Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association

Gaud and Bennett – a play by Fire and Brimstone Productions. This is the story of DeRobigne Mortimer Bennett (1818–1882), the last man to be imprisoned for blasphemy in the United States. As editor of The Truth Seeker he constantly battled with the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice and its president, the soap manufacturer Samuel Colgate. Fire and Brimstone Productions is a group of freethinkers and their friends who arrange dramatisations based on events in freethought history. This play marks the abolition of the common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel in England and Wales.

IDAHO Panel Discussion – As part of the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) programme, our panel discuss support for LGBT asylum seekers in the UK and what can be done to support LGBT people in other countries. Some gay people who are returned to their country of origin face persecution, imprisonment or even death. The aim of the discussion is to find ways for politicians, campaigners and others to support these victims of persecution. Members of the panel are S. Chelvan (a barrister representing the UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group), Nigel Warner (ILGA-Europe), Martin Lunnon (Amnesty International), Peter Tatchell (human rights activist) and Kizza Musinguzi (asylum seeker). There will be plenty of time for audience discussion and comment after panel members have given their perspective. Food and drink will be provided.

The meeting originally planned for this date has been cancelled.

Poofs, Margeries and Green Carnations – David Haldane Lawrence speaks about homosexuality and the Victorian stage. The event is GALHA’s contribution to this year’s LGBT History Month.

Sex and Sexuality: A History of Censorship in the Cinema – a talk by Mansel Stimpson, co-editor and chief reviewer of Film Review Annual.

Did Christians Steal Christmas? – A talk by Robert Stovold on the pagan origins of Christmas, followed by mulled wine and mince pies. Cover charge £5.

GALHA is pleased to announce that the renowned journalist and social commentator Polly Toynbee is the guest-of-honour and speaker at our popular Annual Lunch. The lunch will be held in the private function room of Bertorelli’s Restaurant, Soho, London, where we will meet for drinks from midday followed by lunch at 1.00pm. The price is £28.50 per person for a full three-course lunch including coffee and service charge. To book, please contact Keith Angus (e-mail Keith.Angus@galha.org) for further details. Places are limited, so we recommend booking early to secure a reservation.

Incitement to Homophobic Hatred – A special public meeting to debate the proposed legislation announced in October by the Secretary of State for Justice, Jack Straw, which is intended to outlaw incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation. There has been a good deal of discussion both within and beyond our community about the merits of this legislation. Some people argue that it is legitimate for the state to criminalise attempts to spread bigotry against gay and other minority communities. Others say the proposed legislation would breach fundamental principles of free speech. In oral evidence sessions before the House of Commons Public Bill Committee on the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, Ben Summerskill of Stonewall spoke in favour of the proposals while Gareth Crossman of Liberty and Don Horrocks and Louise Brown of the Evangelical Alliance opposed them. Our panellists are Peter Tatchell from OutRage!, Padraig Reidy, News Editor of Index on Censorship, and Ted Brown from Black Gays and Lesbians Against Media Homophobia.

Marlene Dietrich: An Affectionate Tribute. Marlene – movie star, cabaret artiste, war hero, atheist – and lesbian! Come and explore the many aspects of the greatest gay icon of them all. Terry Sanderson uses generous clips from Dietrich’s campest films, examines rare archive material of her medal-winning war work and then shows a complete performance on the big screen of her famous one-woman show, with which she toured the world. Recorded in Sweden in 1963, this is Dietrich at her peak, accompanied by Burt Bacharach and his orchestra. A rare opportunity to see this sizzling performance. Tickets £10. For more details and to book online, visit http://www.gayhumanist.com/marlene. To book by post, send a cheque payable to “GALHA” to Marlene, PO Box 130, London W5 1DQ.

