GILL BUTLER’S TALK SATURDAY 8th OCTOBER 2011 She gave us historical facts and then brought us up-to-date with current legislation. Some information was surprising and needless to say once she had finished her talk there were many questions from our members. We did ask her if she would give some personal time to a couple of our members who are going through very difficult situations and Gill kindly stayed on to try and assist where possible. We hope to repeat some time in the future another session on legal issues as legislation changes very rapidly and it is good to be kept abreast of these changes. |
A program charting the experience of 3 young people as they came out to family and friends was shown on BBC 3 on 17th January 2012 -9pm-10pm It followed 3 young people and their mums as they transitioned from female to male, male to female and a lesbian teenager coming out to her friends. It was heartwarming and painful to watch at the same time. It was done in the manner of diary extracts. Well worth an hour's watch. If you missed this program you will still be able to catch on BBC on the internet. |
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A spectacular success was how one parent described FTL’s fundraising event last Saturday-12th November 2011.
We began the afternoon just milling around chatting to friends and families. Many of our members brought along their children who joined in with helping to set up the tables, arrange the food and sell the raffle tickets. We had babies, toddlers, parents and grandparents. You could say a truly family affair.
This was the second year that we had all got together to enjoy a mouth watering culinary experience prepared by Russ (Chef) and Luisa. Last year we dined out on a Moroccan meal and also enjoyed live jazz. This year we feasted on an Italian meal while Italian music wafted softly in the background.
The drawing of raffle tickets made everyone excited, as we had some top class prizes like a meal for two at Le Pont de la Tour restaurant, a haircut at Charles Worthington salon plus hair products, bottles of champagne, brandy, cake baked by Gill, and other prizes.
To close the afternoon, Hatta and her son Matthew made a short speech encouraging members to spread the word that we are there to support parents of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender children and through our support also help parents to understand and accept their LGB&T children. Matthew encouraged the young people to tell their friends about our work at FTL, and he said that he had a lot of praise for his mother and the other parents for reaching out to support LGB&T youth and their families.
We would like to thank all the people who helped make this event a success, including all the participants, plus those who made generous contributions of raffle prizes and donations. We were able to raise £1100.
I would like to conclude with special thanks to Russ and Luisa.
Joanne Manson-FTL member. |
 4th OCTOBER 2011
Jackie B, Mary, Garry, Mike Freer MP, Hatta
Mike Freer the MP for Finchley and Golders Green gave a group of about 10 of us a fantastic tour of the House of Commons. He was only going to show us around for about one hour but ‘two’ hours later we were only just ending his ‘personal’ tour which was full of history, anecdotes and lots of opportunities to ask questions. We went into the ‘House’ and were free Prime Ministers from previous decades have placed their hands as they made their historic speeches and debated. We found out that the box holds the Koran, the Bible and the Torah for ‘swearing in’ purposes. That was just one of the things we found out. We went to the Whip’s Office, the dining rooms and the fantastic terrace overlooking the Thames. I could go on, but suffice to say Mike made the tour interesting and fun.to touch all the items on the table including the box where Hopefully we can do another tour next year and maybe others who were unable to take up this opportunity will be able to do so next time. |
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WAITROSE COMMUNITY MATTERS PRESENTATION SEPTEMBER 26th 2011
We are so grateful to Waitrose, Brent Cross, for giving us the opportunity to have a collection on behalf of Families Together London. I went along with representatives of eight other charities who have taken part over the last three months to benefit from Waitrose’s generosity in supporting worthwhile causes in the London area and beyond. We shared a month’s collection with a children’s charity and a volunteer force which helps to keep Hampstead Heath in good shape. Each month Waitrose will donate £1,000 shared between three charities. Shoppers are given little green discs which they place in the see-through containers for whichever charity they wish to support. At the end of the month the discs are weighed and the money is then distributed. We were delighted to receive a cheque for £225 which covers 3 months rent at our Battersea venue. The presentation was made by Sarah Partridge, Personnel Manager at Brent Cross Waitrose. It is a wonderful opportunity to gather funds to help us continue the work we do. If anybody would like to participate, please get in touch with me via contact details on the website. Jackie Briggs
