Trip to Llandudno

Thirty of us enjoyed a day trip by coach to Llandudno, the largest seaside resort in Wales, with a population of just over 20,000 people.

During the first lockdown due to the corona virus pandemic, frisky goats ventured down from their mountain home on the Great Orme into Llandudno in search of something to eat.

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The goats became a sensation on national news roaming the empty streets during the lockdown.

We set off at 10.00am and arrived in time for lunch at the Fish Tram Chips Restaurant. There was only room for sixteen people (advance bookings were not taken), so some people had a takeaway and some dined at the pub over the road.

Most of the group took the Great Orme Tramway to the summit of the Great Orme headland, which has fantastic views over the peninsula. The tramway is a cable hauled 3ft 6in gauge tramway, open seasonally from late March to late October. It takes over 200,000 passengers each year from Llandudno Victoria Station to just below the summit of the Great Orme.

It is Great Britain’s only remaining cable-operated street tramway, and one of only a few surviving in the world.

We didn’t have much time in the town to see the pier on the North Shore, a Grade II listed building, built in 1878. It is the longest pier in Wales and has attractions including a bar, a cafe, amusement arcades, children’s fairground rides and an assortment of shops and kiosks. Professor Codman’s Punch and Judy show (established in 1860) was spotted on the promenade near the entrance to the pier.

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All in all, a great day out and as usual great photos can be seen here.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874 – 1965)

Throughout his life, Churchill showed little interest in women other than his wife, enjoyed the company of homosexuals, and was deeply attached to male friends including his secretary Edward Marsh, although there is no evidence of any physical relationships. Edward Marsh, Churchill’s private secretary for twenty-five years was a ‘wispy falsetto-voiced’ man of noted good looks who was known to be homosexual. Churchill described him as “a friend I shall cherish and hold on to all my life”.

In 1895 Churchill was accused of having committed “acts of gross immorality of the Oscar Wilde type” while a cadet at Sandhurst. He sued the accuser for defamation and was awarded £400 in damages.

The writer W Somerset Maugham is said to have asked Churchill whether he ever had any homosexual experience, and been told: “I once went to bed with Ivor Novello: it was very musical.”

When he was told that a member of Parliament had been caught in the park with a guardsman, Churchill said: “On the coldest night of the year? It makes you proud to be British.”

The notebooks kept by the Cabinet Secretaries contain short handwritten accounts of the conversations of ministers on a range of issues. On 24 February 1954 the Cabinet discussed the issues of prostitution and homosexuality, then inextricably linked as ‘sexual offences’ in the eyes of the legislators.

Gay sex between consenting adults, even in private, was a criminal offence, and many hundreds of gay men were being caught and convicted of sodomy and gross indecency every year.

The high-profile journalist Peter Wildeblood had been arrested for homosexual offences the previous month, but he did not stand trial until March. The scandal surrounding his arrest and that of Baron Montagu of Beaulieu led to public discussion of homosexuality.

At Cabinet the Home Secretary David Maxwell Fyfe seemed mystified at the spike in convictions for homosexual offences: “While crime generally has doubled, these offences have risen four and a half times. Some think existing law should be limited to protection of young and public indecency. I don’t agree: homosexuals make a nuisance of themselves. But admit I can’t account for this increase.”

Prime Minister Winston Churchill bluntly replied that the Tory party were not going to accept responsibility for making the law more lenient towards gay men.

He suggested that an enquiry might be the way forward, proposed limiting press coverage of the convictions of homosexuals, and suggested that any man caught by police should be offered the option of medical treatment. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t touch the subject,” he said. “Let it get worse – in hope of a more united public pressure for some amendment.”

The idea of an enquiry into prostitution and homosexual offences was considered by several Cabinet ministers, among them Oliver Lyttleton, Secretary of State for the Colonies.

But the Prime Minister perhaps best explained the realities of politics in 1954. “Remember that we can’t expect to put the whole world right with a majority of 18,” he told his colleagues.

Seven months after that Cabinet meeting, the Wolfenden committee met for the first time to consider whether a change to the laws on homosexuality and prostitution was needed. They took evidence from a range of people, including religious leaders, police officers and Peter Wildeblood.

When the Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution was finally published in 1957, it came to the conclusion that: “The law’s function is to preserve public order and decency, to protect the citizen from what is offensive or injurious, and to provide sufficient safeguards against exploitation and corruption of others. It is not, in our view, the function of the law to intervene in the private life of citizens, or to seek to enforce any particular pattern of behaviour.”

It was ten years before a Labour government backed a private member’s bill to introduce the changes to the law on homosexuality that the Wolfenden committee recommended.

Solitaire

Solitaired have created an online solitaire game featuring LGBT+ figures and activists in history to commemorate Pride Month.

You can play their Pride edition of solitaire here.

Films at HOME (2 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester M15 4FN)

There are some films at HOME which may be of interest:

Suk Suk (translated as Twilight’s Kiss) – Monday 23 August, 6.30pm

Cantonese with English subtitles

Suk Suk presents the story of two closeted married men in their twilight years: Pak and Hoi. The two men have their respective families, responsibilities and burdens, but their love affair releases them from emotions that they have repressed for years.

Bound by morals and family values, the two men find their precarious relationship hanging in the balance.

Old, Bold, Queer, Here (Women Over 50 Film Festival) – Tuesday 24 August, 6.30pm

Older queer women at war, in love and swinging from the rafters. Wings, starring national lesbian treasure Miriam Margolyes, and six other fabulous LGBTQ+ shorts from the Women Over 50 Film Festival.

Films screening in this selection are:

Swivel (Experimental / 7 mins)

Older Than What? (Documentary / 13 mins)

My Mama, A Man (Documentary / 9 mins)

The Passionate Pursuits of Angel Bowen (Documentary / 25 mins)

Pastry (Drama / 13 mins)

SWING (Experimental / 10 mins)

Wings (Drama / 18 mins)

March for Dignity – Thursday 26 August, 6.30pm

English & Georgian with partial English subtitles

Feature documentary March for Dignity follows a small group of LGBTI+ activists in Tbilisi, Georgia as they attempt to conduct the first Pride march in the country. They face overwhelming opposition from far-right groups, the government, and the Georgian Orthodox Church who have a history of inciting violent attacks on the LGBTI+ community.

With membership of the European Union, and anti-Russian sentiment firmly on the political agenda, Georgians are at a turning point in history where they must choose to fight for progress and human rights or concede to greater Russian influence. In the midst of this geopolitical turmoil, the committed organisers of Tbilisi Pride bravely strive to be visible in their evolving country.

Alastair Bruce: ‘When I joined the army it was illegal to be gay’

When Alastair Bruce joined the army in 1979 it was illegal to be gay and serve your country.

In July 2021 Major General Bruce became the highest-ranking officer in the British army to have a same-sex wedding. After years of hiding their relationship, he married his partner of 20 years, Stephen Knott, in Edinburgh in full military uniform.

General Bruce kept his sexuality under wraps for his entire professional life, fearing he would be “dishonourably discharged” from the institution he sacrificed so much for.

He served with the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards in the Falklands in 1982, and rose through the ranks hiding that side of him. He is now governor of Edinburgh Castle.

It wasn’t until January 2000 that the British military changed its view on homosexuality. Until then, gay, lesbian and bisexual people had been banned from serving in the British Army, the Royal Navy and the RAF. But even after General Bruce met Stephen in 2001, he continued to keep his relationship quiet.

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The couple kept their relationship discreet but are now fully open after their wedding in Edinburgh.

On BBC Radio Scotland the royal broadcaster said: “I think I had spent most of my life keeping it quiet anyway. Attitudes socially were somewhat different to what they are today. Some people haven’t altered their view but most people have. As a consequence, in almost every professional interest I had at the time, there would have been an issue.

As you join the army you have to adapt to be more physically able – it’s all part of the training. So I think I had been well trained to cover up the fact that I had a particular sexuality and I just quietly got on with living as well as serving.”

He met Stephen when he was lecturing on a cruise ship in the Great Barrier Reef.

“I never thought anyone came to my lectures under the age of 40,” he said. “I was amazed he would be interested in some of the historical stuff I talk about. But he returned and we got chatting and it just took time and within a few months he left where he lived in Northern Ireland to come and live with me in this country. It was such a huge brave step by him and I was awakened by his capacity for love to realise what really mattered in life. And although we continued to maintain a very low-key relationship, we knew this was something that was going to last.”

General Bruce said the couple worked hard to be discreet. “I used to say to Stephen if we were walking down a street and I saw someone in the army he would walk on ahead as if I didn’t know who he was and we would meet up in the next shop.”

But, as attitudes have changed, his did too, and as he revealed his private life to those closest to him, he found nothing but support.

‘Incredible journey’

The wedding at St John’s Church on Princes Street, officiated by the Bishop of Edinburgh, started a new, more open chapter in his life. After the ceremony, the couple held a reception in Edinburgh Castle.

He explained: “It was fantastic. It absolutely poured with rain, but nothing was going to dampen how Stephen and I felt. It has been a long journey and we were absolutely delighted and we are still thrilled.”

And it meant a lot to him to be married in full Army ceremonial uniform.

“I have really loved serving in the Army. I wanted to wear uniform at my wedding to say thank you to the armed forces for the incredible journey they have taken and the fact that now, as it should be, we only care whether people are able to deliver, as I put it, ‘calculated precise and legal violence against the Queen’s enemies’ when the nation demands it. What people do in their spare time is of no consequence to that issue.”

He does not see the earlier years as living a lie and has found peace with the past. Indeed many friends have told him they knew, but respected him enough to leave him alone.

He said: “It was complicated and you had to recognise there was a certain amount of jeopardy if you allowed it to become a more publicly-known issue. I am still a bit gauche but that is not caused by how people truly react because everyone is delighted. The truth is, my anxiety endures purely because I lived through a youth where I was cautious and I had a profession where I had to be very very careful and that does shape you.”

The Major General now looks forward to his work at Edinburgh Castle, with Stephen by his side, not walking ahead.

“Because I love history anyway and because I am a Bruce, it means so much to be here but to have Stephen by my side makes everything more entertaining – he adds levity and is brilliant with people.

“I hope we will be a firmament of that continuing welcome this castle affords to people all over the world who come to find the very best of Scotland.”

Welcome Party

We organised a party to welcome everyone back to Out In The City and to welcome some new members.

The event was presented by Ken and Lynn and featured singing, poetry and storytelling by David, Louise, Norman G, Norman W, Patrick, Pauline and Wolf (Derek, Will and Gary).

More great photos can be seen here.

Sadly, it was also the funeral of one of our members, who died recently after a heart attack. The party was dedicated in memory of Bruce.

Ode to Bruce

Today our friend was buried

A kind quiet man

Who enjoyed football and the pub

And trips out in England

A founder member of Out In The City

Bruce had close friends

His Buddies at the pub

His Buddies at Out In The City

And a large extended family

Who all loved his company

When you gave him the time

He was a special man

With hidden depths

He listened

He cared

Lets all remember Bruce today

Now he has gone

The Pride circuit struggles to redefine itself

We’ve seen New York, London, Brighton and now Montreal reclaim their prides with Boston and Philadelphia dissolving their prides to make way for a fresh new start.

Call it the summer of discontent: the LGBT+ Pride circuit is undergoing a revolution not seen since the Christopher Street Liberation Day March was held in New York City on 28 June 1970, to mark the first anniversary of the Stonewall Inn uprising of 1969.

That march inspired LGBT+ activists around the world to organise Pride marches of their own, including Montreal’s very first Pride march in June 1979, organised by La Brigade Rose, to mark the 10th anniversary of Stonewall. La Brigade Rose organisers drew 52 marchers in 1979. Forty years later, total attendance was 3.4 million.

The increasing commercialisation and corporatisation of Pride over the years is an issue that has polarised the LGBT+ community, more recently compounded by the politics of inclusion and representation in the wake of Black Lives Matter and the murder last year of George Floyd.

Calling themselves a “a people’s political march” members of New York City’s Reclaim Pride Coalition got the ball rolling in 2019 with their inaugural Queer Liberation March to mark the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, stating they were working “to reclaim the spirit and meaning of Pride to better represent the LGBTQIA2S+ community.”

At New York’s annual Queer Liberation March, there are no corporate sponsors and no police barricades.

This summer, the Reclaim Pride movement migrated across the Atlantic when the first-ever Reclaim Pride march was held in London on 24 July, to protest against the commercialisation and corporatisation of London’s huge Pride parade. Protestors held signs and shouted slogans in support of queer and trans civil rights, and denounced racism and transphobia within the LGBT+ community.

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“We want to say that our human rights should be central,” said renowned LGBT+ activist Peter Tatchell, one of the organisers of London’s Reclaim Pride march. “As well as a celebration, Pride has to be a protest.”

In Philadelphia, after organising the Philadelphia Pride March and Festival for 28 years, Philly Pride Presents cancelled their 2021 parade and dissolved after community criticism over lack of diversity. Black LGBT+ community leaders in Philadelphia are planning a new Pride event and organisation. As ACT UP Philly organiser José de Marco told the Philadelphia Gay News, “Our planning has been inclusive of the entire community for the first time.”

A similar controversy claimed Boston Pride, which organised Boston’s Pride parade for 50 years. Accused of ignoring racial minorities and transgender people, its board of directors stated on 9 July, “It is clear to us that our community needs and wants change without the involvement of Boston Pride. We have heard the concerns of the QTBIPOC (queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, people of colour) community and others. We care too much to stand in the way. Therefore, Boston Pride is dissolving. … By making the decision to close down, we hope new leaders will emerge from the community to lead the Pride movement in Boston.”

QTBIPOC programming has increased dramatically at Fierté Montréal. “Racism exists in Quebec and those who deny it are part of the problem,” says interim director Jean-François Perrier. “Fierté Montréal was established in 2007 to celebrate the diversity, solidarity and resilience of the LGBT+ community. It’s our responsibility to educate ourselves, to question our ways and to decolonise spaces.”

Following the cancellation of their 2020 parade because of COVID, Fierté Montréal’s flagship event returns with a scaled-down, in-person Pride March on 15 August. Under the theme Together for All, it is a throwback to Montreal’s original Pride marches.

At this year’s Pride March, there will be no vehicles, floats or contingents. Banners, signs and streamers are welcome as long as respect and safety for all are observed.

“This year we are returning to our roots,” says Perrier. “This is an opportunity to make all our voices heard.”

Meanwhile in Manchester the Council meets LGBT charities to discuss the way forward

Manchester Pride announced cuts in funding to the LGBT Foundation and George House Trust. The partnership to fund the ground-breaking condom and lube distribution scheme is coming to an end, but LGBT Foundation pledges the scheme will continue. You can download the full press release here.

They reported that it was a very productive and positive meeting to discuss Pride and the funding of other LGBT charities.

The meeting agreed that:

1. The three charities each have a vital role to play in serving the LGBT communities of Greater Manchester.

2. The City Council will convene a meeting between Manchester Pride, LGBT Foundation, George House Trust and the Village Licensed Business Association after the festival, to explore how Manchester Pride can continue to support the work of the other two charities on an ongoing basis.

3. The City Council will actively work with LGBT Foundation and Manchester Pride to ensure the continued survival of the safer sex pack scheme.

4. Manchester Pride has agreed to conduct a transparent review during autumn taking views from a wide-reaching range of stakeholders and the community about the future direction of the Festival. The result will be published along with an action plan.

Street Poem

Manchester Street Poem is a co-produced art collective and charity, whose work reflects the personal experience of our city’s marginalised communities. Guided by the principle that there is ‘ no us and them – only us’, we aim to promote this viewpoint through art and storytelling in the belief that by exploring our shared humanity, we can break down barriers.

We’re aiming to run 6 sessions of workshops throughout September/October, using creative writing/storytelling as a therapeutic tool and to tell the lived stories of those part of the LGBTQ+ community. 

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Absolutely anyone who wants to take part is welcome and we have the resources to run these workshops in person at Islington Mill, or online via Zoom (we can provide technology to do this if necessary.)

