PRIDE IN HOCKLEY FR ENCORE, ENCORE E QB E

Nottinghamshire’s Bulletin

August/September 2015 Number 85

QB started in the late 1990s and was originally financed by the NHS. 10 years ago QB was in danger of

disappearing. returns to  This year, community stalls QB was saved when Nottingham the City centre on sunny Saturday will again be on Heathcoat Switchboard took it over and the July 25th. Like last year, the fes- Street. last 60 editions have been pro- tival will take place in the Hockley  The stage area will be in duced - and paid for - by Switch- and Lace Market areas. Lace Market Square and the board. It’s free to you, but if you emphasis will be on local can help with funding, then have a Most of the problems with debts look at the Mydonate and FRONGS acts from previous Prides have been schemes - details inside.  The 2015 will resolved and the Committee ex- start from Castle Gate at pect that this year’s event will put 11.30am. The committee Pride on an even firmer financial says “Be Colourful, Noisy footing. and PROUD!! “

For the latest news go to http://nottinghamshirepride.co.uk/

SWITCHBOARD IS 40 and Switchboard started as a phoneline in 1975, so after 40 years, it’s time for a celebration. This will take several forms. They are producing a 16 page booklet detailing their history and their work - this should be available at Pride. Another event will take place at Not- tingham Contemporary - see below.

If you have any information, news, gossip or libel or wish to comment on anything in QB, please contact

QB Lesbian and Gay Switchboard 7 Mansfield Road Nottingham NG1 3FB On Friday October 16th Switch- or e-mail board will be hosting a celebratory [email protected] dinner with entertainment at Not- tingham Contemporary.

The deadline for the next edition There will be seats for 200 people will be August 26th and bookings can now be taken

Switchboard is registered Switchboard is registered charity There are more details on page 2 charityno. number 1114273 1114273 40 YEARS ON THE NOTTINGHAM MAP

There’s a link to the map on the homepage of Nottinghamshire’s Rainbow Heritage’s website. Each of the 70+ red spots on the map links to a place with some LGBT connection. Here are two of those places.

Sandi Toksvig was kind enough to send Switch- board the above card to congratulate them on their 40th anniversary. The message will appear in the anniversary booklet. The booklet also contains:

 Details of its origin as an offshoot of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality. The Flying Horse on Cheapside off the Market  Battles with newspapers which refused ad- Square (now fronting a small shopping mall) was vertisements the main in the 1950s and 1960s. Some-  Some unusual calls received in the early times known as "The Pansy's Parlour" its reputa- days tion was said to be worldwide.  How the work of Switchboard has changed and expanded  The topics on which Switchboard gathers information  A yellow brick road of milestones  Hopes for the future and how you can help

The big anniversary event will happen on Friday October 16th at Nottingham Contemporary. It will be a gala dinner, with entertainment. Tickets are £27-50, though a group booking for a table of 10 brings the price down to £25 each. For infor- mation about tickets, e-mail [email protected] In 1983 the Bradley Family (the redoubtable Hilda and her sons) opened Gatsby's as a gay pub. For several years it was often so packed that move- ment was difficult, breathing was an effort and hearing someone near to you was impossible - so people loved it.

The Bradley family ran a good pub, but made little effort to engage with "the community".

Towards the end of the 1990s, the approach of the Grim Reaper (eventually to be embodied in the form of alcoholism and old age) led to a change in management and in name. The pub reverted to its previous name, The Central, and the management was certainly a little more Switchboard is also looking for organisations or "communitaire". In 2007 it was renamed "Niche", groups to sponsor a table for £100. Sponsors will which closed at the end of 2008, then re-opened have their brand and logo advertised on the dinner in early 2009 only to be renamed "The New Gats- table at the event, as well as in our advertising and by's" a few months later - and then it closed ... ac- media coverage. To get involved. e-mail rimoniously. [email protected]

RESEARCH REQUEST (NO. 1)

Are you over 60 and identify as LGBT? A PhD stu- dent at the School of Health and Social Care at Lin- coln University is conducting research regarding old- er LGBT people’s perceptions and experiences of GP services.