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JOIN US FOR A CELEBRATORY LUNCH ITALIAN STYLE SATURDAY, 12th NOVEMBER, 2011 AT 12.15 We have had a wonderful year at FTL and because of last year’s tremendous lunch event we decided to repeat the experience with an Italian flavour. We are inviting all our members, their families and friends and people who have helped FTL get on the map and speakers who have given their valued time. This is our main fundraiser so we are asking for £10 per ticket. Please bring your own wine which you have chosen to go with the meal. If you would like the vegetarian option, please let us know. There will be a raffle too with some excellent prizes. Please email or ring – Hatta – hatta@familiestogetherlondon.com - 020 8874 4214 Jackie – jackie@familiestogetherlondon.com - 07740436560 Mary – mary@familiestogetherlondon.com - 07764899244 |
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I attended "Educate and Celebrate" training at Stoke Newington School 23rd June 2011
This very exciting and inspirational training day was facilitated by Elly Barnes-a teacher at Stoke Newington School in London Borough of Hackney. The day was packed with interesting debate and very stimulating. Elly showed how easy it is to incorporate diversity issues, including the lives of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual and Transgender(LGBT) people into all lesson plans. Historically, students were not informed about the achievements that LGBT people have made to Art. Literature, Science etc. Elly Barnes through her training days and involvement in “Schools Out” is showing how all educators can influence young minds. I think that this training should be mandatory for all teachers, school governors and educators. Elly Barnes believes that it is only through an exploration of diversity and identity that it is possibly to truly represent LGBT people in schools and eradicate homophobia/transphobia.
Written by Joanne Manson
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On Friday 1st July I attended the Stonewall Education for All Conference. It was good to have had a personal contact with Chris Gibbons (Senior Education Officer, Stonewall) who knew Marjorie personally and also remembered her speaking at a Stonewall conference a few years ago. The morning started with coffee and croissants! I was impressed by the numbers of delegates (around 250) and also the distances that others had travelled, there were people from as far afield as Cumbria and Devon, it made me appreciate how lucky we are to live in London and have some of these facilities on our doorstep. Ben Summerskill gave an entertaining introduction to the Conference and briefly explained about the work that Stonewall are doing with schools, both senior and primary, in the fight against homophobic bullying. Nick Gibb MP (Minister for Education) spoke about how the government are committed to dealing with bullying and how they feel that academic standards will improve if pupils can feel safe and secure within the school environment. He stressed the need for pupils’ language to be more respectful. He explained that the Govt can’t “prescribe” and won’t dictate but will use all its tools to send the message that homophobic bullying is unacceptable. He recognised that the Govt are not the experts but organisations such as Stonewall and “Schools Out” are. He explained that schools must take responsibility for their own environment, that the anti bullying guidelines have been streamlined making information more accessible and useful. The current Education Bill will give Heads and teachers the control, and enabling them to empower their staff. He stressed that while he is in Govt the education world should be clear that the use of the word gay is as unacceptable as any racial slur and expects teachers to react in the same way they would for racial abuse. Gok Wan, fashion guru and openly gay personality, then read a dramatic and chilling account of how he was, as a teenager, bullied for being fat, mixed race and gay. There followed a time for questions and comments. It was mentioned that the media must support this too and how damaging the media can be. Especially the Daily Mail!! Some schools have met with resistance from parents and consequently the press when trying to tackle gay issues. Independent schools were mentioned, and how legislation affects them or not! Another delegate mentioned that whilst the bullies may be dealt with we mustn’t forget the victims, who can often be ignored. There was much discussion about positive role models for children who do not conform to the usual stereotype. We then split into smaller groups, which we had chosen before the conference. Working in Early Years (with 2 to 5year olds) I felt that the most appropriate break out group for me was Celebrating Difference. How to tackle homophobia in Primary Schools. It proved to be very inspiring and encouraging to see some of the very positive steps that can be taken in primary schools to promote a more respectful environment, where homophobic language is challenged and difference is celebrated.