GALHA’s first Annual Residential Weekend Gathering in Scotland takes place at the Best Western Bruntsfield Hotel in the beautiful city of Edinburgh. The Bruntsfield is a well-appointed three-star hotel with an AA-rosetted restaurant and free car parking, and is about 15 minutes’ walk from the city centre. Our special guest speaker after dinner on the Saturday evening is GALHA vice-president Patrick Harvie MSP. The price per person per night for dinner, bed and full Scottish breakfast is £56 if you share a twin or double room. A supplement of £15 per night is payable for single occupancy of a double room. All members of GALHA and their friends are welcome. For further details and a booking form, please contact Jim Herrick (e-mail Jim.Herrick@galha.org).

Visit GALHA’s stall at Brighton Pride.

Marlene Dietrich

The Marlene Dietrich Story – The success of our Marlene Dietrich evening last year has encouraged us to put it on again as part of this year’s Pride Festival. If you missed it the first time round, now is your chance to catch this engrossing presentation in which Terry Sanderson explores the personal and public life of one of history’s most magnificent gay divas. Marlene Dietrich was a bisexual entertainer who lost her religion during the war, but went on from her fantastic film career to become one of the great cabaret entertainers of all time. In this show we see a generous selection of her best film numbers, take a look at her war work, and then see a full showing of Marlene in concert, in 1963 when she was at the top of her game, accompanied by Burt Bacharach and his orchestra. An evening of fun, nostalgia and camp. Admission is £10 per person. Tickets are limited so please book early to ensure a place. This event is part of the Pride London Festival and proceeds go to GALHA. See separate pages for further details and online bookings.

Introducing Gay Families to Schoolchildren – a panel discussion to mark the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO).

On 11 March this year The Observer newspaper ran a story with the subheading “Religious groups attack circulation of books raising gay issues among primary school pupils”. There has been a great deal of scaremongering and misinformation about books aimed at primary school pupils that deal honestly with gay issues, such as same-sex parents or gay youth. Come along to find out the truth behind the headlines and discuss these issues with our distinguished panellists, including:

• Sue Sanders from Schools OUT, an organisation providing a formal and informal support network for all people who want to raise the issue of homophobia and heterosexism in education.
• Vanda Carter, illustrator of Spacegirl Pukes, one of the books at the centre of the controversy.
• Sophie Laws and Wendy Nicholson from Out For Our Children, a London-based group of lesbian parents producing books and resources that reflect their children’s lives and family experiences.

Members of the panel will give a short presentation and then the floor will be opened up for questions. For more information, contact Cliff James (secretary@galha.org).

The GALHA Film Festival 2007 takes place just ahead of the famous London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival which opens on 21 March. See separate pages for full details and online bookings.

Darwinism versus Intelligent Design: the Dover Case Revisited – a special meeting to mark Darwin Day, which is now an annual feature of the humanist calendar. Our speaker, Peter Hearty, explains:

“Intelligent Design (ID) is the proposal that there is evidence of design in nature and that this can only be explained by the existence of an intelligent designer. Its proponents claim that this is a scientific theory and therefore merits inclusion in school science classes. In Autumn 2005, they had the opportunity to put their case before a court of law, as parents from the US town of Dover, Pennsylvania, sued their local school board over the issue. This was the first independent public test of ID’s claims. It failed that test miserably.“

Brought up in a Catholic family, Peter was sent off to a junior seminary for budding priests in his teens. He found that career opportunities for atheists within the Roman Catholic Church were limited, and left to study maths and physics instead. He has been arguing with creationists, both online and offline, for about five years and has lectured to South Place Ethical Society at Conway Hall on the scientific case against creationism. He has debated on Premier Christian Radio with advocates of Intelligent Design including Dr Tom Woodward, director of the C. S. Lewis Society and author of Doubts about Darwin, and Peter Williams of the Damaris Trust – the latter interview winning a gold medal at the New York Radio Awards last year. He is a life member of the National Secular Society and is currently studying for a Ph.D. in computer science at the University of London.