I’m interested in interviewing people to talk about a wide variety of different experiences, whether those are good, bad, average or mixed. I will be asking those who would like to be involved to take part in one interview, at a time and location which suits you. The interview will involve talking about what you think is important about GP services, what you like and don’t like, and whether or how being lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans makes a difference (if indeed it does). I will not be asking specific questions about your health. Participation is anonymous and data will be stored securely.

Over the last decade I have been a volunteer with LGBT phone lines, trans support groups and LGBT patient user groups, and this research has in part grown out of that experience. If you are interested or would like to find out more, please contact Mi- chael Toze on 01522 835443 or [email protected] RESEARCH REQUEST (NO. 2)

I am a local artist developing a project considering how clothing supports an individual expression of; identity, profession, class, gender, or ethnicity.

For Council housing I have contacted a number of individuals who have offered their time to speak to me about their choice in Nottingham and of clothing and the rituals associated with their a range of job choice of apparel. Along with documented conver- opportunities visit sation I am in the process of drawing, photo- graphing, and painting individual participants. I am particularly interested in how clothing used in perfor- www.nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk mance burlesque and Drag acts to shape or en- hance an identity. or call 0845 330 3131. I am hoping that you might be able to advise me Homeless or losing your home? Contact about how to approach individuals from the gay Nottingham City Council Housing Aid community with a request to participate in my re- search project?

I am a lesbian woman and wish to reassure you I MYDONATE have no sinister motive other than a wish to develop a body of work for a future exhibition in a year or so. Here’s a link to my website to see examples of my theatre work

http://jeannieolwynclark.weebly.com/theatre- costume.html

The TRUE VISION website explains clearly what a is and that includes internet hate crime. To make an instant one-off donation to Switch- It gives advice and guidance about reporting hate board, go to their website www.nottslgs.org.uk and crimes, including reporting hate crimes online, if click on the Mydonate symbol, then follow the in- you do not want to report directly to the police. Go structions. If you are a taxpayer, your donation is to http://www.report-it.org.uk increased by 25%

REFLECTIONS ON MAY 17TH RAINBOW DESCENDS ON CLOUGH

1980s civil rights activist Russell Christie was invit- On May 17th, about 100 people gathered around ed to give an introduction to a double bill of films - the Brian Clough statue having streamed through Looking for Langston and Tongues Untied at the the City centre from 5 sites. Nottingham Contemporary on May 26th. He took the opportunity to reflect on IDAHOBiT in Notting- ham:

May 17th each year now is International Day Against Homo, Trans and Bi-phobia. As I walked around the city at the beginning of last week, rain- bow flags flew above the council house, above the castle, above the Notts Police HQ, above the Notts County Football ground, and above John Lewis. It was very friendly.

The architecture supported me, the buildings said, ‘Hello, we’re on your side.’ A city almost entirely the same, and a city almost entirely different. An open city, a welcoming and acknowledging city. Sudden- Several short speeches were given, including one ly my city as much as anyone else’s. The buildings by Deputy Chief Constable Sue Fish, pictured stand- sang Hello and sang their esteem. And I thought, ing in front of the rainbow-bedecked Clough. ‘Is this what it’s like to be the heteronormative, the white hetero male into whose fold I am now admit- ted – given, on an ongoing basis, all these sup- ports, all these affordances for my self to be sus- tained, all this beckoning and open and smiling possibility for my life.

Earlier in the week absolutely everyone gathered by County Hall for the Idaho Day flag raising. Stop Hate UK has just launched a national 24 hour a day helpline for LGB&T hate crime victims. Any- one experiencing LGB&T Hate Crime or incidents, or witnesses a Hate Crime or incident, wherever they live, can access an independent third party;

 To report, or receive support to report, the crime or incident  To receive immediate emotional support  To receive information and advice from a team of expert Hate Crime advisors  And/or be referred to the police either anony- mously or with full details for investigation  And/or be referred local support agencies At Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire Cricket Club such as LGB&T, housing, social care, health showed the IDAHO Day flag on their big screen. and legal organisations wherever appropriate

NEW GAY WOMEN’S DISCO IN DERBY. A "Social Evening" with Disco and Bar is booked for Saturday 19th September 2015 at The Meadows Inn, Cheq- uers Road, Derby. DE21 6EP. (Near Pentagon Is- land) 7:30pm until late. £5 on the door. Huge free car park. It's on a Facebook page as Women's Dis- co Derby and [email protected]. CS2 ON CHANNEL 4 QB’S BITS

Channel 4 will show a documentary about Gay Sau-  QB’s favourite gay “judge”, Judge Rinder, re- nas in the UK. ‘Sauna visitors come from all walks of marked “I always wanted to join the Brownies. I life – teachers, plumbers and accountants, young wanted the ironing badge.” and old,’ Focusing on the CS2 sauna in Nottingham,  On a similar theme, a Switchboard member Secrets of the Sauna is set to reveal an ‘insight into was heard to remark “I keep fit with sex and a hidden world and a surprising, sideways look at ironing - though these days it’s mainly ironing” modern gay relationships’. ‘Customers come here at  Nottingham is trying to be an “Age Friendly” any time of the day – during their lunch break or after city. What is there for older LGBT people? a night out to have sex with perfect strangers,’ the There’s the Age UK over 55 lesbian group and statement reads. ‘And business is booming.’ ……. well, you tell us?  Swedish gay activists have created The Sing- ing Sailor Underwater Defence System. If approached by a Russian submarine it sends a Morse code message “this way, if you are gay”.  A big “thank you” to both the Land Registry and E.on/Unite/Unison/NCHA for their cake baking fundraisers for Switchboard - nearly £300 raised.  Kent Councillor Frank Bangay died in 1999. The documentary follows regular customer Narvel, He’s now had a road named after him and and a local politician and his new husband and the some residents may feel unwelcomed. sauna’s owners John and Joe to explore the ups and downs of their relationships. ‘Narvel readily admits, he “likes sex”, telling us about his years in Detroit when he would have sex with 5 men in a single night,’ Channel 4 writes. ‘But aged 69, fearing a heart attack, Narvel is starting to slow down. Back home, husband Terry would rather he didn’t visit at all…’

Conservative Councillor Robin, and new husband  Notts Police have set up a new Independent Andy tell ‘of a time when the police regularly raided Advisory Group (IAG) aimed looking at Hate gay saunas; but now, local politicians can ‘openly Crime against the North Notts LGBT communi- use the sex swings at CS2 without fear of intimida- ty. The first meeting was on June 25th. For tion,’ according to the broadcaster. info on future meetings, phone 101 and ask for Chris Thompson or Richard Townsley. John and Joe, owners of CS2, have been together  “Curing ” is published by Manchester for more than 30 years and are soon to be married. University Press and describes the appalling According to the statement, for them ‘owning a sau- histories of aversion therapies applied to gay na is a lifestyle choice and as they readily admit, men from the 1930s to the 1970s. Unfortunate- both are more than happy to mix business with ly, it’s £70. pleasure’, with the documentary exploring how the  North Korea is claiming that its Supreme Lead- sauna will affect their relationship. er Kim Jong-un has found the cure for AIDS, cancer and Ebola. He probably did this on the LGBT HATE CRIME SCANDAL day that it was reported that he scored 18 holes in one on a round of golf. A newly released report from the University of Leicester's Centre for Hate Studies reveals that 88 WHAT’S A FRONG? per cent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and people had experienced some form of hate incident Frongs were born 35 years ago and used to be leaving them with emotional and physical scars. FRiends Of Nottingham Gay Switchboard. Notting- ham and Notts Lesbian and Gay Switchboard Fear of how they will be treated is leading to thou- would make them FRONANLAGS …. so we’ve sands of LGBT people not reporting hate crimes. As stuck with FRONGS. a result perpetrators are evading justice, a new re- port published today reveals. Evidence nationally FRONGS set up a standing order with their bank to suggests around 35,000 cases of hate crime com- pay Switchboard a small amount each month. As mitted against people because of their sexual orien- Switchboard is a registered charity, FRONGS who tation go unreported every year. are tax payers can enable us to reclaim tax and so boost any contribution by about 25%. You can You can download the full report from the LGBT download a FRONGS form from Switchboard’s Hate Crime page on Switchboard’s website. website www.nottslgs.org.uk or its Facebook page.

Lesbian & Gay Switchboard SOME LOCAL LISTINGS

Coming out and going out. Staying in. Outburst! Group for LGBT young people aged 11-19 Feeling down. Meeting up. Meets Wednesdays at NGY (29-33 Castle gate) Breaking up.. Safer sex and Phone Base 51 (at NGY) on 9525040 for details everything in between. Lookout Quarterly lesbian newsletter. E-mail [email protected] Contact us

0115 934 8485 or 01623 621515 WOW LGBT Youth Group. Wed. 6.30 - 8.30pm Centre Place, Worksop. Tel: 01909 479191 email: [email protected] or text 07624809360 Details of the following local groups can be obtained from Switchboard: Monday to Friday 7 pm to 9.15 pm

7 Mansfield Road, Notts Hyking Dykes; Women’s Badminton; Badminton Social; Lesbian & Nottingham, NG1 3FB. Gay Christian Movement; Sanctuary (LGBT BME group); Chameleons

[email protected] (trans); Nottingham Invasion (trans); Trans4ME (young people’s trans group); Free to Be (Christian group) Nottingham & Trent Uni LGBT Soci- www.nottslgs.org.uk eties; Peak Rufties women’s walking group: Rainbow Writers Group; Follow us on Facebook at Man Up (bears, leather group); Midweek book group; Lesbian Café even- www.facebook.com/NLGSUK ing; SYNT (Women’s social group); Gay History Tours; Bi Women’s

& Twitter at https://twitter.com/nottslgs Group; Age UK over 55 lesbian group; LiNk-Notts (lesbian e-mail info); QT Notts (info sharing by e-mail); QT Walks; Mansfield Rainbow Divas ******************************************** (women’s group); Eat Out Social; Nottingham Lions football team; Not- Nottinghamshire’s Rainbow Heritage tingham Craftspeople; Lirain ( into real ale); Sherwood Ladies 5

c/o NVAC, 7 Mansfield Road, -a-side football; Tagadere (HIV+ support): Nottingham BiTopia & BiTalkia Nottingham NG1 3FB. (Bi social groups); Lesbians in Nottingham (social group); Emerge

0115 9349529 (Police, fire, ambulance social group); Gay Outdoor Club; Dinner Ladies [email protected] (women’s eat out group): LGBT Alcohol Support .

www.nottsrainbowheritage.org.uk Download a directory of groups & services from the Local Facilities page https://twitter.com/rainbowheritage of Switchboard’s website

DIARY ALAN CARR

L Fest 2015 includes live music, arts, performance,

Alan Carr will be yapping his way around the UK & comedy, cinema, workshops and more. It’s at Uttox- Ireland with his brand new stand up show. 4th & 5th eter Racecourse from July 17th to 20th. For full de- September at the Royal Concert Hall. tails, go to http://www.lfest.co.uk

TALKING HEADS KINGS OF QUEENS

The New Art Exchange is screening of Kings of Queens followed by Q&A and cocktails! Kings of Queens (Dir. Damien Ebanks) is a Nottingham based micro documentary following a , a impersonator and friends. We discover who they are, what they do and why they chose this misunderstood field of work. They are the Kings of Queens. The screening is free. Stephanie Cole delivers three of Alan Bennett’s acclaimed monologues: “A cream cracker under the It’s 6.30-8.30pm on July 24th, NAE, 39-41 Gregory settee”; “A chip in the sugar” and “A lady of Let- Boulevard. Though free, you need to book tickets, ters”. 1st to 5th September at the Theatre Royal. ring the box office on 0115 924 8630