Housewife’s Choice Saturday 26th November 1994 The Loft, 11 Dyke Road, Brighton (members only – membership available on 0273 325491) 10pm-2am £3.50 b4 11, £4.50 after Music policy – groovy house, tough handbag and girlie garage DJs Gordon Lovetrain a.k.a. Sex Kitten (Zap Club) Meesh Mash, KTB. Mixed gay For up to date information and recipe line ring 0273 731170

This show is a mash-up of theatre, cabaret and music celebrating Brighton Pride, on Friday 2 August 2013 at 7.30 pm.

You lugged it from the builder’s yard. Now it’s my turn to know its stiff weight, the slow chafe of pine against vertebrae: a decade-long kiss, flush with splinters. I closed it when I left. The lock snicked. Then I noticed it hitching a ride. It never gives up―patchy blue, invisible straps; a faint knocking though nobody’s there. So many slab hazards: repeated thumps to my skull, brass hinges clouting strangers as we creep into lifts, beds. I lie awake on its panels, framing rectangular thoughts, obsessed by the side I can't see; what grows there. The problem is you died so there’s no way to set the thing down, no wall to prop it against with its stuck handle and fracturing paint. All day we continue our back to front tango, this dance where I almost but never arrive, where I’m shut off to visitors for hours ​ then, with one touch, swing wildly open.

Ian Scobbie was a remarkable man - originally from Scotland, he became a mature student at the University of Bradford, on a translation and interpreting course which is where I met him back in the late 1970s. Subsequently we worked together in a translation and information department in the public sector. Ian was a brilliant linguist, fluent in Russian and German, but far more than this: a pianist, poet (compiling, in particular, hilarious and scurrilous verse about colleagues), DIY enthusiast, cook and foodie, lover of musicals in which he performed, devotee of Dusty Springfield, Kiki Dee and others; Master of Ceremonies at Burns Night parties; a wit and raconteur, and most of all, a warm-hearted and supportive friend. In 1986, knowing he had AIDS but not wishing to share this knowledge with others, Ian emigrated to Germany and died there not long after starting a new job and moving into a flat there.

Bulletin containing events, exhibitions and live arts from the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts). Includes advertisment for the Fireball Alternative Miss World 1995 taking place on 3rd November 1995 at The Grand, Clapham Junction, SW11.

Flyer for Lucy Hutson's show 'If you want bigger Yorkshire puddings you need a bigger tin' which told the story of her 'to trans, or not to trans' search for femininity.

Illustration

Impact Magazine Cover - January 1997 Cover from January ’97 but the photo was taken in 1994. The photographer’s name was Amanda (surname not available). It was taken in her studio (part of her house) in Greenwich. Stu is wearing a knitted twinset of knickers and waistcoat which he made himself.

This looks like an Impact Magazine listings. No idea what year it would be, but it’s around 1995 or 1996 I reckon as we were at the Joint from 1995 onwards and the description of wedding dresses worn with cardigans suggest we were all dressing like Debut-era Bjork.

Summer Show

Free news sheet which details Brighton local HIV healthcare stories and support. Includes sections covering aromatherapy, HIV service forums, medical matters, figures regarding HIV, positive news stories.

Rainbow badge with the words 'LGBTI Intersex Inclusive'

Snippet from an interview with Elle Kennedy. The full interview was part of Queer in Brighton oral history project. A collection of over 100 recordings, documenting queer life in Brighton. Elle discusses the politics of "passing" and how it informs dating as a trans person, she also talks about life in Brighton, community organisations and social events, and pronouns and labels.

Elle Kennedy is interviewed by Ten Harber. She speaks about coming to Brighton for university in 2010 and choosing it as a place to transition. She speaks about nightclubs such as Legends, The Queens Arms and Revenge, and the issue of unisex toilets in club spaces. She speaks further about passing and dating as a transwoman, including the challenges of being translesbian in women’s spaces. Elle also talks about straight people attending Pride and how it brings a higher security risk. The Clare Project is mentioned as a space to meet and speak to other trans women, also noting The Marlborough and The Zone as trans-friendly spaces. Though self-identifying as right of Labour, she does support Caroline Lucas and the Green party in Brighton. Brighton is mentioned as a place that introduced Elle to gender beyond the binary, now regarding the term queer as a ‘conciousness’ rather than as a sexual preference. Elle speaks about transitioning and how Brighton uniquely helped with that.

An interview with the extraordinary collector of ordinary queer lives, James Gardiner, explaining how he discovered the Betty & Tommy collection; photography, handwritten notes, cameras which offer a touching insight into a 50 year lesbian relationship - currently displayed as part of Queer The Pier at Brighton Museums . Editing and captioning by Rosie Powell Freelance Supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund