leathermen might turn up tonight. 

The build up to GEAR Ireland grew steady over the months preceding its opening night, will guys exchanging positive messages about the excitement generated by the launch of a new, strictly enforced, fetish event on a Saturday night in Dublin.  I even had guys asking me to provide accommodation information. Being the considerate guy that I am, with a passion for all things leather, I tried my best to provide some assistance, albeit I don't know Dublin that well…and I ain’t no travel agent!

When the launch day arrived, my partner and I were running late as usual. The notorious ‘let’s try to get down a bit earlier to explore Dublin’ has never actually happened, as of yet! Even though I buffed the leather we were bringing with us the night before, the day of departure made me reconsider the outfit, so I added, and kept adding, more and more leather ‘bits and pieces’. As you do!

Arriving early evening, we checked into our accommodation and were pleasantly surprised by our home for the night – a self-contained apartment near O'Connell Street. After a quick nosey round, we decided to pop open a bottle of wine and take a well earned rest for a moment in the outside patio courtyard of our apartment. “There’s no corkscrew, damn it! No worries, I'll improvise”, I hear coming from the kitchen. Trust my man; he'll always manage to get a wine bottle open regardless if there’s a corkscrew or not! (if you need any tips on this for future reference, see: Open-a-Wine-Bottle-Without-a-Corkscrew). 

After our early evening drinks it was time to grab a quick bite of food before heading out. Thankfully the Arlington Hotel was nearby, which provided some fuel for us hungry fetishists, washed down with a must have pint of Guinness. Returning to our apartment, it was decision time on what leather gear to wear. 

As one piece came off, another went on. Mmmm, still not sure. Eventually, agreement was reached - I'll wear the chaps (plus jeans), harness, shirt, waistcoat and biker jacket; you should wear the breeches, Sam Browne belt and the other biker jacket. Let’s bring our Muir caps, too, we thought. Walking out of the apartment, as dusk was approaching, the passersby in the street took a second look. Yep, it’s two leathermen hitting Dublin town for the night!

Arriving at GEAR Ireland after only a 5 minute walk in full gear, we decided that it was too hot in the venue to keep all our leathers on – it was time to strip off! After bumping into some old friends from previous nights out in Dublin, we eventually got to the cloakroom. And boy was it filled with bags from all the guys already in the club that had changed on arrival. The number of bags on show is always a good sign that it’s going to be a good night!

It was lovely to meet one of the event organisers at the cloakroom that I had conversed with many times online about promoting the night on the run up to the event. He made us feel very welcome. He even had a little helper to remove my boots, so I could take off my jeans, and remain in my chaps. He was a very serviceable young guy, indeed, helping me to put my boots back on again.

As the night progressed, it was fantastic to catch up with lots of our fetish friends there from all across the island of Ireland. It was great to meet many of the guys we chatted to online before going to GEAR Ireland…and looking even sexier in reality in their leathers! Gear does bring out the best in guys! All that yakking makes a leatheman very thirsty. With the bar being very busy, and on waiting to be served, it gave me ample opportunity for more yakking with guys, exchanging compliments on each other’s gear and sharing stories of kinky play.

While at the bar, one sexy leatherman caught my eye. His harness wrapped around his shoulders accentuating his furry chest, as did his chaps around his lower region. Grrr! It was only polite to introduce myself and compliment a fellow leatherman on his appearance. It is always enjoyable to click with another guy into gear that shares my passion for leather.

With drinks in hand, it was time to return to our friends in the smoking area. The ‘craic’ was mighty, laughter abound. Mobile numbers were swapped and random photos were taken. Then the atmosphere began to become charged with excitement and sexual chemistry, with guys exchanging eye contact and the odd feel and grope as a hottie walked by. At different times, there were even a couple of guys with floggers, who didn't hesitate flogging the exposed arses on show – mine included!

Another fully clad leatherman stood out from the crowd that I had been meaning to speak with all night. His off-duty leather clad police officer like appearance, and masculine and friendly demeanour, drew my attention, just as it did at the BLUFDublin Social last year. We had chatted online many times before, but it was exhilarating to have a more intimate conversation face to face. He is definitely a leatherman I hope to learn many things from. I am hoping he can help me on my journey through leatherland.

Being in the company of likeminded guys that get a similar kick from kink generates a warm sense of camaraderie. However, as the bouncers called for 3:00am close, we had to pile out onto the street. It was time to say farewell to old and new friends, and take stock of what to do next, now that our first successful GEAR Ireland event had just ended. Let’s just say, the chemistry from earlier inside kept eyes interlocking as guys gathered on the pavement outside the club. The leather night was still young; it was time to bring the sexual chemistry back with us to continue the party in our Dublin residence for the night!

I have to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate the organisers of GEAR Ireland for all their hard work and planning. It was a brilliant night, and long may it continue. The next GEAR Ireland event is on Saturday 8^th June 2013. Make sure you're geared up and raring to go!