Morning Coffee!!! The break out group that I chose for the second session was “Working with Faith Communities.” There were 3 interesting speakers. Paddy Storrie a Deputy Head of a Christian comprehensive school in Hertfordshire, Janine Clements Director of Jewish Action and Training and Lyndsey Buchanan, Citizen and Cohesion Advisor for Waltham Forest’s Change for Children Team. We heard from Paddy about how they’ve addressed homophobic bullying, focussing on respect rather than sexuality. He explained that they’ve moved on from a rather outdated view of “We don’t care what you think or say outside school ...you don’t do it here” where this is no longer an appropriate standard. Janine Clements spoke gently and thought provokingly. She used a selection of quotes to illustrate her points. “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor” (Desmond Tutu) “All wrong doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong doing remain?” (Buddha). Lyndsey finished this session speaking about how Waltham Forest have included local Religious faith leaders in discussions and have drawn up a document that they have signed so that if they meet resistance from individuals parents in schools they are able to say that their religious leaders are supporting the work that is being done within the borough.
Lunch! A super buffet lunch was provided and a time for chatting with the other delegates. I introduced myself to Chris Gibbons and thanked him personally for having us; he spoke very warmly of Marjorie. I also spoke to Elly Barnes who had recently met Joanne at one of her workshops. I mixed about taking the opportunity to talk about what we do at FTL, trying especially to speak to those who were London based. (We all had name badges and where we were from, so I peered at peoples badges trying to ascertain whether they were “local” or not!!). I gave out some of our leaflets to those who expressed an interest and who felt they may be able to use them. I was aware that Marjorie was far more experienced than me in the field of education but felt proud to be representing FTL and confident that Marjorie would be delighted that we were there.
The afternoon session started in the auditorium with “The Changing Policy Context: How the Education System Will Support Your Work to Tackle Homophobia”. A representative from the DFE reiterated Nick Gibbs assurance that the Govt will continue to tackle homophobic bullying. That the Education White Paper and general education policies are building on this, and are also committed to improving initial teacher training. It was mentioned again that the govt want to be less prescriptive, share best practice, for schools to be accountable, to tackle homophobic language and to give more powers to teachers. Govt want schools to drive this for themselves. They are thinking about removing the 24hour notice for detentions (this was met with mixed reactions from teachers in the audience). This session included a keynote address from Susan Gregory from Ofsted who announced that they are reducing the number of care areas that they will inspect from around 20 to 4! 1).Pupils achievement, 2).Teaching, 3).Leadership 4) Behaviour and Safety Stonewall explained that they are working closely with the Department of Education providing training and resources’ to reflect and support the national policy. They are also supporting local authorities and individual schools to implement legislation. What does this all mean? The Govt will have a very different relationship with schools, they’ll be stepping back and letting school s take control, there will be more accountability. The local authorities will have better links with organizations with expertise such as Stonewall. Govt is committed to tackling prejudice based bullying. The final keynote address was from Roger Crouch whose 15 year old son committed suicide last year. Dominic may not even have been gay but his death was as a direct result of homophobic bullying that had affected him so much that he saw no other way forward than to kill himself. Roger spoke with dignity and passion giving a moving account of Dom’s last 48 hours. It was, quite frankly shocking; I’m not ashamed to say that I was reduced to tears. I feel very privileged to have been able to attend such a professional, interesting and worthwhile event. I am encouraged to see the work of Stonewall and the enthusiasm of so many people involved directly or indirectly with education. There is some very positive work being done in Primary and Secondary schools, unfortunately there is still much to be done and lots of schools to reach. But it appears that things are moving in the right direction and the hope is that in the future our schools will be places where ALL children can feel safe and accepted for who they are.
By Liz |
  We were blessed, not with just fantastic weather, but a huge group who made up our walking party. The event started in Portland Place and ‘very’ slowly started moving down towards Oxford Circus with the final destination just beyond Trafalgar Square. This year ‘colour’ was the theme and we invested in some jade coloured T-Shirts with our logo and website printed on the front and back. To add to the ‘colour’ the LGBT Society of UCL joined us with their own specially designed T-Shirts. We were a group of about 70 and walking with our newly designed banner we looked like the real deal! It is amazing how 9,000 leaflets can be handed out without too much trouble! If just a tiny percentage of these leaflets find themselves in the possession of somebody who needs help, then how wonderful is that!
The crowds were amazing and the celebratory atmosphere was inspiring. I think there must have been about 70 of us in total so we made a pretty big impact on the proceedings – I think I blew myself silly with my whistle!! Roll on next year’s Pride. Written by Jackie Briggs
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I attended the Metropolitan Police LGBT Conference 20th June 2011
The conference was organised by the Sapphire Diversity Forum (group within Metropolitan Police), The Havens and Victim Support Services.