Marlene Dietrich

“Good Evening, Miss Dietrich” – a show hosted by Terry Sanderson. Marlene Dietrich was not only an A-grade film star and entertainer; she was also a lesbian and an atheist. She led an extraordinary life, explored here using extremely rare archive material. The show explores in detail her achievement as one of the great entertainers of the 20th century – not only her film career (with many great camp classics), but also her war heroism. It concludes with a showing, in its entirety, of one of her famous cabaret performances, recorded in Stockholm in 1963, when she was at the height of her powers and accompanied by Burt Bacharach. This film is not available anywhere else and this represents a unique opportunity to see it. Admission is £10 per person. Tickets are limited so please book now. See separate pages for further details and online bookings.

GALHA is pleased to announce that the courageous young Russian gay activist Nikolai Alekseev (see 10 November below) is the guest-of-honour and speaker at our popular Annual Lunch. As last year, the lunch will be held in the private function room of Chez Gerard, South Bank, London. The price is £26.50 per person. To book, just e-mail secretary@galha.org or phone 01926 858450.

Nikolai Alekseev

The Russian gay rights campaigner Nikolai Alekseev and a panel discuss homophobia in Russia and other Eastern European countries and talk about their experiences at Moscow’s first gay pride march, held on 27 May 2006. The meeting includes a film presentation.

Nikolai Alekseev is a lawyer who lives and works in Moscow. He is the founder and head of Project GayRussia and the executive secretary of the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). He has been actively challenging homophobia in Russia for the last four years and took a leading role in Moscow Pride in May. Since then he has been very active in campaigns in other Eastern European countries, notably Latvia. Joining him on the panel are:

• Andy Harley – editor of UK Gay News
• Derek Lennard – former chairperson of GALHA and a speaker at IDAHO 2006 in Moscow
• Jason Pollock – executive director of Pride London
• Peter Tatchell – campaigner for gay and human rights

George Hargreaves

Religious Rights versus Gay Rights: Should the Gay Police Association be prosecuted for inciting religious hatred? – a panel discussion on threats to prosecute members of the Gay Police Association (GPA) following their advert in the 29 June 2006 edition of The Independent. The panellists include a representative from the GPA, Ted Brown from Black Gays and Lesbians Against Media Homophobia, Savi Hensman from the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, and the Rev. George Hargreaves, the evangelical Christian who is planning to bring a private prosecution of members of the GPA.

The advert pictured a bible next to a pool of blood with the text: “In the last 12 months, the Gay Police Association has recorded a 74% increase in homophobic incidents, where the sole or primary motivating factor was the religious belief of the perpetrator.” Was the advert justified? What is the extent of religiously-motivated attacks on gay people? Does the advert incite religious hatred? Is there a basis for the prosecution? Are too many people – both religious and gay – being investigated for simply speaking their minds?

The audience will have an opportunity to challenge the panellists, so come along and join the debate.

This year’s GALHA Annual Residential Weekend Gathering takes place at the Chaucer Hotel in the historic city of Canterbury, of which the novelist Virginia Woolf is said to have written “there is no lovelier place in the world ... and I have seen Venice too.” The Chaucer Hotel has three-star accommodation and is two minutes’ walk from the city centre and cathedral. As usual, the programme for the weekend will include a tour of the city, an entertainment or talk, our AGM and a coach excursion. The price per person per night for dinner, bed and breakfast is £54.00 (standard rate), or £27.00 (discount rate for people on low income). Members paying the standard rate are encouraged to pay a little extra to subsidise the discount rate. A limited number of single rooms are available without supplementary charge; when these are taken, a supplement of £15 per night is payable for single occupancy of a double or twin room. All members of GALHA and their friends are welcome. For further details and a booking form, please contact George Broadhead (e-mail secretary@galha.org).

Pride in Brighton & Hove – GALHA had a stall at this event.

Oxford Pride – GALHA had a stall at this event.

Pride London – GALHA had a stall at this event.

Birmingham Pride.

