Mini Cini

We dined at the Piccadilly Tavern before walking to Ducie Street Warehouse where the Mini Cini is housed. The Mini Cini is a small 36 seat cinema where we are able to show our own film selections.

This time we had a number of short films:

Why?;

That Don’t Impress Me Much;

Wings;

Old Gays Share their Coming Out Stories;

Old Gays Try Drag;

A Short Film in Polari; and

Being Gay in the Thirties.

Why? Is a new video celebrating 40 years since the original song by Bronski Beat. It’s part documentary, part music video.

Wings from 1927 showed the first on screen same sex kiss by two men.

Polari was a form of slang used by gay men in Britain prior to the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967, used primarily as a coded way for them to discuss their experiences.

It quickly fell out of use in the 70s, although several words entered mainstream English and are still used today. All I can say is let us put our best lallie forward and with our eeks shining with hope, troll together towards the fantabulosa futurette!

Despite a couple of technical hitches, the afternoon went well. The main feature was Being Gay in the Thirties.

In this outstanding episode of pioneering 1980s TV series “Gay Life”, Gifford Skinner describes what it was like to be a gay man in the 1930s.

Illuminating and nostalgic, Gifford recalls picking up guardsmen in Hyde Park as well as some of the homosexual ‘characters’ he encountered in London’s West End. The gay activist, historian and sociologist Jeffrey Weeks is interviewed about gay law reform. This episode is presented by Michael Attwell, who also produced the series for the London Minorities Unit.

London Weekend Television may have screened “Gay Life” in the Sunday night ‘graveyard’ slot of 11.30pm, but it attracted a lot of publicity, some of it negative. Lesbians protested that they were excluded from the first series in 1980, so this was rectified for the much-improved second series in 1981.

In the pages of Gay News veteran activist Dudley Cave welcomed “Gay Life”, saying it reached “into the homes and the closets to places where Gay News never gets.”

US Military Amends Records for ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

In a move long fought for by LGBT+ veterans, the United States military has upgraded the records of service members discharged under the controversial anti-LGBT+ “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

On 15 October 2024, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the action on Twitter/X with a full statement saying that 851 service members who lost their positions under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would have their status changed to “honourable discharge.”

Austin’s statement reads: “Brave LGBTQ Americans have long volunteered to serve the country that they love. Some of these troops were administratively separated from military service under the now-repealed ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy.”

Protest! – Documenting Dissent

Initiative Arts Projects Ltd will be launching their new project – Protest! – at 6.00pm on Wednesday, 4 December 2024 at Manchester Art Gallery.

Please keep the date in your diary as Out In The City members have been invited to attend.

During the previous project (Legacy of ’67) a recurring theme in the stories collected was the importance of protest in advocating for equality and securing and maintaining rights for LGBTQ+ people.

At the centre of Protest! will be the recording of oral history testimonies and the project will result in an exhibition, public performances, film, and regular lectures, guided tours, workshops and symposia.

Protest! will launch at the end of November 2024 to coincide with the 21^st anniversary of the repeal of Section 28 in England and Wales.