Delegates were from a wide range of services: Police, Health, Prison, Victim Support, Local Authority and Voluntary Organisations working on behalf of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) people.
The aim of the conference:
· Raising awareness of Operation Sapphire, The Havens and Victim Support Services and their role within the investigation of rape and serious sexual violence. · For all agencies to explore the nature of sexual violence within LGBT communities, and to develop appropriate multi-agency responses. · To improve the engagement of LGBT people with service providers.
Despite the distressing subject matter, I found the day informative and useful. The Metropolitan Police showed commitment about tackling sexual violence within the LGBT community. People who experience sexual violence are being encouraged to seek justice and not suffer in silence anymore.
I came away from the conference with the knowledge that the Metropolitan Police, The Havens and Victim Support Services are beginning to have a dialogue with the LGBT community and is working towards improving a level of confidence; so those people affected by serious sexual violence may be more willing to seek justice. Written by Joanne Manson
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JOE GODWIN
HEAD OF BBC’S CHILDREN TELEVISION 
On Saturday, 12th March, we were delighted to welcome Joe Godwin to our meeting. Joe is Head of Children’s Television for the BBC and his remit is CBeebies for 0-6 year olds and CBBC for 6-12 year olds – so quite a large span of age. We owe this meeting to Marjorie who met Joe at a conference earlier in the year. Joe made it his business to speakto Marjorie when he found out about her connection to Families Together London and who we are and what we do and they arranged that he would come to speak to us and explain how he hoped future BBC children’s programmes would provide a better understanding of LGBT issues to younger viewers. Sadly Marjorie didn’t live to attend this event but her husband Jon came in her stead. Joe told us about how when he was a small boy (about 7 years of age) he was watching television and said that when he grew up he wanted to work at the BBC. Not a fireman, policeman, doctor, footballer but no, “I am going to work for the BBC” and so it came to pass. We who attended (and there were about 36 of us) gave him plenty of ammunition – much too much to write about here – but one major thought which we can all associate with is that each of us at FTL have an LGBT child/children and it follows that more than likely our straight child/children will in time have children which in turn means these children will have a gay aunt or uncle who are likely to have a partner. (Can you get your head round that??!!) Anyway, we will all be touched in some way with little ones who will be growing up with the knowledge that their uncle/aunt has a partner of the same sex and even have child/children. So, if the BBC can incorporate an issue such as this in a storyline either through animation or real actors, then these youngsters will grow up being accepting. Children of a very young age are totally accepting of so much and don’t question things which older children do when these children have not been exposed to such experiences. Joe said that nothing is going to happen ‘tomorrow’ but he felt that the discussion gave him plenty to go away with. He said that he would be more than happy to come again at some stage. We are sure it is not just for the delicious lunch that is always on offer! |
LGBT HISTORY MONTH February is a busy time for the LGBT community as many organisations promote open days covering issues, debates and seminars supporting the gay community. We at Families Together London have thrown ourselves into four very different colleges. Hatta and I (Jackie B) visited Hackney Community College where, for the first time, they held an LGBT day. We set up a small stall with our literature and shared the event with the local police force and Rita from London Friend. The young people were nervous at first but kept coming back for another look at the pamphlets. The young people were uncertain about many things relating to LGBT issues but a number of them thought that one ‘became’ gay and couldn’t believe that you were born gay. Hatta and I hope that we convinced them otherwise. I then gave a talk about FTL, my particular story and how we hope things will improve for gay people. We left feeling that inroads had been made. The next occasion Hatta went to Islington and City Adult Education Centre where she was able to hand out leaflets and again talk to people about the issues that cause concern and conflict. On to the University of Surrey with Jackie D. She and I both spoke about our own children’s coming out and took questions from the LGBT Union participants. Wonderful young people, full of energy and wanting to succeed in life and careers and feel confident about themselves as gay adults. The same problems always rear up and one of the issues is coming out to one’s parents. Especially difficult when the parents in question are devout believers in their faith, be it Muslim, Catholic or Church of England. Lastly I went to University College London and couldn’t believe that I was with them for 2 hours covering much the same as U of S but many questioned about when is the best time to come out, how to tell my parents, what shall I do if they turn against me. All very difficult with no easy answer but with all four events the response was extremely positive. All four organisations came back with grateful thanks for FTL’s visit. The two universities’ LGBT Unions are going to march with us at Pride London in July. Hopefully some of their parents will come too. Will you? |
On Wednesday 10th November, an afternoon drama was shown called ‘Losing my Religion’ in the “Moving On” series. It is highly recommended and can still be seen by going to: ‘You Tube’ and typing in: ‘Moving On Losing My Religion’. It can then be seen in four parts. Liz from FTL contacted ‘Points of View’, asking for it to be shown again at a different time of day. She has also been in touch with Anna Rice, Head of Diversity at the BBC. Take a look. If you would like to see it aired at a more appropriate time, then contact the BBC. |
The ‘Our Stories’ page on the FTL website has up until now been a traditional format with the individual stories of a small number of parents. Our new page, for which we completed questionnaires rather than personal stories, allows readers to compare the experiences of ten parents. The next stage will be to gather the views of our black and Asian parents. |
An article appeared in the Guardian on 16th November reporting on a Stonewall survey that shows that people are coming out at a younger age. You can see the article by following this link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/15/gay-people-coming-out-younger-age Marjorie responded to the article in a letter. The Guardian liked the letter so much they asked her to write more! See the article at this link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/30/lgbt-young-people-parent-support Special thanks go to Marjorie’s boys, the younger of whom is only 17, for courageously giving permission for the article to go ahead. |
FTL had a celebratory Moroccan lunch with live music instead of the usual meeting on 13th November. An incredible 60 people came. The best part was looking around the room and seeing so many of our sons and daughters together including some brothers and sisters and a couple of members of the next generation! It was also heartening to see so many black and Asian parents, including Bano, who started FTL with Hatta so many years ago. Our thanks go to the chef, Russ, who gave his services to help FTL. |
...we made £668.10! |
Johann Hari in The Independent, 28 January 2011 |
2010 was a mixed year. FTL has grown and flourished, the Equalities Bill has gone through but the loss of statutory PSHE in schools means battles still to be fought. A happy new year to all. |
Marjorie attended the Westminster Forum: ‘Reflecting diversity - the LGBT community and the media’. After she asked a question about the need for positive role models in children’s television she was approached by the Head of Children’s Programming at the BBC who asked to meet up. Some time later there followed a wide-ranging discussion about civil partnership, trans children, ballet and Tracy Beaker! |
LGBT CONSORTIUM AGM
LEEDS 22nd JANUARY, 2011 LGBT Consortium who have very generously funded us in the past asked whether a Member of the Steering Committee from Families Together London would be happy to give the closing speech at their AGM. I volunteered and for better or worse found myself addressing about 70 people at the Metropole Hotel, all of whom by the end of the day would have been gasping for a drop of the ‘hard stuff’! The day commenced with a splendid talk given by Sue Sanders from Schools Out. She is a force to reckon with and finished off her talk by using music to express all the emotions felt when dealing with the issues dear to her heart. We went from soulful to a tune for a good old jump around. Innovative and a great way to finish off her talk.  There were a variety of workshops to attend and I chose ‘Employers: Managing Change’ which was presented by Andy Harris who is a solicitor representing all aspects of employment law and is primarily involved in the not-for-profit sector. We were a small group and one attendee was able to use Andy’s experience to sort out a number of issues he was personally concerned about. Lucky man, absolutely free advice but very interesting for the rest of us as it gave the talk a feeling of reality. A break for lunch which I think we were all ready for and then back for the AGM proper. There was quite a bit of challenging from the audience but all good hearted and we then went to a mini-break before the next workshop. I chose ‘Coping with Stress’. Claudia Celadon from PACE had a very full room. Obviously something that lots of people need help with. It was a really fun workshop and Claudia put us into groups to discuss what made us feel stressed and how we dealt with it. We then sat in a circle and discussed as a large group the things which affected us and Claudia gave us pointers as to how to manage these stressful times. We finished off with a loosening up exercise which must have looked so funny for any onlookers. All these people jumping up and down and waving their arms around. I think we could all have stayed on for more stress advice but we needed to go back for talks by Paul Martin, Chief Executive of the Lesbian and Gay Foundation, Monty Moncrieff, LGBT ProgrammeManager from the Department of Health and Jane Standing, CEO from Kairos in Soho and then it was my turn ………… I took a leaf out of Claudia’s workshop and did some deep breathing! I thanked LGBT Consortium for the opportunity to speak about Families Together London. The audience was most attentive and when one speaks from one’s heart suddenly all fear goes and you sense that your audience is supporting you. LGBT Consortium continue to support Families Together London, not with money but with the opportunity to use their offices for our Steering Committee Meetings and they are there for us if we need advice. I was very proud to represent FTL and hope that my talk was informative and positive. |