It would be fantastic to have some of you involved, and we’re hoping to identify a group of participants before we decide on what times/dates as we want it to be suitable for the majority to attend.

If you are interested, please contact us.

Sally Ride

Sally Kristen Ride (26 May 1951 – 23 July 2012) was an American astronaut and physicist. Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman in space.

She was the third woman in space overall, after USSR cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova (1963) and Svetlana Savitskaya (1982). Ride remains the youngest American astronaut to have travelled to space, having done so at the age of 32.

After flying twice on the Orbiter Challenger, she left NASA in 1987. Ride worked for two years at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Arms Control, then at the University of California, San Diego, primarily researching nonlinear optics and Thomson scattering. Previously, at Stanford University, she earned a master’s degree in 1975 and a PhD in physics in 1978 while doing research on the interaction of X-rays with the interstellar medium. Astrophysics and free electron lasers were her specific areas of study.

Having been married to astronaut Steven Hawley during her spaceflight years and in a private, long-term relationship with former Women’s Tennis Association player Tam O’Shaughnessy in her years after, she is the earliest space traveller to have been recognised as LGBT.

In addition to being interested in science, she was a nationally ranked tennis player, and took a break from college to pursue a professional tennis career.

Prior to her first space flight, Ride was subject to media attention due to her gender. During a press conference, she was asked questions such as, “Will the flight affect your reproductive organs?” and “Do you weep when things go wrong on the job?” Despite this and the historical significance of the mission, Ride insisted that she saw herself in only one way – as an astronaut.

Ride was extremely private about her personal life. After Ride’s death, her obituary revealed that her partner of 27 years was Tam O’Shaughnessy, a professor emerita of school psychology at San Diego State University and childhood friend, who met her when both were aspiring tennis players.

This made Ride the first lesbian astronaut and the first lesbian in outer space.

Respecting Trans and Gender Diverse People Around Death and Bereavement – LGBT Foundation in conversation with Ash Hayhurst

Join LGBT Foundation for an evening with Ash Hayhurst, consultant for a new death and bereavement project led by UK-wide trans and gender diverse charity GIRES on 1 September 2021, 6.00pm – 7.30pm.

This free event will take place online and will be chaired by Zane Robinson (Trans Programme Coordinator and Community Programme Manager at LGBT Foundation) and will include an audience Q&A.

Ash Hayhurst is a funeral professional working in consultation with GIRES on a new project resourcing professionals to ensure respect and dignity for trans and gender diverse people in death and bereavement. Ash is the author of “Making informed choices when planning a funeral – a guide for Queer people”, has written articles for the Funeral Service Journal and the ICCM journal, and was a guest speaker at the Ceremony Matters Equality and Diversity conference in October 2020. Ash’s pronouns are he/him. www.queerfuneralguide.co.uk

GIRES is a UK wide organisation whose purpose is to improve the lives of trans and gender diverse people of all ages, including those who are non-binary and non-gender, through training, support, information and research.

This event is part of the free Arts and Culture programme for The 15th International Conference on the Social Context of Death, Dying and disposal: Diversity and Decolonisation, hosted by Manchester Metropolitan University.

To book a free ticket for this event programme and for more information please head to the conference home page, scroll to the top of the page and select the option to ‘Register only for the arts and cultures programme’. Please note: you will receive an initial confirmation email stating ‘Thank you for registering for Death, Dying and Disposal 15’, followed by a link to access the event via a ‘Virtual Lobby’. Attendance at this event is included automatically for delegates to the main conference sessions.

If you have any queries around accessibility for this session please contact prideinageing@lgbt.foundation, and for any other queries relating the conference please contact DDD15@mmu.ac.uk.

Queers

“Queers” is a series of eight short monologues charting the lives of gay men and women in the UK. It is available on BBC iPlayer here

This project runs eight different monologues from well known actors and was part of a longer project called “Gay Britannia” which marked the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act.

Each monologue runs for 15 to 20 minutes and the topics cover a span of 100 years. The first programme called “The Man on the Platform”, features a young man returning from the trenches of the First World War, who recollects a love that dared not speak its name.

Other characters address subjects such as the HIV crisis and the Sexual Offences Act.

Sarah Barnett, the president of BBC America said “Brilliantly written and performed, these monologues may be compact but they are brimful of humour, heartbreak, joy, humanity and tenderness.”

Queer Britain

Queer Britain is a charity working to establish the UK’s first national LGBTQ+ museum, a place as exciting as the people, stories and ideas it explores and celebrates. It will be an essential place for all regardless of sexuality or gender identity, to find out about the culture we have been born into, have chosen or seek to understand.

Queer Britain was launched in 2018. A host of supporters from community, business, celebrity and media came to cheer on the Queer Britain project at a reception at Hotel Cafe Royal’s iconic Oscar Wilde Lounge.

Queer people have impacted every part of culture, yet all too often our lives have been written in the margins of history books. Valuable stories and artefacts are being lost. Once gone, they may never be recovered. These deserve a dedicated space to be preserved, explored and celebrated. Queer Britain will put this centre stage.

You can catch up with online events such as the The Turing £50 with the Bank of England or The Gateways with Diva Magazine. To find out more click here.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

This was our first coach trip for ages. We were due to set out at 10.30am, but nobody turned up late. Everyone was so eager, so we set off five minutes early!

Yorkshire Sculpture Park is a 500-acre art gallery located in the Bretton Estate.

We arrived at 11.45am, registered at reception in the YSP Centre and immediately made our way to The Kitchen, which has stunning views across the landscape. We had curly chips, pasties, soups and sandwiches.

There are various galleries displaying temporary exhibitions, and the open-air collection comprises short and long term loans, site-specific commissions and gifts from individuals and artists.

These include bronzes by Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth and a number of quirky artworks, such as an engagement ring Solitário [Solitaire] (2018), a seven-metre-high ring made of golden car wheel rims topped with a huge diamond crafted from crystal whisky glasses.

Representing the stereotypical ambition of our society to acquire wealth and material possessions, the work unites symbols of luxury – cars, jewellery and alcohol – which bridge social classes. Sited at one of the highest points in the park and drawing attention to one of the most wonderful views across the landscape, Solitário entices visitors uphill and creates delight in the discovery of its fabrication.

As well as artworks, there are lakes and forests to explore.

I think we all agreed that we had a great day out. Lots more great photos can be seen here.

Prescriptions

The Government are planning to change the age for free prescriptions from 60 to the State Pension age, which right now is 66.

They’re asking for people’s views at the moment, so we need to tell them why it’s a bad idea which will leave people struggling to afford the prescriptions they need to keep well.

I’ve just submitted a response to their consultation, please will you do the same? It only takes a few minutes – here’s the link.

Bisexuality celebration

The annual BiCon celebration – the UK’s main bisexual gathering will be held online this year from Thursday 19 August to Sunday 22 August 2021.

Tickets are available to sign up by clicking here.

To subscribe to the mailing list for regular updates and information before and during BiCon 2021 please follow the link by clicking here.

What is BiCon?

BiCon is a three and a bit day weekend-long educational and social gathering for bi people, their friends, partners, and others with a supportive interest in bisexuality. We don’t all use the labels “bi” or “bisexual” or even agree on what it means to be bi, but bisexuality is the common theme.

If you are wondering if it is ‘Con’ as in convention or conference we don’t think we have to be just one! As a convention, we are social and fun with discussions, dancing, games, music, crafting and costume parties. As a conference we have more serious workshops on issues around bisexuality and related (and not-so-related!) topics. BiCon is a space to be completely yourself, make new friends and catch up with old ones, and it has a totally accepting atmosphere; BiCon attendees often say BiCon feels like home.

BiCon has been held in a different part of the UK each year since 1984 and in 2020 and 2021 BiCon has gone virtual to enable the event to continue during Covid. There are usually several hundred attendees, with around 25% attending for the first time.

This year BiCon is being held from a Thursday night to a Sunday afternoon, but as long as you have a ticket you can come along at any time and join in. Virtual BiCon is run by asking people to sign up for a ticket which gets them access to the whole event, and then everyone will be emailed a timetable of sessions that are being run with the links to sign up for the sessions they want to attend.

Tickets are pay what you can; the suggested amount is £10.00.