Life as the director of a Muslim funeral parlour isn’t always easy, but Ayesha has things pretty sorted. She and Zeyd share everything: a marriage, a business, a future. Until Tom walks in to organise his boyfriend’s funeral. A snap moral decision, informed by the values of their community and their faith, has profound consequences. […]
“Bitch, This Boy Can Sing”
In 2015 Seann Miley Moore moved from Australia to London, in order to take part in The X Factor UK. He walked onstage for his first audition in a backwards cap, latex skirt, lippy, heels and hoop earrings before launching into a rendition of Queen’s ‘The Show Must Go On’ which brought the audience to its feet. He […]
Policing, Safe Spaces and this Challenging World
Dr Clifford Williams joined the “extremely homophobic” police force in 1987. He recalls his training, which saw the Sexual Offences Act regarding homosexual activity taught via the mnemonic ‘POOF’s Charter’. For such activity to be lawful it had to be in private (P), practiced by those over 21 (O), and involving only two people (O) […]
Matt Cain: Pop, Persecution and Politics
In a week that also saw him meet Michelle Visage after watching her as Miss Hedge in the wonderful musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, the LGBT History Month patron, journalist, novelist and former editor-in-chief of Attitude takes time to chat with Sam Bennett Firstly, very importantly, you just met Michelle Visage. [Laughs] Brilliant, I […]
Our Hidden Histories
2015 marked the tenth anniversary of LGBT History Month in the UK. Playwright in residence for LGBT HM, Stephen M Hornby, explains how in the years following its 2005 introduction, the initiative “bubbled along nicely as a sort of grassroots happening.” The charity spearheading things, Schools OUT, would “set a theme, tie it in with […]
Time for change: why IVF is discriminatory to same-sex couples
Professor Geeta Nargund, Medical Director, CREATE Fertility Fertility treatments are costly at the best of times, and unfortunately the current NHS provisions in place for lesbian couples who are hoping to start a family are shockingly sparse. Same-sex couples will be required to undergo up to 12 cycles of self-funded artificial insemination, before they can […]
Improving the Much-loved Marlborough
For the past ten years, the Marlborough Pub & Theatre in Brighton has put on “work which is at the forefront of LGBTQ+ culture”, says Ema Boswood, programme coordinator. “We’re really fortunate to operate in Brighton where there’s such a vibrant queer community and so many people excited by the work we’re programming.” The sort […]
HIV Diagnoses Fell by 17% Across the UK Last Year
As Fyne Times readers may know I was diagnosed with HIV in January 2010, when I was 24 years old. It is now approaching eight years since my diagnosis. Next year I will turn 34, which is also the median age at which gay and bisexual men are diagnosed with HIV in the UK. A […]