Trips & Adventures – 5 June 2019

We were delighted to be invited to the launch of Pride in Ageing, an important new programme of work at the LGBT Foundation.  We were joined by Sir Ian McKellen at this special event.

I didn’t take any photos! So here is one from the Bolton Pride Diversity Awards on Sunday, 26 May 2019

Many older LGBT people have grown up in a world hostile to their identities. Some will have come of age before the partial decriminalisation of male homosexuality in 1967, and may have experienced significant discrimination and prejudice in their lifetimes.

Pride in Ageing believes that all older LGBT people have the right to an excellent quality of life in later years, and deserve to live in a society that embraces all parts of their identity. They will work to end the inequalities faced by older LGBT people in Greater Manchester and ensure that we have access to inclusive housing and care later in life. The programme will also tackle the social isolation faced by older LGBT people in the UK, which is known to be commonplace and has a significant impact on our health, happiness and wellbeing.

It will also celebrate the positive aspects of being an older LGBT person in our city-region, bringing people together to share their stories and experiences, and building a community of active and empowered older LGBT people.

Out In The City was well represented at the event with stories from several of our members.

Trips & Adventures – 6 June 2019

Fifteen of us got out of bed early and travelled comfortably, in executive style, to Plas Newydd in Llangollen, the historic house which was the home of the Ladies of Llangollen for nearly 50 years.

Plas Newydd is notable as the home where two Irish ladies, Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby (the Ladies of Llangollen) eloped and set up house together in the late 18th century, scandalising contemporary British society. Plas Newydd was originally a five-roomed stone cottage, but over the years it was enlarged to include many Gothic features.

Although originally ostracised by their families, the ladies and their unconventional lifestyle gradually became accepted, and their home was visited by many famous people including Robert Southey, William Wordsworth, Caroline Lamb and Sir Walter Scott, the Duke of Wellington, the industrialist Josiah Wedgwood and Anne Lister from Shibden Hall.

We went into the town of Llangollen and spent a few hours sight seeing, shopping, walking, having a pint or two, relaxing in the warm sunshine, generally enjoying ourselves, before heading back to Manchester. Lots of photos can be seen here.