These are photographs from the Bears Perth Spa Party in 2005. This was a really great event. Lots of friendly men and the hosts did a very good job making sure everyone felt welcomed and at home. There were a few first timers and new members so it proved to be a good way for people to see more of each other!
This event marked the launch of someone's poorly timed campaign to be the next President of Bears Perth and this resulted in a loud whisper campaign about the fact that the Newsletter went too sexy for this edition.
The result was a Streisand Effect making the Event more popular than ever and the website nearly crashed with the rush to download the pdf file and there were hugely increased image downloads. So it all turned out well in the end!
The problem with the kind of bullying aka smear campaigns that are run by the leaders in Perth's LGB, HIV and Trans Communities is they usually rely on made up stories and incorrect statements of facts. It's also a fact that intra community bullying is a far bigger problem than any of the over dramatised incidents of harrassment from outside the LGB, HIV and Trans Communities.
For example, HIV+ People regularly out other HIV+ People's status, resulting in family breakdowns and loss of employment, in these petty social wars and the battles for the control of the gravy trains, which is why the vast majority of positive people in WA refuse to have anything to do with the AIDS Industry and it is a shame that the State's political leadership have not tied enforced codes of conducts to the Key Performance Indicators in AIDS funding contracts.
In this case, the current office holders (at the time) came to the next Committee Meeting brandishing the increased website traffic stats plus wads of previously published newsletters that included in their poor designs, bad lighting with raunchy pictures of a level or rudeness, that made these spa pix look like a nun's luncheon in comparison, so suffice to say, Paul's Presidency did not come to an untimely end.
The poor overworked Membership Secretary complained that there had been such an increase in new members that new membership cards were taking extra time to be sent out! Under Paul Hayter's leadership the Perth Bears became one of the most well known Clubs both in Australia and Overseas.
The people in these pictures all consented to having their picture taken and sadly some have passed away so they are not likely to be raising a complaint at this late stage. Ergo this is a full colour publishing of the archive, with some editing, because one can. There might be some slightly blurry pics but for the sake of community interest and history these are included.
The trick in life is to remember to Keep Smiling and so we hope these light hearted photographs will amuse and titilate our readers. And if you don't want your picture taken at public events then don't stand in front of the camera or wear a bag over your head.