Jackie initially made contact with the government about the needs of families with LGBT children through Lynne Featherstone in July 2010. Lynne wrote back, personally, saying the best person to contact was Sarah Teather. That was not as easy as it sounded. Jackie went through the constituency office and then Sarah’s private secretary. Jackie is a very tenacious person and kept chasing it up! She finally got a letter from Sarah Teather, and replied with covering letter and a summary document written by Marjorie. Jackie persisted in asking for a response and we finally got one! Sarah Teather MP - Minister of State for Children and Families 29 November 2010 ‘Thank you for your letter of 9th October about Families Together London and the document on supporting LGBT youth and their families. Once again I was interested to read about your work and I would like to thank you for putting this document together. It is always important to us to have the input of organisations such as yours which have such a wealth of expertise and practical experience of the issues that affect children, young people and families. I was pleased to see that many of the issues you raise are already on our policy agenda, for example, through the work I described in my previous letter to combat homophobic bullying and make SRE more inclusive. However, I recognize that there is much more to do to support LGBT young people and their families and your ideas will be very helpful in contributing to our thinking in this area. I was particularly interested to read about your ideas on how professionals working with LGBT young people can better support them and their parents, and about the difficulties parents have in identifying schools which will have a good environment for their LGBT child. These, and the other issues you raise, are extremely important and I would like to thank you for bringing them to my attention. I will pass your document on to my officials working on all the areas you touch upon to feed into their further work, including that on the Big Society’. To see the original document ‘Supporting LGBT Youth, their Parents and Families’ written by Marjorie, see www.familiestogetherlondon.com under ‘Action’, or go to: http://www.familiestogetherlondon.com/homophobia/supporting-lesbain-gay-bisexual-and-transgender-youth-their-parents-and-familiesfamilies-of |
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Our celebration lunch was a Moroccan meal prepared by Russ, whose generosity is overwhelming. We all invited family, friends and associates and the lunch was attended by over 60 people. It was a delight to see parents together with their sons and daughters, and a fabulous opportunity for our LGBT children to meet up with one another. A treat, also, to see the black community and the Asian community well-represented and an opportunity for those who get little support from family, community or faith groups to meet and talk together. One son made a point of thanking us for ‘helping his mum’, a moment that brought tears to my eyes. Another drove down from the Midlands to be there with his mother. Our children really are fabulous. Marjorie ..and the views of a son... We would like to start by saying a big thank you to all those involved in making Moroccan themed meal such a success, especially to the chef who worked so hard preparing such a delicious meal. It was a pity we didn't heed the warnings to not indulge too deeply in the starters, as there was so much more to come. Also, we would like to thank all those who provided such an excellent spread of desserts, it was very hard to choose which to have. Throughout the afternoon there was an excellent, attitude-free atmosphere, and it was great for the Battersea group to have the opportunity to meet and chat with those from the Kings Cross group. Background music was provided by a superb vocal and guitar duo, who really helped to make the atmosphere extremely relaxed and informal. Everyone was very friendly and it was easy to talk to people we had not met before. … and Hatta, who started it all… For me, it was wonderful to see the church full of friends and family, mine and others. Thank you to everyone who made and brought the delicious puddings and the amazing amount of raffle prizes. They seem to have been appropriately won in my family as Adam (curate) was very happy with his book cover with embroidered crucifix.... Lovely to welcome two 'new' mums, one who bicycled, and three generations: a grandmother, her daughter and partner and two granddaughters. Great that Bano and her son Raza could join us from Rochester. Bano and I had originally started the group over 7 years ago now, we could not stop remarking on how it has grown. Thanks to the work of Marjorie and Joanne with the website, Jackie and her ability to publicise us in the media and elsewhere, and Mary for being an inspired treasurer. We raised a total of just under £500 which is good news indeed as the rent of the Battersea meeting place has increased.
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Even for a woman who realised that she was a lesbian since she was a prepubescent girl , coming out and being accepted in a "heteronormative world" has been painful.
Open the attached link to read her story.
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