Launch of IDAHO-UK 2008 – Students on the Design for Graphic Communication course at the University of the Arts London have designed double-sided broadsheet posters to encourage UK campaigners to arrange events for this year’s International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) on 17 May 2008.

David Lammy, the Minister for Skills and MP for Tottenham, will speak at the launch event and present prizes for the winning posters, which will be on display. He is joined by Equality Minister Barbara Follett, and Linda Bellos, a former leader of Lambeth Council, who works on mainstreaming equality and diversity in the British Army and Metropolitan Police.

Candidates in the forthcoming London mayoral election are also well represented at the launch. Neil Young will read a message of support for the event and the IDAHO campaign from Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London. Other speakers are Richard Barnes, the Conservative Leader on the London Assembly; Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate; and Sian Berry, the Green candidate.

IDAHO founder Louis-Georges Tin will explain the priorities for the 2008 campaign, Pastor Kiyimba Brown will describe how he set up an IDAHO chapter in Uganda, Ali Hili, founder of Iraqi LGBT, will highlight the gravity of the situation for LGBT activists in Iraq, and Bill Schiller of the International Lesbian and Gay Cultural Network will graphically describe the plight of the LGBT community in Belarus. Amnesty International will also be represented. Niranjan Kamatkar, Artistic Director of Wise Thoughts will look at creative ways to address homophobia and transphobia in the UK, and a representative from the East London Out Project will talk on “Lesbian Rights and Sexism”, the theme of this year’s IDAHO campaign. Finally, Sue Sanders will display the work undertaken by students for Schools OUT and LGBT History Month.

There will be time to relax, mingle and network in the luxurious setting of the Rootstein Hopkins Space, and a chance to see the students’ work, enjoy the canapés and wine, and undergo the Lorraine Bowen Experience. It is hoped that Ms Bowen will perform a song from her new CD Vital Organs.

The event takes place at the Rootstein Hopkins Space, London College of Fashion, 20 John Prince’s Street, London W1G 0BJ, from 5.00pm to 10.30pm on Thursday 13 March 2008. Admission is by invitation only – contact Derek Lennard (e-mail derek.lennard@idaho.org.uk). See the IDAHO-UK website for full details.

LGBT History Month – an opportunity for all of us to learn more about the histories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Britain and Northern Ireland, with events across the country throughout February. See the Events Calendar on the LGBT History Month website for full details.

1967 and All That – a touring exhibition about the period leading up to the Sexual Offences Act 1967, organised jointly by the Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive and the Hall-Carpenter Archives as part of a project to mark the 40th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of sex between men in England and Wales.

Women’s Rights, the Veil and Islamic and religious laws – a seminar for International Women’s Day, with speakers:

• Sonja Eggerickx – President of the International Humanist and Ethical Union
• Ann Harrison – Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Department of Amnesty International’s International Secretariat
• Maryam Namazie – Director of the Worker-communist Party of Iran’s International Relations Committee, winner of the National Secular Society’s Secularist of the Year Award 2005 and international TV producer
• Taslima Nasrin – Physician, writer, radical feminist, human rights activist and secular humanist

We will also show, for the first time, a short film entitled In the name of honour by Reza Naradi.

Admission is free. Refreshments will be served. Nearest tube stations: Russell Square and Goodge Street. For more information call 07719 111 738 or 07950 924 434.

The seminar is co-sponsored by the International Campaign in Defense of Women’s Rights in Iran – UK, the National Secular Society and the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association.

Francis Crick’s place in history – the British Humanist Association Darwin Day Lecture 2007, given by Matt Ridley and chaired by Professor Richard Dawkins FRS. Tickets: £7 (£5 for BHA members). Order by telephone on 020 7079 3580. See the BHA website for further information.

LGBT History Month – an opportunity for all of us to learn more about the histories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Britain and Northern Ireland, with events across the country throughout February. See the Events Calendar on the LGBT History Month website for full details.