Manchester Pride 2010 Parade

Once again we took part in the parade through streets of Manchester on Saturday August 28th. The theme of our float was 70's. Thanks to Lois and her team for their hard work preparing and appearing on the float.

Our Manchester Pride 2010 Video is now on-line.

Foster Carers training in Salford

June 21 & June 29. Jane gave two presentations about the needs of young LGBT people to trainee foster carers in Salford. She focused on the need for uncritical support and understanding from their carers and aimed to dispel the misconceptions about gay people. Each presentation was followed by a question and answer session. Leaflets and booklets were distributed to everyone and contact details left  for future reference.

LGBT Consultation Day

June 10 2010. The above event was held at Manchester Town Hall. It was an opportunity for Manchester City Council and the LGBT Community to get together to celebrate their successes.

Councillor Mary Murphy, the lead councillor for Lesbian Issues, Sir Richard Lees, leader of the city council and councillor Paul Fairweather lead councillor for Gay Mens Issues introduced the proceedings. There then followed a successes, information, and skills exchange and workshops.

After a buffet lunch the afternoon session started with an introduction by Geoff Little, Deputy Chief Executive.and then Rose Robertson CEO George House Trust gave a 25 year reflection on HIV in Manchester and what the future holds. There were than various workshops one of which was Supporting Parents and Families of LGBT people, issues and successes facilitated by Christine and Lois from Manchester Parents Group. Inga attended the event as a delegate.

Susan and Darren

May 2010. As part of the Queer Up North Festival, Susan and Darren, a play about a mother and her gay son was shown at Sashas Hotel in Manchester.To coincide with the play, Gavin Parry was commisioned to put up an exhibition of Family Portraits in the foyer of the hotel. A photograph of Margaret and her son was one of the photos chosen to be displayed.

Staff Developement Day

February 12 2010. Lois was involved with the Cross College Staff Development Day at Lakes College Workington. Aprox 400 people attended the event ‘Totally Together’ – Respect for all people,  recognising and accepting difference  The day was broken down into various sessions based around Equality and Diversity. As well as our input on sexual orientation the following areas were covered: transexuality, dyslexia, cyber bullying, disability, religion, gender, racism and hate crime.

Lois facilitated two 45 minute workshops entitled 'The Implications of Sexuality' which were very well received. Many thanks to the college staff for a very generous donation for our funds It is very much appreciated.

Christmas lunch at Taurus

December 5 2009. Instead of our usual Christmas meeting about 20 of us sat down for a delicious Christmas lunch at Taurus. It was great to just be together to socialise and to celebrate another successful year. Many thanks to the lovely staff at Taurus for excellent food and drink and for all the support they give us throughout the year. It was thoroughly enjoyable and we hope to make this an annual event.

Northern Pre-launch of LGBT History Month

December 3 2009. Linette and Inga attended the above event hosted by the University of Salford at Peel Hall.

The evening opened with a formal introduction by Professor Martin Hall ,Vice Chancellor of Salford University. He spoke  about the role of the HE sector in the partnership to remove barriers to learning and towards the greater fulfilment of potential. He stressed his personal commitment to achieving this at Salford University

This was followed by "That's Gay" the epidemic of abuse, a touching presentation by school pupils from LGBT Youth North West. They spoke about their experiences of barriers to learning and their coping stratergies

Professor Sheila Rowbotham then spoke about the role of academics in challenging stereotypes and the history of the fight for equality.

Mark Jennett followed with an interesting account of the No Outsiders project, an inclusive whole school stratergy to address homophobia in primary schools

The formal part of the evening concluded with a celebration, sharing and reflection with Cllr Paul Murphy, Chairperson of Manchester Police Authority.

Then followed refreshments and an interactive showcase of projects from North West organisations. We were then free to network,  browse the information stalls and pick up useful resources.

The evening was a resounding success and it was well worth turning out on a freezing cold and wet night!