Q11 Autumn 2015 ODL’s magazine by and for the older LGBT+ community
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Q11: Books, Films, Art and Culture Is there such a thing as Gay/LGBT art? or only art created by LGBT people? we don’t come to any conclusions but we are delighted to publish a range of articles all about films, books and the visual arts from our diverse communities. By collecting the work together we demonstrate the importance of this mix of work in our pasts and for the future. In this issue we are exploring some of the many ways in which the arts are important in LGBT life and how much pleasure we gain from them. It was through books and films that some of us started to learn to make sense of our feelings and our worlds. It was in retirement that Brook and David could turn to a first love and start sculpting and print making, and make their own art. The topic seemed to strike a chord - we are proud to publish nine articles written by ODL members in this issue. We asked and the stories and memories came rolling in, across time and culture, from early 1960s Fellini on the beach outside Rome in La Dolce Vita to Casualty on Saturday night TV in August. Mike Harth remembers reading Gore Vidal in isolation in the late 40s, in contrast Helen Bishop read Rubyfruit Jungle when she was coming out in the 70s, staying on lesbian lands in Oregon and laughing as she read. On the Down Memory Lane page we publish Halcyon Days of Our Youth by competition winner Carol Smith who wins for her memorable story of politics, swimming and Gay Liberation Front meetings in the early 70s. LGBT histories range across times, choices and countries, we learn and enrich our lives by entering in to the different worlds they bring to us. Don’t forget to write in with your stories and memories - theme for the next issue is FOOD! deadline Monday 26 October - and send a photo too if you have one.
“Book: ‘Importance of Being Earnest’ - Oscar Wilde; how can you not like it!” Gay Art? ODL member David Mitchell questions if his sexuality has anything to do with his printmaking. I am 84. For all of that time I’ve no doubt been gay, but only in the last twelve years have I begun to earn the confidence and the right to call myself a visual artist. Before that, I’d worked with various aspects of music; began to sketch and then to draw more seriously and finally, at 70 something, took myself to art school. Now I make prints and etchings, which I show with some success in London and elsewhere. It’s not clear to me that this activity has anything to do with my sexual identity. As a consumer, this case is clear - it’s a double pleasure for me as a gay man to look at a greek statue or a Michelangelo drawing, but as a producer that doesn’t seem to be how it happens. My work starts almost always as an observational drawing, usually a landscape (often East Anglia where I’ve lived a lot) and then becomes something else, something much more remote from actuality. And sometimes the work can start just from making a mark and following on from that. I can’t honestly say that being gay has anything to do with it at all! 2
“...on an overgrown path...” (Homage to Leoš Janácek ) no.5
David will be showing his work at the Small Publishers Fair on November 6 &7 Website: http://smallpublishersfair.co.uk/
Opening Doors London (ODL) www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk
Once a Sculptor...
In progress, Brook at work
Photo by Sue Carfrae
Brook Hobbins writes about coming back to the life she always wanted.
Manual trades were the career choice of the moment for the discerning lesbian and I trained as a plasterer. But a backward step into a large hole As long as I can remember sculpture has been in in the floor brought a dislocated shoulder and an my DNA. I never excelled academically at school, end to my short career as a ‘girl spreader’. Now but was ‘good with my hands’ and secured a place what? on a foundation course in art and design. It was To cut a long story short, I eventually retrained 1969, art schools were at the centre of student as a landscape architect and spent over 20 years protest, sex, drugs and rock n’ roll were the order designing streets, parks and playgrounds. I did of the day. I was a mixed up kid with a gender pretty well, but the economic down-turn saw me identity ‘problem’ and a rebellious disposition. winding up the business. When I failed to get a place on the three year There was no need to ask ‘what now’. At the diploma course in sculpture I was left reeling. age of 61 it was absolutely clear that I’d better get What next? on with being my original self: a sculptor. I got swept up in hippydom, ran away with So I turned my office into a studio and rea group of Jesus freaks and narrowly escaped discovered my love for figuration. To my surprise, marriage to our charismatic leader. Eventually I portraiture has become the mainstay of my fled the commune too and found myself back in current practice. But re-engagement with the London working in the counter-culture. Got raped human form often seems to characterise this later by my boss, got rescued by feminism. stage in an artist’s career. And, of course, the Life as a lesbian feminist separatist in the 70s depiction of human identity is hugely compelling, was good but there was little room for making as is the unique relationship between artist and art. My eventual return to art school cost me sitter. my relationship. Earlier misdeeds meant I had It’s getting quite crowded in my studio these to mop floors at the college to pay my way. But days… but I’m not complaining. Q I did well and went on to gain a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture in the USA. Then I went back Brook works full time at her studio in Westgate-onto the lesbian community in London that was my Sea and can be contacted on 07812 347401. She also spiritual home. What now? undertakes commissioned portraits at her clients’ own premises. www.brookhobbins.com
Q11 Autumn 2015
