Past speakers
1995
September 1995: Terry Sanderson spoke on “Media Watch”, also the title
of his latest book.
October 1995: Peter Tatchell led a discussion on the theme “Equal Rights
are not enough; assimilation versus emancipation”.
1996
February 1996: Keith Flett from the Socialist Workers' Party talked about
Progress towards Gay Liberation.
April 1996: Mark Watson from Stonewall spoke about their immigration
campaign.
May 1996: Members of the Western Buddhist Order spoke on Buddhism.
June 1996: John Randall discussed “The Formation of Sexuality”.
August 1996: Tony Somerton talked about “Gay History – Pioneers and
Heroes”.
September 1996: John Bratherton spoke on “Life as a Male Prostitute”.
1997
January 1997: Duncan Lustig-Prean from Rank Outsiders talked about the
campaign for the rights of gays in the Military.
February 1997: John Beckley described the role of the Landmark HIV/AIDS
support centre in Tulse Hill.
April 1997: Terry Sanderson read from his latest two books.
May 1997: Neil Cavalier-Smith of Prowler Press (with one of his models)
talked about magazine and video publishing.
June 1997: Speakers talked about the notorious “Spanner” case.
July 1997: Keith Hill MP for Streatham gave a talk on the plans of the new
Labour Government.
September 1997: Author Adam Mars-Jones read from some of his writings.
October 1997: Lynn Sutcliffe and some young actors from the Pink Project
Theatre performed extracts from their production “Life on the Outside”.
1998
January 1998: Revd Richard Kirker from the Lesbian and Gay Christian
Movement described the work of the organisation.
February 1998: Chris Morris from Youthspeak talked about his campaign as a
gay teenager to achieve an equal age of consent.
April 1998: Dave Allen chair of the Tory Campaign for Homosexual Equality
(TORCHE) described its work within the Conservative Party.
May 1998: Lynn Sutcliffe introduced her book “There must be 50 ways to
tell your mother”.
July 1998: Alan Day read from his own gay poetry.
August 1998: SLG member Glen McKee described the Gay's the Word trial of
1994, held after customs officers had raided the bookshop and seized its
stock.
September 1998: Paul Burston of Time Out read extracts from his new book
“Queens' Country”.
November 1998: Denis Cobell spoke about humanist ceremonies and
tradition.
1999
January 1999: Peter Tatchell discussed a new approach to straight and queer
liberation.
February 1999: Two representatives from Streetwise Youth talked about its
role as a support organisation for male prostitutes.
March 1999: Two speakers spoke about DELGA (the Lib-Dem lesbian and gay
group).
May 1999: Alistair Pegg, editor of the Pink Paper spoke on the role of the
gay press.
June 1999: Terry Sanderson led a discussion about gay attitudes to
religion.
July 1999: Dennis Candy from the Western Buddhist Order spoke about Buddhism
and Sexuality.
September 1999: Siobhain McDonagh MP for Mitcham and Morden, spoke about gay
rights and other issues in Parliament.
October 1999: Psychotherapist Abé Duré's subject was 'Sex addiction –
the Secret Condition'.
November 1999: Liza Dresner spoke on”The Food Chain – Feeding the fight
against HIV and AIDS.
December 1999: Peter Robins reminisced about his long career in BBC current
affairs.
2000
January 2000: Prowler Press representatives updated us on its merger with
Millivres.
April 2000: Speakers from Hall Carpenter Archives described their role in
storing LGBT historical records.
May 2000: Sue Sanders from 'Schools Out' talked on tackling homophobia in
schools.
June 2000: Michael Arditti read from his latest novel “Easter”.
September 2000: Griff Vaughan Williams from CHE discussed the implications
of LGBT spending power.
October 2000: Author Delroy Constantine-Simms discussed homosexuality in
black communities.
November 2000: Terry Sanderson led a discussion on gays and religion.
December 2000: SLG member Roy presented a musical miscellany of favourite CD
tracks.
2001
January 2001: SLAGO Quiz competition.
February 2001: Faisal Mahmood from the East London AIDS Network talked about
current trends in HIV/AIDS.
March 2001: Speakers from the Edward Carpenter Community described the work
of the organisation.
April 2001: Mansel Stimson, film critic of Gay Times spoke on Oscar Wilde
and the cinema with film extracts.
May 2001: PC Andy Hewlett talked about the police and the gay community.
June 2001: SLG member Philip Bayliss led a discussion on current LGBT
issues.
July 2001: Speakers from the Albert Kennedy Trust described the support they
give to homeless young lesbians and gays.
September 2001: David Parker from “Queer Love Quest” provided a new
focus on gay ageing.
October 2001: Speakers from the Drill Hall theatre talked about its history
and future.
November 2001: speaker from the Quaker Gay and Lesbian Fellowship who
provided us with Quaker views on homosexuality.
2002
January 2002: Malcolm Reece from the National Secular Society talked on
Secularism Today.
February 2002: Michael Brown [of North London] provided an overview of
recent gay history
March 2002: Joan Smith of the Independent newspaper gave a talk on Sexuality
and Human Rights.
April 2002: Graham Parker, the author of Gay and Lesbian London, talked
about the new edition of his guidebook.
May 2002: Rabbi James Baaden talked about a rabbi’s life in south London
under the title ‘The Pleasures of Diversity’.
June 2002 Tony Somerton presented Tangier in its Heyday - a gay perspective
of Tangier between 1920 and 1960.
July 2002: Dennis Candy spoke on ‘Spirituality and Sexuality’ exploring
the relationship between sex and the spiritual life from different religious
and ethical perspectives.
September 2002: Darren Johnson, Leader of the Green Party on the Greater
London Assembly talked about his experience with the Assembly and the policies
of the Green Party.
October 2002: Terry Sanderson, the Gay Times columnist, showed a video and
led a discussion on ‘50 Years of Gay Liberation.
November 2002: Film critic Mansell Stimpson gave a talk about Marlene
Dietrich and showed excerpts from her films.
2003
January 2003: Richard Cole from SM Gays gave a talk entitled ‘SM -
What’s it all about’
March 2003: Derek Lennard, chair of the Gay & Lesbian Humanist
Association, talked on Mark Twain and Religion.
May 2003: Roger Burg and Ross Burgess spoke on Partnership Registration.
June 2003: Clive Roberts, accompanied by a model from Thailand, talked about
‘Making Euroboy Films’ and showed excerpts from several Euroboy DVDs to
demonstrate film techniques.
July 2003: Tackling Homophobic Crime’ was the title of a talk by PC Andy
Hewlett in which he explained a new initiative by the Metropolitan Police
September 2003: Ben Summerskill, newly appointed Chief Executive of
Stonewall spoke about 'Stonewall - the Way Forward’.
November 2003 : A speaker from Norm-UK, Dr Peter Ball talked on the sexual
health of gay men.
December 2003: Rex Batten recalled gay life in London in the 1950’s in his
talk called “Coronation Cottaging“.
2004
January 2004 Neil McKenna summarized his recently published book entitled
“The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde”
February 2004 A speaker from Amnesty International talked about its purpose
and activities.
March 2004: Film critic Mansel Stimpson talked about the life and work of
film director Anthony Asquith
April 2004: Roger Burg spoke on Gay Marriage in Church History and with his
supporting group, re-enacted an ancient Christian ceremony for same-sex
unions.
May 2004: Ian Buist reviewed the changing status of the law affecting gay
men and lesbians.
June 2004: Boyz Magazine was the subject of a talk by its editor David
Hudson.
July 2004: PC Andy Hewlett the Metropolitan Police LBGT Liaison Officer for
Lambeth spoke on “Crime, Community and Council”.
September 2004: Martin Pendergast spoke on “Voices that Challenge”
concerning lesbians and gay men in the Catholic Church.
November 2004: Paul Bunting of King’s College Hospital spoke on Sexual
Health for Gay Men.
December 2004: Professor Jeffrey Weeks of London Southbank University
discussed the “World we have Won”- changing attitudes to sexuality since
the 1960’s.
2005
January 2005: Jeremy Marks talked about the Courage Movement for gay
evangelical Christians
February 2005: Perry Savill and Neil Cooper spoke on the history and current
work of London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard.
March 2005: Writer and broadcaster Ray Gosling talked about men still being
put in prison for being gay.
April 2005: Author Peter Robins spoke on “Gay Life in Colonial
Africa”.
May 2005: ‘”Quentin Crisp - the Life and Times” was the title of a
talk by biographer Andrew Barrow, author of Quentin and Philip.
June 2005: Marcus Gottlieb spoke about the problems faced by gay men who
have been to boarding school.
July 2005: SLG member Bill Boyd discussed with personal experiences how
being gay can change people’s lives.
September 2005: Adam Clark gave a presentation on Life Coaching.
November 2005: A speaker from Outrage, Brett Lock, described its major
campaigns both past and present.
December 2005: speakers from the THT/LADS Project described their work.
2006
January 2006: Samantha Goldberg from GALOP talked about its work in
challenging hate crime.
February 2006: Dr Robert Berkley from the Black Gay Men’s Advisory Group
spoke about the history and progress of gay black people in Britain.
March 2006: Graham Alldus, Lambeth Police LGBT Liaison Officer described his
career in the police force as a gay man.
April 2006: Barry Davis from the London Jewish Cultural Centre talked about
attitudes to being gay in Jewish society and religion.
May 2006: Derek Lennard, UK Co-ordinator of the IDAHO Project spoke about
the persecution of gay people in other countries and the action being taken to
confront it.
June 2006: Lesbian and Gay Immigration was the subject of a talk from Tim
Barnden and Sarah Booker, respectively solicitor and Project Manager with the
UK L&G Immigration Group.
July 2006: Bill Boyd continued his talk from our meeting last year with
further personal experiences and anecdotes from his life.
September 2006: Rev Colin Coward of the Changing Attitude Trust. spoke about
LGBT acceptance in the Anglican Communion.
November 2006: Author Peter Robins spoke about his time as BBC radio current
affairs editor.
December 2006: Writer Alan Day read and interpreted short poems, some his
own.
2007
January 2007: Jason Pollock, Chief Executive of Pride London spoke about
organising this major event.
February 2007: Rev Don Mader talked about the contribution of the Uranians
to homosexual liberation. (This was part of the SLG/SLAGO contribution to LGBT
History Month.)
March 2007: Rev Colin Coward of the Changing Attitude Trust re-visited to
give an update on the struggle for LGBT acceptance in the Anglican
Communion.
April 2007: Dax Ashworth from Southwark LGBT Network explained how gay
people are getting actively involved in their local communities.
May 2007: “A History of Gay Groups” was the title of a talk by SLG
member Tony Somerton.
June 2007: Ian Stewart and Jeff Doorn talked about the gay publishers,
Paradise Press.
July 2007: Bill Boyd followed on from his previous talks to discuss with
personal experiences how being gay can change people’s lives.
September, 2007: Professor Jeffrey Weeks of London Southbank University
spoke on gay progress over the last 50 years and introduced his new book “The
World We Have Won”.
November 2007: Terry Sanderson described the current state of gay rights,
both in the UK and internationally.
December 2007: Paul Burston read extracts from his latest novel, Lovers and
Losers.
2008
January 2008: Ted Brown gave a talk on Gay and Religious Activisms.
February 2008: Emmanuel Cooper provided a perspective on gay and queer art
of the last 100 years.
April 2008: Rev Jean White spoke about the history and aims of the
Metropolitan Community Church.
May 2008: Steve Reed, Leader of Lambeth Council described how local councils
can support their gay population.
June 2008: The Club Scene Today was the subject of a talk from Simon Casson
from Duckie.
July 2008: Michael Brown (of North London) talked about the Pioneers of Gay
Campaigning.
September 2008: Eren Bessim the new police LGBT and Hate Crime Coordinator
spoke about how to make Lambeth a safer place for gay people.
November 2008: Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill spoke about the
achievements of the past 5 years since he last visited.
2009
January 2009: David Hoyle (Divine David) talked about his life as a
performance artist.
February 2009: Stephen Bourne compared his success as an historian of black
Britain with his work documenting gays and lesbians in the media.
March 2009: Workers from the Albert Kennedy Trust talked about their role
supporting young people who are homeless or living in a threatening
environment.
April 2009: Gay poet, writer and new SLG member Ivor Treby shared
reminiscences of sailors and the sea.
May 2009: ”Forward with Labour?” was the title of a talk by Chuka
Umunna, the Labour Party Parliamentary candidate for Streatham.
