Contents:

Introduction On pandemics, Big Society or Big brother?

Preface A personal story

Part 1 The backstory contains 9 ´chapters´ as follows

1.1 Early days, early doors

1.2 Morals and mores: sexuality undercover, during the nineteenth century

1.3 Fledgling alternative communities in the early twentieth century: part 1, part 2

1.4 A chink of liberation, the countdown to war and changing moralities

1.5 Mid century-a time of temporary setbacks and moral tightening

1.6 You will conform: aversion therapy as practised in the fifties and sixties

1.7 Ignorance is not bliss

1.8 Into the  Swinging Sixties: surrounded by pervasive conformity part 1, part 2

1.9 The Seventies- with high shoes on, bolting through closing doors

Part 2 The rituals contains 28 ´chapters´ as follows

Introduction

2.1 Exploration with some trepidation..

2.2 Kew and a long lasting love affair

2.3 Disco and the dance floor

2.4 1975: The rise and rise of political activism; GLF and CHE

2.5 Icebreakers and the beginnings of an ‘alt gay’ scene

2.6 1977: I’m coming out, I want the world to know..

2.7 The glory days of the gay contact ad

2.8 The film that moved me and moved me on

2.9 Soho, oh Soho: into the gay ghetto

2.10 1979: Rise of the body politic & political activism

2.11 Development of music as a political statement in London and the UK

2.12 The very best of gay watering holes through the eighties:  Life and love at the ‘LA’

2.13  1980: A completely new ‘flikker’ agenda..

2.14 Living together – a short 101 primer on how we learned to alt.live together, as lesbians and gay men 

2.15 Icebreakers and the early’ alt discos’

2.16 Papers, politics and politico’s: Gay Noise & the Carved Red lion

2.17 1981: Joining ‘London Gay Switchboard’: ´´the best thing the movement ever made´´

2.18 1982: A Brief Encounter with The Pied Bull

2.19  1983 Ch, ch, changes: Traffic & getting to know the outdoor cruising scene 

2.20  1983 Back to school, protest and the rise and rise of the alt political march

2.21  1984- The best of the best – all about ‘The Bell’

2.22 1985 Changing the World and a Centre all of our own

2.23 1986 Cleancut & ‘Gearing Up for Safer sex’

2.24 1987 The big one: Mark Ashton’s funeral 

2.25 1988 Filming ‘Pride’ for posterity

2.26 Love out on its own: the trials, tribulations and magic of Hampstead Heath

2.27 1988 Sex, Love and Life..

2.28 Section 28 and a question going forwards..

Part 3 The sacrifice contains 12 chapters as follows

3.01. 1987 The Foster years, an HIV/AIDS helpline and a hard hitting national campaign

3.02 The Creation of a ‘Department of Health’ versus the ‘HEA’

3.03 Rolling in the deep – stepping into the HEA

3.04 BMP and the Ritts men

3.05 MESMAC strides out..

3.06 One month in and heads down..

3.07 ‘Lurch, launch, and feedback’

3.08 The Heat on the beat in San Francisco

3.09 London life at the end of the eighties..

3.10 Two steps forward, one step back

3.11 The Mondino Men

3.12 End of an era

A postscript


Your insights and experiences concerning the topics discussed in this section are incredibly valuable. I warmly invite you to share your thoughts to help add to the conversation.

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Index


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