List of speakers at SLG meetings

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This is a list of the speakers at SLG (South London Gays) meetings.

South London Gays have been holding meetings almost every month since the group was founded in 1995.

1995

• September 1995: Terry Sanderson 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 on 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 on “The Formation of Sexuality”.
• August 1996: SLG member Tony Somerton on “Gay History – Pioneers and Heroes”.
• September 1996: John Bratherton on “Life as a Male Prostitute”.

1997

• January 1997: Duncan Lustig-Prean from Rank Outsiders on the campaign for the rights of gays in the Military.
• February 1997: John Beckley on the role of the Landmark HIV/AIDS support centre in Tulse Hill.
• April 1997: Terry Sanderson read from his latest two books.
• May 1997: Neal Cavalier-Smith of Prowler Press (with one of his models) on magazine and video publishing.
• June 1997: Speakers talked about the notorious “Spanner” case.
• July 1997: Keith Hill, MP for Streatham, 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: Rev Richard Kirker from the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement.
• February 1998: Chris Morris from Youthspeak on 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).
• May 1998: Lynn Sutcliffe on 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 on 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, President of the National Secular Society, on humanist ceremonies and tradition.

1999

• January 1999: Peter Tatchell on a new approach to straight and queer liberation.
• February 1999: Two representatives from Streetwise Youth on 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, 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 on Buddhism and Sexuality.
• September 1999: Siobhain McDonagh, MP for Mitcham and Morden, on gay rights and other issues in Parliament.
• October 1999: Psychotherapist Abé Duré on 'Sex addiction – the Secret Condition'.
• November 1999: Liza Dresner 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 on its merger with Millivres.
• April 2000: Speakers from Hall Carpenter Archives on their role in storing LGBT historical records.
• May 2000: Sue Sanders from Schools Out on tackling homophobia in schools.
• June 2000: Michael Arditti read from his latest novel Easter.
• September 2000: Griff Vaughan Williams from CHE on the implications of LGBT spending power.
• October 2000: Author Delroy Constantine-Simms on 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 on current trends in HIV/AIDS.
• March 2001: Speakers from the Edward Carpenter Community.
• April 2001: Mansel Stimpson, film critic of Gay Times, on Oscar Wilde and the cinema, with film extracts.
• May 2001: PC Andy Hewlett on 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 on 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 on its history and future.
• November 2001: a speaker from the Quaker Gay and Lesbian Fellowship.

2002

• January 2002: Malcolm Reece from the National Secular Society.
• February 2002: Michael Brown on an overview of recent gay history.
• March 2002: Joan Smith of the Independent on 'Sexuality and Human Rights'.
• April 2002: Graham Parker, author of Gay and Lesbian London.
• May 2002: Rabbi James Baaden on ‘The Pleasures of Diversity’ - a rabbi’s life in South London.
• June 2002: Tony Somerton on 'Tangier in its Heyday' - a gay perspective of Tangier between 1920 and 1960.
• July 2002: Dennis Candy on 'Spirituality and Sexuality'.
• September 2002: Darren Johnson, Leader of the Green Party group on the Greater London Assembly.
• October 2002: Terry Sanderson, the Gay Times columnist, showed a video and led a discussion on ‘50 Years of Gay Liberation’.

2003

• January 2003: Richard Cole from SM Gays on ‘SM - What’s it all about’
• March 2003: Derek Lennard, chair of the Gay & Lesbian Humanist Association, on Mark Twain and Religion.
• May 2003: Roger Burg and Ross Burgess 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, on 'Stonewall - the Way Forward’.
• November 2003: Dr Peter Ball from Norm-UK 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 on his recently published book The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde.
• February 2004 A speaker from Amnesty International.
• March 2004: Film critic Mansel Stimpson on 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 on 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 on “Crime, Community and Council”.
• September 2004: Martin Pendergast on “Voices that Challenge” concerning lesbians and gay men in the Catholic Church.
• November 2004: Paul Bunting of King’s College Hospital on Sexual Health for Gay Men.
• December 2004: Professor Jeffrey Weeks of London Southbank University on the “World we have Won”- changing attitudes to sexuality since the 1960’s.

2005

• January 2005: Jeremy Marks on the Courage Movement for gay evangelical Christians
• February 2005: Perry Savill and Neil Cooper on the history and current work of London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard.
• March 2005: Writer and broadcaster Ray Gosling on men still being put in prison for being gay.
• April 2005: Author Peter Robins on “Gay Life in Colonial Africa”.
• May 2005: Andrew Barrow, author of Quentin and Philip, on “Quentin Crisp - the Life and Times”.
• June 2005: Marcus Gottlieb on 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 on Life Coaching.
• November 2005: Brett Lock of Outrage! on its major campaigns both past and present.
• December 2005: speakers from the THT/LADS Project.