June 2009: Paul Burston read extracts from his novel “The Gay
Divorcee“.
July 2009: Historian Jeffrey Weeks traced the nature of change over the last
50 years and John Matherson represented Rex Batten (who could not attend
through illness) to read extracts from Rex's book ‘Rid England of this
Plague‘.
September 2009: Writer and broadcaster Ray Gosling made a return visit to
provide an update on recent court cases of men being prosecuted for being
gay.
December 2009: Chris Nicholson, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate
for Streatham, outlined how the Liberal Democrats would change Britain.
2010
January 2010: MEP Michael Cashman spoke on the current situation on LGBT
rights in the European Union and described the work of the European Parliament
to enhance legal protection.
February 2010: Author Jim Herrick looked at the influence of Humanism in the
development of LGBT assertiveness and in fostering wider social change.
March 2010: Rahoul Bhansali the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for
Streatham, talked about the aims and plans of a future Conservative
government.
May 2010: Keith Silvester from Pink Therapy talked about its work in
promoting good mental health in the gay community.
June 2010: Gays in Film Noir was the subject of a talk from Professor
Richard Dyer of King's College London who gave a light hearted look at lesbians
and gay men in Hollywood crime films.
July 2010: Michael May from Survivors UK described the help and support
provided for men who have been sexually violated.
September 2010: Tony Walton talked about his new book “Out of the
Shadows“ on the history of the pioneering London gay groups and
organisations, 1967–2000.
November 2010 Dr Stephen Farrier of the University of London Central School
of Speech and Drama described the evolution of Queer Theatre and its reflection
of contemporary gay life.
December 2010: Dr Matt Cook, senior lecturer at Birkbeck, University of
London talked about homosexual life and culture in the London of the 1890s.
2011
January 2011: Darren Johnson, Green Party member of the Greater London
Assembly spoke about the impact of the Greens in working for a greener and
fairer city.
February, 2011: Students from the University of London Central School of
Speech and Drama visited to discuss the experiences and differences of growing
up gay in the 50's and 60's compared with today (as part of their Oral Gay
History project),
March 2011: SLAGO quiz, with questions provided by the London Monday
Group.
April 2011: David Bridle, Managing Director of Boyz, talked about the past
20 years of the magazine (launched June 1991) and about the changing gay
publishing market in the UK.
May 2011: Rev Bob Callaghan vicar of St John’s Waterloo stepped in at very
short notice to talk about the Inclusive Church group within the Anglican
Church.
June 2011: Peter Scott-Presland performed his show “40 Years a
Queen”.
July 2011: “Hate Crime in Lewisham” was the title of a talk by Mark
McLellan the new Lewisham Police LGBT Liaison Officer.
September 2011: Derek Lennard from the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association
spoke about the life and influence of 19th century American freethinker, Robert
Ingersoll.
November 2011: Joan Smith of The Independent talked about how human rights
apply to women and gay men.
December 2011: Ivor C Treby reminisced about his life and read a new
selection of his published writings.
2012
January 2012: Members of SM Gays talked about their group.
February 2012: Bill Thornycroft described his personal experiences of the
South London Gay Liberation Front.
March 2012: SLAGO Quiz
April 2012: Tony Walton talked about the latest book he has edited, called
UP THE KASBAH, which gives the memories and adventures of gay expats to
Tangier, Tunisia and Algeria, 1890 to 1980.
May 2012: Psychiatrist and criminologist Professor Donald West read from his
newly published autobiography Gay Life, Straight Work:
June 2012: James Taylor from Stonewall talked about their research into the
needs of older gay people.
July 2012: Jeremy Marks spoke about the ‘Courage‘ movement for gay
evangelical Christians which has changed its ministry from ‘cure’ to
acceptance..
September 2012: Stephen McKenna gave a talk and photographic presentation on
the life and work of three of the most influential British photographers: Cecil
Beaton, Norman Parkinson and Brian Duffy.
November 2012: Sir Stephen Wall, a former diplomat, talked about the Foreign
Office from the 60s, when gay men and women were excluded, to today where the
FCO is a Stonewall top 100 employer.
December 2012: Petra Davis of the Albert Kennedy Trust talks about their
role in helping young LGBT people who are made homeless or living in a hostile
environment.
2013
January 2013: Vinyl Closet (Ted Brown, Brett Lock and Chris Houston)
provided an evening of music and chat, exploring the LGBT influence on popular
music from the blues to glam rock.
February 2013: Stephen McKenna talked about his community website for older
bi and gay men, who have come out in their middle or later years. He also
recounted his own personal journey and his efforts to offer a voice to those
who, at a time of great challenge in their lives, may feel neglected by the gay
mainstream.
March 2013: SLAGO Quiz
May 2013: “Fanny and Stella, the Young Men Who Shocked Victorian England
“ – Author and journalist Neil McKenna talks about his latest book, the
true story of Ernest Boulton and Frederick Park, two young Victorian
cross-dressers who were arrested in drag in 1870 whose trial captured the
attention of the world.
June 2013: Dr Matt Cook, senior lecturer at Birkbeck College, University of
London traces shifts and ruptures in London's gay life since the war.
July 2013: Members of the Quest organisation described their work promoting
greater self awareness and understanding among gay men and introduced their
book, Love Me As I Am: Gay Men Reflect On Their Lives.
September 2013: A team from University College London talked about their
research exploring the social and cultural significance of cinema-going in the
1960s.
November 2013: "Agadir to my Heart" – Tony Walton talked about his latest
book, describing the adventures and antics of gay travellers to south Morocco
from the late 1960s (at least four SLG members had contributed to it).
December 2013: John Carter with a personal look at the important and
insightful book "The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing up Gay in a
Straight Man's World" by US psychotherapist Alan Downs.
2014
January 2014: A speaker described what it is like to be a sex addict and how
a twelve-step self-help programme is helping him to recover.
February 2014: John Dixon read a selection from over 60 poems by Ivor Treby,
which remained unpublished when he died.
March 2013: SLAGO Quiz.
April 2014: Michael Salter, Chair of LGBT+ Pride in London talked about
organising this major event, its role and purpose (both past and present), and
likely future developments.
May 2014: Members of Lambeth Volunteer Centre explained the opportunities
and benefits of volunteering in the community.
July 2014: A speaker from Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (FFLAG)
on the support they provide and the issues which arise.
September 2014: Journalist Patrick Strudwick on his investigation of
conversion therapists who claim to "cure" people of being gay.
December 2014: Stephen McKenna from the Gay Photographers Network talked
about the challenges of preserving his family's photographic archive and the
surprises uncovered by researching family history.
2015
January 2015: Editor Ross Burgess presented a book by the late David Lawrence,
Diverse Performances,
which provides a comprehensive study of the role of men in the Victorian theatre.
February 2015: SLG member Tony Walton talked about the research involved to produce
the three books he has edited:
Out of the Shadows, Agadir to my Heart and Up the Kasbah.
March 2015: SLAGO Quiz
April 2015: Director James Greenshields from Tonic Housing described a new initiative to
establish the first UK retirement community
with a distinct LGBT identity and ethos.
May 2015: William Fell-Holden introduced his new book, Don't Come Crying Home,
recounting the harrowing tale of a boy's life in Dr Barnardo's orphanages.
June 2015: Author Peter Scott-Presland presented Volume One of his book, Amiable Warriors,
the story of the gay pioneers who founded the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, 1954-1973.
July 2015: Group discussion on the future of gay and straight.
September 2015: Author Peter Robins talked about gay life in the London blitz.
December 2015: Maria Exall spoke about the Cutting Edge Consortium
and its work promoting acceptance and equality for LGBT people among faith-based groups.
2016
January 2016: Punch and Times theatre critic
Jeremy Kingston
talked about his lifetime involvement with the theatre.
February 2016: Writer and social historian Stephen
Bourne spoke about some of the gay men who helped Britain win the Second World War
March 2016: Members of the African LGBTI organisation
Out and Proud Diamond Group
outlined the enormous problems faced by LGBT people in Africa,
particularly Uganda and Nigeria (and also difficulties encountered in the UK).
April 2016: SLAGO Quiz.
May 2016: SLG member Tony Walton
talked about his new writing project, Gay Life in the 1920s.
June 2016: SLG member
Ross Burgess described progress on the
UK LGBT Archive, the online encyclopaedia of
British LGBT life throughout the ages.
July 2016:
Professor Rainer Schulze
from Essex University spoke about the
Nazi persecution of gay men.
September 2016: Author and campaigner
Terry Sanderson
presented his new book, Adventures of a Happy Homosexual, recounting his
experiences of gay life in Britain over the past 40 years.
November 2016: Professor Jeffrey Weeks
talked about gay life, past and present, with reference to the publication of
a revised and updated version of his classic book Coming Out.
December 2016: Broadcaster and photographer,
Stephen McKenna
made a return visit to SLG with a talk in which he profiled his first steps
in film making and his short form historic documentary strand, A Quiet
Corner.
2017
March 2017: SLAGO Quiz.
April 2017: Members from London
Leathermen talked about the aims, activities and events of the gay
leather communities in the UK and abroad.
May 2017: Author and campaigner
Andrew Lumsden
introduced his forthcoming book "Henry Labouchere and the Sodomites".
June 2017 Talking therapies: Psychotherapist Andrew
Goode described how greater self awareness and insight can free us of
problems and anxieties.
July 2017 Chris Park from the
Merton LGBT Forum traced
UK law on same sex behaviour (mostly male-male) from 1533 to the present
day.
September 2017: Speakers from Paradise
Press gave readings from their recently published anthology, A Boxful of
Ideas.
November 2017: John Carter reviewed the life and work of gay French
writer, Jean Genet.
2018
January 2018: Dan Wye and members of The LOUMGAIR Collective discussed
the development of their theatre production exploring issues of self-worth,
mental health difficulties faced by the LGBTQ community and the growing
recognition of 'toxic masculinity'.
February 2018: Lord
Alfred Douglas: “Alfred Bruce Douglas, you are charged that between 1891 and
1900 you did wilfully cause the physical, artistic and psychological murder
of Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, author and gay liberation pioneer;
and further, that you did conspire to contrive the death of his first and
greatest lover, Robert Baldwin Ross, critic and gay liberation pioneer,
between 1905 and 1918.” For the prosecution:
Peter
Scott-Presland; for the defence:
Andrew Lumsden, QC.
We were the jury.
March 2018: SLAGO Quiz
April 2018: Maaike Palmier-Claus from the Alzheimer's Society described
the symtoms of dementia and talks about the support available for those
affected and their family and friends.
May 2018: Stuart
Feather described his personal experience of the
Gay Liberation
Front in London 1970–74.
June 2018: Looking Up...
staying curious! Chris Barlow presented
Outings in Art Plus.
July 2018: Suleika: Fragments of a Transgender Life:
Rainer Schulze,
Professor of History at the University of Essex, attempted to reconstruct
the forgotten life of Suleika Aldini, a transgender cabaret artist in West
Germany in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, made all the more poignant by the
fact that Suleika was a Roma child survivor of the Holocaust.
September 2018: John Carter asked how much is the challenging gay
playwright Joe Orton
already fading from cultural consciousness and what his legacy will be.
November 2018: ;David Stuart, Curator of the ;Dean
Street Wellbeing programme, defined ChemSex and its effects, explained
the major risks it poses to gay communities and focused on ways of reducing
the damage it causes.
December 2018: Tony Porter gave a personal account of Growing Up Gay –
from the 1970s onwards.
2019
January 2019: Nick
de Jongh, Guardian arts
writer and Evening Standardchief
theatre critic, talked about his involvement with the theatre and the
writing of his plays and books.
February 2019 : Peter
Scott-Presland charted
the story of the great battles around the issues of sex education from
Victorian times to 1970.
March 2019: SLAGO Quiz
April 2019: A researcher from Kings College London talked about a new
project looking into the experiences and preferences of LGBT+ people
with serious illness when in communication with health and social care
professionals.
May 2019: Tash Fardousi shared her experiences of living as a gay/bi
woman in Bangladesh and talked about the hostility and prejudice faced
by its LGBT community.
June 2019: Peter Scott-Presland gave part two of his talk on sex
education which took up the story from 1970 and focused on the battle for
LGBT groups to get positive images into schools.
July 2019 : Chris Park from the Sutton LGBTQ+ Forum looked at the origins,
influence and usage of Polari slang, particularly among gay men up to the 1960s.
September 2019: Matthew Todd, journalist and former editor of Attitude
magazine, talked about his recent book Pride: the story of the LGBT+ Equality
Movement which
documents the milestones in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality and draws on the personal
testimonies of key figures in the struggle.
November 2019: Members of the African LGBTI organisation Out and Proud Diamond Group
updated us on the discrimination and persecution faced by LGBT people in Africa.
December 2019: Amnesty International activist Hugh Sandeman outlined the origin and
development of this worldwide human rights organisation and described several of its
current campaigns, particularly in North Africa.
2020
January 2020: LG member Tony Walton reprised his book
Out of the Shadows
on the history of the pioneering London gay groups and organisations, 1967–2000.
February 2020:
Peter Scott-Presland told the story of the highlights and lowlights
of Consenting Adults in Public
(which he founded) which was one of the leading Lesbian
and Gay Theatre Companies in England from 1979 to 1988.
March 2020: Conal McStravick spoke on the cultural legacy of
Stuart Marshall
(1949–1993), drawing on his television work and his role in developing new kinds
of LGBT+ Cultural activism, particularly in the context of the global AIDS pandemic.
April 2020 to September 2021: Meetings cancelled due to Coronavirus.
2021
November 2021: A Retired District Judge described some of the extraordinary people and situations he encountered
during 42 years of legal practice as a barrister and judge
2022
February 2022: Jeffrey Weeks, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at London Southbank University and author of many books
on LGBTQ+ history and queer life, read excerpts from his recently published memoir, Between Worlds: A Queer Boy from the Valleys.
March 2022: Author and campaigner Andrew Lumsden describes how one member of the wealthy Labouchere banking family
did E. M. Forster a very good turn while another, Henry Labouchere MP, did him great harm by authoring the
Labouchere Amendment in 1885 criminalising any sexual move by one man towards another.
April 2022:SLG member David reminisces about his brush with the law in1986 regarding an "incident" near Kennington tube.
May 2022: QUIZ: Special guest appearance of Quizmeister Extraordinaire Peter Scott-Presland who,
way back in the mists of time, set The Capital Quiz.
June 2022: Daniel, a longtime SLG member, gave an autobiographical talk covering his upbringing,
many years in the closet, and later life as an out gay man.
July 2022: Discussion on a paper written by Peter Tatchell entitled "The Future is Bisexual. Get over it!"
September 2022: Gay History: Stephen Bourne, writer, film and social historian, talked about his gay history
books - Brief Encounters (1996), Fighting Proud (2017) and Playing Gay in the Golden Age of Television (2019).
November 2022: Through Science Toward Justice: Rainer Schulze (Emeritus Professor at the University of Essex)
spoke about the life of the German-Jewish physician and sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld (1868 - 1935), his battles
for LGBTQ+ rights during the German Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic and his legacy after 1945.
December
2022: Black and White Men Together: SLG member David Warner presented a personal look at the relationships
between gay and bisexual men of different races since the 1970s in Britain and the USA.
2023
January 2023: First Brick Housing: Clare Truscott described this community-led
project with the aim of providing homes where LGBTQ+ people can live safely, joyfully and free from social
oppression.
February 2023: Rainbow Plaque Project: David Robson and Laura Harford from Studio Voltaire
talked about a new scheme to mark places round the country which are significant to LGBT+ history.
March 2023: Tales from the Colony Room: Artist and writer Darren Coffield presented his new book
comprising the definitive history of London's most notorious drinking den, the Colony Room Club in Soho
and its role in the post-war scene for 60 years.
April 2023: A Gay Century, Volumes 1 & 2: Peter Scott-Presland
presented his recently published collection of playlets featuring "17 Unreliable Vignettes of Gay Life, 1900-2001,
plus A Bit on the Side." All gay life is here – famous, infamous, known and unknown.
May 2023: Brixton Gay
Community in the 1970s: Ian Townson from Queer Wandsworth provided a comprehensive picture of a radical era in
gay liberation, illustrated with a slide show of about 60 photographs from the time.
June 2023: Queer Premises: Ben Campkin, Professor of Urbanism and Urban History at The Bartlett School of
Architecture and Co-Director, UCL Urban Laboratory spoke from his new book about the creation,
sustenance and closure of LGBTQ venues in London, from the 1980s to today.
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