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Taking Pride in Your Appearance We sent Jamie Reece to meet Mike Jackson, one of the activists who inspired the smash hit film Pride, to discuss turning personal history into big screen success. One of the best-loved and popular films last year was the brilliant Pride. Based on the remarkable true story of London-based activists Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) joining forces with a beleaguered, remote Welsh village during the Miners’ Strike in 1984 to battle prejudice and inequality and save the mines. At its centre is Mike Jackson, the working class Lancastrian who was one of LGSMs founder members. When I met him, it became clear that Mike is a driving force and, unsurprisingly, was instrumental in the film’s development. That said, the story of LGSM was never a sure thing. As Mike himself says: “In the 80s, I did get approached by various writers with a view to telling the story and not a single one of them came to anything. To be honest, I didn’t think anything would happen.” Enter stage left, writer Stephen Beresford Stephen first heard about LGSM during a tiff with an ex-boyfriend many years prior. Stephen loudly proclaimed that the Labour movement had never done anything for LGBT issues, only to be told by his chastising partner about LGSM and the people of Dulais in South Wales. Luckily, that story captured his imagination and was still there, lying dormant, in 2010, when Stephen was asked by producer David Livingstone if there was a dream project that he’d like to develop. The potted history of LGSM came tumbling out…and left David in tears. It was that pitch that kicked the film into development. People’s history The only minor (excuse the pun!) problem was that there wasn’t a huge amount of archive material available for Stephen to draw upon, save a short film about the LGSM called All Out! Dancing in Dulais that is available on YouTube. In the credits some members of LGSM were listed, including the rather uniquely named Reggie Blennerhassett who, when contacted via Facebook, swiftly put Stephen in touch with Mike. 4
Mike Jackson
When they eventually met, Mike could tell that this writer was fully committed to the project: “It was very different from previous meetings. He told me about himself, that he was a gay man and he told me about his background. He wanted to be honest with me”. It was this connection that led to the film being written and, ultimately, recognition of LGSM’s legacy: “I, like the majority of the LGSM, were just overjoyed that our little piece of history was finally going to get told. I was quite prepared for us all to go to our deathbeds without this story ever being known.” Meeting the doppelganger Luckily for Mike, rising star Joe Gilgun, who previously appeared in This is England and Misfits, was hired to play him: “I felt really honoured to get a successful working class actor playing the role. Joe is a lad from Lancashire, so the accent was no problem. I trusted him immediately” While Mike finds it hard to assess whether Joe’s performance was accurate, “I don’t know how I’m perceived, so it’s hard to judge”, there was a ringing endorsement from fellow LGSM member and friend Ray Goodspeed during a first preview: “Ray grabbed my arm and said ‘God, that is so you!’”
Opening Doors London (ODL) www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk
Separating fact from fiction Pride ultimately was “based on true events”, which means that some elements were fictionalised for the sake of the story: “Certain roles are complete composites. In the movie Gethin’s Mum is a religious homophobe. In real life she’s so supportive – she turned up to this year’s Pride celebrations dressed up as a miner!” Importantly the people of Dulais were actually not resistant to the support of LGSM, as they are in the film: “In fact, the Welsh community received us so warmly immediately. When we walked into the miner’s welfare hall for the first time, they gave us a moving ovation. They knew two things: firstly that we supported them in their struggle and, secondly, that we were queer. So they were applauding us for those reasons.”
Proud of the legacy Now the whirlwind of Pride being in cinemas is over, how does Mike feel about the whole process; does it mark the end of a period of his life? “I see the film both as closure and as a launchpad to do more. Our history now is known, celebrated and shared. It’s closure in the sense that, at last, this has happened. But it’s also taken on a life of its own. Several of us have been invited to speak all over the world, attend events etc. All of us want to talk about this as much as possible.” “We’re not young people anymore, we’re on our way out, so we want to inspire the next generation. The message now is: over to you guys, go forward and make some change.” Q
“Don’t forget Armistead Maupin’s ‘Tales of the City’ - they always make me laugh.” Q11 Autumn 2015
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La Dolce Vita
Alfio Bernabei remembers a very early sign of changes to come in La Dolce Vita. He appeared only in the last few minutes of La Dolce Vita but Dominot, real name Antonio Lacono, entered into film history after his chance encounter with the director Federico Fellini one evening in Rome in the autumn of 1958. At auditions he intrigued Marcello Mastroianni who told Fellini to cast him for the party scene at the villa outside Rome. The party, and the film, end with the walk towards the beach at dawn, one of the most extraordinary endings in cinematography, still much discussed as it encapsulates a multiplicity of meanings about the human condition. Dominot, minus makeup and the tutu, discarded after his unhappy performance at the party, flies through the pine grove like some kind of Ariel. He tells Mastroianni, who has just witnessed the fragile architecture of conventional families blown apart, to expect changes ahead in relation to sexuality and gender in the shape of a new army of free spirits. This last scene prefigured the coming-out phenomenon which took place in the following decade. I found it hugely liberating. Dominot was having the last word, tacitly comforted by the leading character, non-judgmental Mastroianni, with whom the whole country was madly in love. Both were looking down on the expiring ‘monster fish’ of the Catholic Church. And me, with them. ‘Nature,’ that had been previously invoked by Dominot, seemed victorious over prejudice.
Dominot had been soldiering for a while, first in Tunis where he was born from Italian immigrants in 1930. He worked as a cabaret artist at La Potinière and then in Paris where he had known Edith Piaf and learned acting at the Comédie-Française. In Paris he was stripping at Le Carrousel and at Madame Arthur. He even did a stint in a cabaret in Teheran dressed as a woman and worked in films. He died last year. Not a word in the British press. It’s time to say “Au revoir Dominot.”
Casualty: Saturday 8 August 9pm Aldina is pleasantly surprised watching Saturday night TV. Well I didn’t see that coming. Amy 60+, admitted to Holby A&E after falling in the street. In the hospital, everyone (myself included) assumes the Francis she is so desperately trying to get in touch with is male. However, Amy had been hurrying on her way to meet Francis, for their 50th anniversary, to be celebrated with a Civil Partnership Ceremony. I hadn’t watched Casualty for ages, not since Dixie the closet Lesbian paramedic first appeared. I now know she hid behind having a fiancé. Her father eventually found
“The film: ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ 6
out the truth, after seeing her kissing another woman. He then had a heart attack. Good to see Casualty able to be quietly controversial, by giving us this love story to further open people’s eyes to all things human. This time round we were given a short touching story of true love, acknowledging what both women had lost along the way, and told with no regrets or judgment, on their own terms. I loved the bemused look on Charge Nurse Charlie’s face when the penny had finally dropped. A nice touch having the A&E staff re-organising the time of the ceremony, then sending the happy couple off in a specially decorated ambulance. Obviously not something that would happen in reality. Or could it?
-it gave a glimpse that being LGBT did not have to be miserable.
”
Opening Doors London (ODL) www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk
There’s a little bit of Art for Everyone Fiona McGibbon spoke to ODL Outings in Art founder Chris Barlow about his journey on the art trail, and how Opening Doors London members can get involved.
Defining ‘art’ is a tricky one, it takes all shapes and forms and can be anything from a traditional dance in the back waters of Kerala, to a Banksy on the side of a derelict building in Bethnal Green – beauty, and more importantly appreciation, is in the eye of the beholder. Art is an expression, an imagination, a power. Originally hailing from Sheffield, and the son of a steel worker turned painter, the passion Chris has for the world of art is infectious, particularly when discussing his first, and most prized painting – an etching of an old diesel train given to him over 40 years ago. Outings in Art Talking about the inspiration behind Outings in Art, Chris explained ‘art is a way of communicating an idea, an exciting world - being interested in art, regardless of what form that takes encourages curiosity, and becomes a journey that feeds the soul’ Although Outings in Art began just over two years ago, it has an impressive 20+ visits under its belt, which have included members visiting everything from galleries and museums to walking tours through the streets of London to view urban street art. Chris explains that Outings in Art is inclusive of everyone ‘it isn’t meant to be a test, I just hope people find the places we visit at Outings in Art as intriguing as I do’. Almost as important as the art is the opportunity Outings in Art offers for socialising having a coffee and a chat is a huge part of the outing. The next Outings in Art visit is planned for the Autumn, and will be taking in the sights of the Horniman Museum and Gardens. Date to be confirmed, check the ODL Listings.
Chris Barlow
Changing times Art has changed in the last 30 years, Chris explains there is a much bigger emphasis on social space and the accessibility to buildings, something that is reflected in landmark locations throughout London such as The Great Hall in the British Museum, or the vast spaces in the Tate Modern. The Age Friendly Museums Network (formerly Age Collective) is an organisation which believes older people and museums enrich each other. Being a partner of both the Age Friendly Museums Network, and Opening Doors London, the British Museum offers community previews of exhibitions to ODL members and guided tours around the galleries. Q To find out more about the Age Friendly Museums Network visit http://www.ageofcreativity.co.uk
“Theatre: South Pacific - I loved the story and all the men and women” Q11 Autumn 2015
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What’s coming up?
Queer Arts Highlights for Autumn We’ve run down some of the best LGBT and queer-friendly arts highlights.
There’s so much to do, so much to see for Culture Vultures this autumn. Taking a novel approach to the Pop Art movement, Tate Modern will house The World Goes Pop, which showcases South American and Asian artists who were inspired by the more famous works from American contemporaries like Andy Warhol and Lichenstein. Tate Britain will be honouring London’s own Frank Auerbach with a retrospective – a contemporary of Francis Bacon and a true ‘artists’ artist and don’t miss the excellent Barbara Hepworth exhibition, on until 25 October. At the V&A, Shoes: Pleasure and Pain focuses on the Painting by Frank Auerbach transformative power of extreme footwear, exploring the agony and ecstasy that a shoe might inspire. While the National Portrait Gallery continues its Queer Perspectives series of events as part of their evening programming. The next, on 5 November, features resident artist Sadie Lee discussing works that have a personal relevance. Polari, the LGBT ‘literary salon’, opens its doors each month in the Southbank Centre. In September they announce the nominees for the Polari First Book Prize, which will be awarded on 5 October an enjoyable and mixed evening of work from a range of writers. Fringe! Queer Film and Arts Festival returns in November. While the programme has yet to be finalised, venues include the Hackney Picturehouse and the Rio Cinema. Expect boundary-pushing screenings, director Q&As and films that blur the boundaries between narrative filmmaking and performance art. In mainstream cinemas, look out for Suffragette starring Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep (accent alert!), Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs and the
new James Bond, dishy Daniel Craig’s last foray as 007 in Spectre. When it comes to the theatre, Frank-NFurter will be back in the West End. Original musical creator Richard Painting by Sadie Lee O’Brien returns as the Narrator in the West End revival of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, while Tony-winning smash hit Kinky Boots will continue to play to no-doubt packed houses, keen to see its high-kicking chorus of drag stars. Kenneth Branagh’s much anticipated five show residency at the Garrick Theatre commences this autumn with Dame Judi Dench in The Winter’s Tale, while Sheridan Smith takes on the iconic role of Fanny Brice in Funny Girl at the Menier Chocolate Factory – expect tickets for both productions to go quickly! As for gigs, there’s too much to recommend – the London blessing/curse! Gay troubador John Grant is touring this November, catch him and his songs of anguish and heartbreak at the Hammersmith Apollo. In the same venue, but at the other end of the musical spectrum, Will Young will be in concert two weeks later. One particularly hot ticket will be Patti Smith, who’ll be performing at the Roundhouse at the end of October, while new singer-songwriter Nadine Shah, who’s been compared to PJ Harvey and Nick Cave, plays the Roxy in the same month. Finally, December sees the return of Winter Pride across a variety of London venues, including East Bloc. Keep your eyes peeled! Q
New production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show 8
Opening Doors London (ODL) www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk
From Bad Girls to Crush the Muscial
Jill Gardiner talks to Kath Gotts and Maureen Chadwick about writing and working together Crush, a camp new musical comedy, will be playing at Brighton’s Theatre Royal (22-26 September), and London’s Richmond Theatre (29 September-3rd October). Set in a 1963 girls’ school, highlights range from a tap-dance routine in hockey boots with navy-knickered schoolgirls swooning over sexy new games mistress Miss Givings, to a female guardian angel, in leathers on a motorbike, leading an ingenue to a gay women’s London nightclub, the Stairways, hosted by a Marlene Dietrich lookalike. Crush is the latest production from Kath Gotts the composer and Maureen Chadwick the writer, the couple who brought us Bad Girls, the ITV prison drama, and Bad Girls: The Musical. So how does their creative partnership work? Maureen: Well, the story comes first, it absolutely has to have a story to make the audience want to find out what comes next. Kath: Although the story has developed over time, we’ve given it extra twists and turns, but the characters have remained constant. Maureen: I write what’s called the book. Kath: You’ve got to set up the situation. With a song like ‘Navy Knicks’, we knew there was going to be a song for the entrance of the games mistress, so I sit and think about the lyrics, but they are always attached to a bit of tune. Maureen: You start singing them in your head, don’t you? Kath: I sit and sing at my desk, writing down things, and then it gradually takes a musical shape and a lyrical form. I’ll then say, “Oh, I’ve got what this song is going to do.” Maureen: I do chip in some lyrics, if I’m allowed. Kath: I’ll chip in bits of dialogue too. Maureen: And we read bits of the script out aloud all the time. That means further edits. And we’re also trying to make the songs reveal something about a character or advance the plot in some way. Kath: So it’s constant finessing, and workshopping, sometimes in front of an audience. We’re just going over it until we’ve put so much fun and humour into it that hopefully it will be irresistible. It’s our version of lesbian camp, it’s frothy lesbian fun. Q For bookings & more info: http://www.bigbroad.co.uk/productions/crush-the-musical
“The soap: ‘Eastenders’ - the first gay relationships depicted truthfully in soaps.” Q11 Autumn 2015
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Pride of Place: Making our Mark More memories needed! a new interactive website has been launched this summer mapping LGBTQ places in London and England. Sometimes it seems as if everyone is after our memories of the old days, but a new project from Historic England run by Leeds Beckett University is different. There’s a website at: http://www.mapme.com/prideofplace where we can explore LGBTQ history throughout England and can add places we know which were important in our own history. By mapping and writing about places and spaces lived, loved, worked and played in by LGBTQ People, the project aims to show that LGBTQ heritage is everywhere and is a basic and engrossing part of the national heritage. But this time we get to write and place our own stories, memories and histories. It is not
Edward Carpenter and friends at his cottage, Millthorpe, Derbyshire
Shibden Hall Yorkshire home to notorious diarist Anne Lister from 1813
just being written by academics and historians for us - the success of the project depends on those of us who were there to add to the website, in our own words. Topic zones include: Pubs and Clubs; Sex and Intimacy; LGBTQ people; Crime and Law; Social Spaces; Activism; Domestic Spaces and Culture & Arts. Each place marked has an annotation giving a glimpse of what happened there and when, an absorbing way to learn and record our past. It’s a lively and interesting site. Add to it now - while we remember and before all the old sites of our stories disappear. The website is growing and developing all the time, it will be a great way to find out about a place - how about writing up a walk around some historic LGBTQ places and sending it in to ODLQ for publication? Q http://www.mapme.com/prideofplace For more information and sites and photographs: https:// historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/lgbtqheritage-project
Fathomless Riches: Or How I Went From Pop to Pulpit Witty and insightful, anyone who remembers the Communards from the 1980s will enjoy this book. Richard Coles narrates us through his early youth, as the archetype nerdy gay kid, through pop stardom in the shadow of St. Jimmy Somerville, to renowned BBC Radio 4 Saturday mornings favourite. The book is candid and amusing, I can’t imagine many Anglican priests admitting so publically some of the things Richard Coles does in this book. There is a clear progression and maturing, as we journey through his story to the cleric and broadcaster we know today. Fathomless Riches: Or How I Went From Pop to Pulpit by Richard Coles, Paperback at £8.99. - Adrian Johnson 10
Opening Doors London (ODL) www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk
Gay’s the Word
Jim MacSweeney from Gay’s the Word browses through best sellers and his favourite across the years. One of the great joys of working in Gay’s The Word is the daily unpacking of new boxes of books and discovering what new treasures have come into stock. Once put out on display it’s always fascinating to see which of the titles capture the imagination of our customers and become steady best-sellers and which are doomed to be returned eventually to the publisher unread and unloved. We try and stock as wide a variety of books as possible but with limited space all of the titles have to earn their keep and often tough decisions on stocking have to be made. There are certain titles and authors that are perennial favourites. You can expect to see work by James Baldwin, Genet, Burroughs, Alan Hollinghurst, Armistead Maupin, John Rechy, Edmund White, Cavafy, Auden, Elizabeth Bishop, Rimbaud, Sarah Waters, Jeanette Winterson, Audre Lorde, Jackie Kay, Ali Smith, Alison Bechdel and Radclyffe Hall. Some authors go out of print and then get rediscovered as happened with Isherwood with the film of A Single Man and the television adaptation of Christopher and His Kind. Mary Renault’s wonderful historical novels set in Ancient Greece have all just been reissued