2006

• January 2006: Samantha Goldberg from GALOP on its work in challenging hate crime.
• February 2006: Dr Robert Berkeley from the Black Gay Men’s Advisory Group on the history and progress of gay black people in Britain.
• March 2006: Graham Alldus, Lambeth Police LGBT Liaison Officer on his career in the police force as a gay man.
• April 2006: Barry Davis from the London Jewish Cultural Centre on attitudes to being gay in Jewish society and religion.
• May 2006: Derek Lennard, UK Co-ordinator of the IDAHO Project on the persecution of gay people in other countries and the action being taken to confront it.
• June 2006: Tim Barnden and Sarah Booker, respectively solicitor and Project Manager with the UK L&G Immigration Group on Lesbian and Gay Immigration.
• 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 on LGBT acceptance in the Anglican Communion.
• November 2006: Author Peter Robins on 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 on organising this major event.
• February 2007: Rev Don Mader from the Pauluskerk, Rotterdam, on the contribution of the Uranians to homosexual liberation (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 on gay people are getting actively involved in their local communities.
• May 2007: SLG member Tony Somerton on “A History of Gay Groups”.
• June 2007: Ian Stewart and Jeff Doorn on 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 on 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 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 on the history and aims of the Metropolitan Community Church.
• May 2008: Steve Reed, Leader of Lambeth Council on how local councils can support their gay population.
• June 2008: Simon Casson from Duckie on The Club Scene Today.
• 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 on how to make Lambeth a safer place for gay people.
• November 2008: Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill on the achievements of the five years since he last visited.

2009

• January 2009: David Hoyle (Divine David) on 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 on 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: Chuka Umunna, the Labour Party Parliamentary candidate for Streatham on ”Forward with Labour?”.
• 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 on the current situation on LGBT rights in the European Union and on the work of the European Parliament to enhance legal protection.
• February 2010: Author Jim Herrick on 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, on the aims and plans of a future Conservative government.
• May 2010: Keith Silvester from Pink Therapy on its work in promoting good mental health in the gay community.
• June 2010: Professor Richard Dyer of King's College London on "Gays in Film Noir", a light-hearted look at lesbians and gay men in Hollywood crime films.
• July 2010: Michael May from Survivors UK on the help and support provided for men who have been sexually violated.
• September 2010: Tony Walton on 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 on the evolution of Queer Theatre and its reflection of contemporary gay life.
• December 2010: Dr Matt Cook, senior lecturer at Birkbeck, University of London, on homosexual life and culture in the London of the 1890s.

2011

• January 2011: Darren Johnson, Green Party member of the Greater London Assembly on the impact of the Greens in working for a greener and fairer city.
• February, 2011: Students from the Central School of Speech and Drama on the experiences and differences of growing up gay in the 1950s and 60s 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, on 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 on the Inclusive Church group within the Anglican Church.
• June 2011: Peter Scott-Presland performed his show “40 Years a Queen”.
• July 2011: Mark McLellan, the new Lewisham Police LGBT Liaison Officer on “Hate Crime in Lewisham”.
• September 2011: Derek Lennard from the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association on the life and influence of 19th century American freethinker, Robert Ingersoll.
• November 2011: Joan Smith of The Independent on 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 on their group.
• February 2012: Bill Thornycroft on his personal experiences of the South London Gay Liberation Front.
• March 2012: SLAGO Quiz
• April 2012: Tony Walton on 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 on their research into the needs of older gay people.
• July 2012: Jeremy Marks on 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, on 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 on 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 on Lately Gay, 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: Author and journalist Neil McKenna on his latest book Fanny and Stella, the Young Men Who Shocked Victorian England, the true story of Ernest Boulton and Frederick Park, two young Victorian cross-dressers 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 on shifts and ruptures in London's gay life since the war.
• July 2013: Members of The Quest organisation on their work promoting greater self awareness and understanding among gay men and introducing 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: Sex Addiction: Fact or Fantasy? Our 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 of Ivor Treby's poems, which remained unpublished when he died. The evening included reminiscences from friends and recordings of Ivor reading his own work.
• March 2014: 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 Community Volunteering.
• June 2014: Brian Robinson, programmer, BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival talked about the history of LGBT cinema at the BFI, how the festival works and shared some of his personal highlights of over a quarter of a century working for the BFI.
• 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

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.

See also

The Brief Encounter (Croydon) - list of speakers at Croydon Area Gay Society.