An Auckland nostalgia night is being held to reminisce about the popular pre-law reform haunts, including The Great Northern, The Alex and The Empire. Hosted in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of homosexual law reform, the event will be held at Rydges Hotel, the site of the popular gay and lesbian hotspot, The Alex, which operated from the 1960s until the 1980s, and was demolished in 1990. Other bars such as The Great Northern and its infamous ‘Lily Pond' will be familiar to many in the LGBT community, along with Backstage and The Shakespeare. Organiser Michael Bancroft, who admits to “sneaking into The Alex, hoping no-one would see me” soon after taking up his first appointment as a Catholic priest, is hoping for a big turnout of the ‘old hands' of the LGBT community, for an informal get-together. Rydges is hosting the event in its spacious mezzanine floor area “for two happy hours, plenty of chat, free food and a few speeches.” The Nostalgia Night is scheduled for Friday night, July 7, from 6pm, just two days prior to the 20-year anniversary of homosexual law reform. People interested in attending this night of celebration and retrospection, can contact organiser Michael Bancroft on 0274 955 863. Ref: GayNZ.com (d)