and new readers will discover the delights of the Mask of Apollo and The Last of the Wine. Andrew Holleran’s Dancer from the Dance has been out of print in the UK for years but we import it in from the States and were delighted to discover a new American publisher Valancourt Books who specialise in reprinting gay classics with new introductions. Their list includes The Sins of the City of the Plain by Jack Saul, the classic public school novel Lord Dismiss Us by Michael Campbell and The Heart in Exile by Rodney Garland which so evocatively captures gay life in 50s London. There is huge anticipation for the forthcoming film release of Carol starring Cate Blanchett which is leading people to read the original novel by Patricia Highsmith. What a treat for those yet to discover her. Finally two of my personal favourites are Fair Play by Tove Jansson, an autobiographical novel of two older women living in relationship which is wise, witty and profound and Bitter Eden by Tatamkhulu Afrika set in a prisoner of war camp in WWII which is a fantastic exploration of male bonding and sexual tension. Lots to choose from… Q
“The music video: Queen - ‘I want to Break Free’ - being gay could be fun” Q11 Autumn 2015
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The Refusal Watching the story of Franz Jagerstatter helped Ola Satchell make decisions about her life. Being transgender and growing up when I did was an isolating experience and it was not until I was 15 that I discovered I was not the only one in the world. By then I had seen The Refusal, the true story of Franz Jagerstatter, a devout Catholic farmer who would not fight for the Nazis because of his religious beliefs. On 9 August 1943 they executed him. Vilified, denigrated and detested by those around him, including the village priest, he died for his faith believing he would be written out of history with no legacy. A powerful story of individual courage and morality standing fast whilst all around barbarity was extolled as virtue, as well as showing how yesterday’s traitor becomes today’s hero. In a training session someone said I was brave to transition; I remarked it was more a question of 50 odd years of cowardice and failing to face up to who I am. Franz reminds me that is the reality. A tragic, lonely, largely unknown figure is a constant humbling antidote to the ease with which I could perceive myself as some kind of stoic figure overcoming adversity because of the positive responses from people I train. I have been asked why I often laugh about what happened to me – it’s because there are more important things in life than my identity to be concerned over and I have been spared from discovering the meaning of suffering and sacrifice by those like Franz.
The Fox It was a very long time ago that Alison Read went off to the cinema on her own.
The 27 bus still goes past the site of the Odeon Westbourne Grove, a splendid late deco’ish brick building built after WW2, long gone, flats there now. I went on the bus, in 1967, on my own, to see the film The Fox. The film, a long faded memory - snow, countryside, check pattern wool jackets, isolation, two women in a close relationship and then of course the man arrives. That’s what happened in films about lesbians then, or death, or misery of some kind. I don’t want to see the film again, what puzzles me is what was going on in my 18 year old, heterosexual mind, I had friends I went to the cinema with but this time I went on my own - and didn’t come out as lesbian for another ten years. Q
Free tickets at the Odeon Camden! The lovely people at Odeon Camden - a five screen cinema on Parkway just by the tube - have given us FREE TICKETS for two ODL members to attend a film of their choice. All you have to do to be in with a chance is send your name and address by email ODL.Quarterly@ageukcamden.org.uk or by post to ODL Quarterly at Tavis House (address on page 15) by Monday 12 October to be included in the draw!
“Film: Taste of Honey - gay student shows support to pregnant woman” 12
Opening Doors London (ODL) www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk
Rubyfruit Jungle: Then and Now Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown, published in 1973, was one of the earliest second wave lesbian feminist novels. Helen Bishop read it in 1975, while staying on one of the lesbian lands in Oregon and coming out as a lesbian herself.
I remembered it as being very funny, strong, feminist and sexy. I re-read it today and recognised its much broader themes. It is a really good portrayal of the coming of age and early adulthood of Molly, an unconventional, strong minded individual growing up poor in small town America. Molly fights back against the expectations of her family, the boys’ opinions about what girls can’t do (she is good at car mechanics) and gender and class barriers at school and college.
Class and gender is not confined to the straight world, she rails furiously against the rich lesbian who tries to pick her up and pay for her. The story had me once again laughing out loud at the escapades (remember the rabbit turds?), initial sexual fumblings with her cousin Leroy and the different reactions of her girlfriends to her exploration of sex with women. The sexism and misogyny of her college tutor is vividly described, but she gets her own back in the end. The book is a brilliant and witty portrayal of a young woman fighting to do what she wants, and not what society expects in 60s America. It is a wonderfully written classic, worth reading again, or for the first time, and savouring from a 40 year perspective! Q
Breaking the Taboo Mike Harth pays tribute to Gore Vidal for his ground breaking novel The City and the Pillar. Born in 1926, I realised early in life that I was different: ‘homosexual’ took a bit longer. I knew no one else with the same temperament, and being a great reader naturally turned to books not only for information but for company. In those days they weren’t very cheerful company: it seemed there was no such thing as a happy homosexual, and they would invariably end up committing suicide or worse. So The City and the Pillar by Gore Vidal, published in 1948, was a breath of fresh air. Admittedly the gay protagonist kills the guy who rejects his advances, but at least he wasn’t a passive victim, he controlled the situation: what is more, he isn’t hauled off to judgment afterwards. Vidal paid a heavy penalty for his boldness: he couldn’t get published for years afterwards, and turned to writing for television and films (he was largely responsible for the script of Quo Vadis) but we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude for breaking the taboo. Attitudes have changed so much, and so quickly, that even for one who has lived through it all it’s often difficult to recall just how oppressed we were. Now the bookshelves are full of gay-positive novels and in my own writing straights are practically always the fall guys and the gays confident, often aggressively so, in their sexuality. Q
“The radio programme: ‘Round the Horne’ - because all the men were in the closet.” Q11 Autumn 2015
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ODL Fundraising Tom Blackie brings us up to date. We always thought that this stage in the development of ODL was going to be a tough one and we weren’t wrong! The need to expand our services to meet an increasing demand and cover a larger geographical area during the most severe government funding cuts to the charity sector in a generation is not an easy task. Most of our main funders who have supported us over the last six or so years must move their funding support to other charities in need, except the Reaching Communities Fund of the Big Lottery and we’re pleased to report that we have progressed to the second stage. The team are working hard in order to submit a bid (and supporting documentation) of the highest quality. The outcome should be known by the end of November. Wish us luck! Other bids have been submitted to Comic Relief, The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts and the Garfield Weston Foundation. We also continue, with the support of our volunteers, Ambassadors, staff and Community Fundraising Officer, to explore and support fundraising activities such as quizzes, raffles and sponsored events. Two particular recent successes were the ODL quiz hosted by Russell Tovey, which generated enough to cover all of our costs for Pride, and the Pride 10K run which looks like it could raise almost
The PwC Team
£10k for ODL. This was made possible through the fantastic support of the London Frontrunners, individuals and LGBT staff teams from Age UK, PwC and QBE Insurance. Thank you everyone! As always, we welcome any fundraising ideas, useful contacts or direct donations to keep ODL services going strong - please contact tom.blackie@ageukcamden.org.uk or call 020 7239 0400. To donate please visit www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk Also, if you can, please sign up to our Raise a Glass campaign – again, details are on the website, where you can also link to us on Facebook, Twitter and our recently established ODL Instagram account. Q
NEW! LGBT* Buddying Project Peter Cattanach introduces a new service from Ageing Better Camden. In August Age UK Camden started a new 2 year project – LGBT* Community Action which is part of the new Ageing Better Camden (ABC) service, aiming to reduce isolation and loneliness by linking up with their own community. Though a separate service from ODL, Liam and Derek will work one day a week each and there will be opportunities for ODL members to get involved. Liam will be developing the pilot LGBT* peer buddying scheme to get more isolated Camden residents to engage in things they are interested in and access appropriate support. Derek will focus on training and development work with other Camden agencies and services to get them more aware of the needs of older local LGBT* people, and also work with ABC partner organisations to link older LGBT* people with social groups (such as those offered by ODL) and the new peer Buddying scheme. More information on getting involved with the ABC Camden project will be circulated via ODL, Age UK Camden and the wider ABC team: www.ageuk.org.uk/camden/ageing-better-in-camden Paul Webley is the contact for ODL’s Befriending & Buddying scheme (across London): odl.befriending@ageukcamden.org.uk or telephone: 020 7239 0400 Q
“The song: ‘Y.M.C.A’ by the Village People 14
- such a wonderfully Gay Song, for gays and straight alike” Opening Doors London (ODL) www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk
Pets’ Corner: My Dog George
George is a 15 year old American Cocker Spaniel, totally adorable except when he lays eyes on another mutt, when he wants to go in for the kill. He loves cats, but humans are his favourites. Attention gets him really excited, while at 15 he is still going strong, though he has problems with his front legs. Among his favourite activities are lying on your knee whilst you are watching television, carrying his ball around in his mouth, re-arranging his cuddly toys in his bed, being driven about in the car, visiting the countryside, playing on the beach, and swimming in rivers. He has come close to losing his life on many occasions due to such antics as jumping off first floor balconies or into fast flowing rivers – but regardless of this, we love him immensely. Paul Webley
YOUR ODL Quarterly ODL Quarterly is the magazine for members of Opening Doors London. We welcome articles, photos, poems, reviews and contributions plus memories for the Down Memory Lane page (we can’t guarantee to publish them all but we will do our best). The next issue: Q12 out in December, is the festive winter issue, all about FOOD! Gay food! a rainbow cake, a cocktail, or your own special recipe for cheese on toast? LGBT snacks and treats. Send us your tales and pics of memorable meals shared with others, or savoured on your own. Tastes, meanings and celebrations - we want your contributions on food for the next issue of Q. Maximum length: 250 words Deadline: Monday 26 October. Thanks to all the Q11 contributors and interviewees: David Mitchell, Brook Hobbins, Mike Jackson, Alfio Bernabei, Aldina, Chris Barlow, Jill Gardiner, Maureen Chadwick, Kath Gotts, Jim MacSweeney, Ola Satchell, Helen Bishop, Paul Webley, Roger Juer, our competition winner Carol Smith and the Friday Coffee and Cake club who chipped in with their memories of films books and shows. Q editorial group: Mike Harth, Adrian Johnson, Fiona McGibbon, Sue O’Sullivan, Alison Read, Jamie Reece, Tony Smith, Barbara. Magazine design: www.laurasalisburygraphicdesign.com © All articles, cartoons and photographs are copyright of the author, artist and photographer. The views and opinions expressed in ODL Q Quarterly are those of the individual contributors and are not necessarily those of the editorial group, Opening Doors London or AgeUK Camden.
Opening Doors London Contact Details Opening Doors London (ODL), Age UK Camden Tavis House, 1–6 Tavistock Square London, WC1H 9NA Tel 020 7239 0400 Email: odl.info@ageukcamden.org.uk Website: www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk Stacey Halls ODL Manager Paul Webley Befriending Coordinator Email odl.befriending@ageukcamden.org.uk Derek Freeman Campaigns & Policy
Liam O’Driscoll Development Coordinator Kate Hancock Development Coordinator Chryssy Hunter Volunteer Coordinator Tom Blackie Fundraising & Project Development Tom.Blackie@ageukcamden.org.uk ODL Quarterly Email odl.quarterly@ageukcamden.org.uk
It’s easy to join ODL. Get in touch with Kate or Liam by email, phone or post.
Q11 Autumn 2015
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Down Memory Lane Q Competition Winner!
The Quarterly editorial group are delighted to announce the winner of our first competition - ODL member Carol Smith wins for her story Halcyon Days of our Youth and receives a copy of the new book of walks from London: Wild Swimming Walks from Wild Things Publishing.
Halcyon Days of our Youth In the early 70s, Lancaster GLF used to meet in a gay-friendly pub (rare at the time). We had different meetings most nights in the room upstairs, and drank in the pub afterwards. One night, a new member who was a nurse told us that the hospital next door had an outdoor swimming pool, and showed us where it was. So after a hard night of politics and drinking pints, we staggered down the canal path, then climbed over a wall by the pool. Not having brought our swimming costumes, (generally not needed at GLF meetings!) we took off all our clothes and jumped in. It was pitch black, freezing cold and we were generally a bit (or very!) drunk. These were the halcyon days of our youth and before Health and Safety had been invented - it never occurred to us that one of us might have passed out and drowned. We used to go quite often that summer until the hospital security guard discovered us and made
Outrageous Old Reads.
Roger Juer remembers under the counter books in the 60s. Have you observed - if you just stop for a moment and look - how much of interest there is around you? En route recently to a favourite open space - St George’s Gardens, London NW1 - I noticed, on a church wall, a Blue Plaque celebrating the lives of Fanny and Stella, two nineteenth century ‘cross-dressers’. This prompted me to recall some of my own fin-desiècle memorabilia. Until recently, my library included a signed autobiography by Bertrand Russell, among the most charismatic people I have ever met; a hardback anthology of Oscar Wilde’s epigrams, collected by his son Vyvyan; and a shelf-load of the famously bisexual Colette. There were also the novellas of Ronald Firbank (apparently plagiarised in the Da Vinci Code) and Frederick Rolfe, aka Baron Corvo, whose Hadrian the Seventh is still regarded as a masterpiece. 16
Lancaster GLF at a demonstration
our naked bodies get out the pool and get dressed in front of him which put us off, not to mention threats of prosecution for trespass! I can still remember how exciting those swims were, and how I felt they mirrored the exhilaration of our meetings. Lancaster GLF was legendary and very formative to a 19 year old lesbian. Now I’m a 62 year old lesbian and I still love swimming! Q But my favourite camp classic was a Green Cover edition of Aubrey Beardsley’s Under The Hill (1896), the illustrator’s literary interpretation of Teutonic myth, rather more scandalous than Wagner’s, published in Paris (to avoid British censorship laws) in 1959 by the Olympia Press/ New English Library. It was in Cecil Court, that gas-lit alley lined with esoteric bookshops that leads from the Charing Cross Road to The Salisbury pub, in the 60’s the gay and lesbian theatreland watering hole, that I paid 2/6d for the smuggled volume, wrapping it in tabloid newspaper to look like fish and chips until I got it home. Beardsley, Firbank, and Rolfe were outrageous even by today’s standards. Q Design by Aubrey Beardsley for Oscar Wilde’s Salome
Opening Doors London (ODL) www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk