Timeline 2000 - 2005
2000
Nottingham's first proper gay club for several years opened as NG1 next door to the Admiral Duncan.
Mushroom Bookshop closed down after 25 years. When hesitant callers asked
Switchboard where they could buy Gay Times or pick up the free papers,
we confidently directed them towards Mushroom. We could be sure that
nervous newcomers would be put at ease by the lesbian and gay friendly staff.
Nottingham Pride Committee took over from Pink Lace and organised a
2 day festival on the Embankment.
Switchboard produces its Millennium History Project. You're looking at it now.
November 2000 saw the introduction by Notts Police of an 0800
helpline for victims of homophobic crime.
Despite opposition from the House of Lords, the age of consent for gay
men was lowered to 16.
2001
The Moreton Christian Association stated that the outbreak of foot
and mouth disease in 2001 was God's revenge for lowering the age
of consent. They cited the fact that the last major outbreak of foot
and mouth disease was in 1968, the year following the 1967 Sexual
Offences Act. (We weren't aware that the age of consent for cows
had been changed).
The Pink Lace Committee revived itself and set up as a rival to the
Nottingham Pride Committee - with resultant mutual annihilation and no
event from either group and the Pink Lace committee using "foot and
mouth" as their excuse for dropping out.
2002
Adoption laws were modified to allow same-sex couples to adopt
jointly - previously, they had been allowed to do this as individuals.
A Home Office funded survey was carried out in North Nottinghamshire to
look at what facilities there were for LGBT people in that area. The
answer, in essence, being "nothing".
2003
The North Notts LGB Development Group (NNLGBDG) was set up as a
response to the previous year's survey. The group includes various
Councils for Voluntary Service from North Notts, Switchboard, Gay
Family Routes and a few more interested organisations.
Switchboard starts a drive to make its services more available to people
in North Notts. This was accompanied by including "Nottinghamshire" in
its name, gaining a phone line with a Mansfield code, sending out
publicity packs to large numbers of organisations and increasing paid
advertising in areas north of Mansfield. The effect - shown in the
end-of-year statistics, was a substantial increase in calls from that area.
It was decided to amalgamate the OutHouse Newsletter with the
freesheet QB. This turned into "I'm Free", which was nice and glossy,
but found it difficult to appear on time.
After several ad hoc meetings with "The Community", Nottingham
City Council started a regular LGBT Consultation group which now meets
quarterly.
Nottingham Pride festival was successfully revived, with people
involved in OutHouse being the driving force. The event now took
place at the Nottingham Arboretum.
Section 28 was abolished and new employment rights legislation was
enacted to eliminate (nearly) all examples of discrimination on the
grounds of sexual orientation.
2004
A conference on Homophobic Bullying in Schools took place in
Edwinstowe - it was organised by the NNLGBDG
OutHouse recognises that it is not going to open a community centre.
The property on Cranbrook Street is sold, the original sum is returned
to the National Lottery, though rises in property prices mean that there
is a surplus which remains with OutHouse. Initial ideas to open an
LGBT Coffee bar do not materialise and thoughts turn to using the
money in the same way as the (recently closed) Pavilion Trust did.
Watch this space.
Nottingham Pride ran successfully again at the Arboretum.
In order to further issues realting to equality for LGBT people,
Nottingham City Council employed a Consultancy to move things forward.
Biddy McMeel, a worker employed by OutHouse, produced a survey of
local LGBT experiences and views on various issues. This was the
"I Count" survey. Some of it makes depressing reading, but it may provide
useful evidence in making organisations and institutions aware of the
extent to which they discriminate against us.
Collections are gathered to buy a plaque for the Holocaust centre to
commemorate lesbian and gay victims of the Holocaust.
2005
February 2005 is designated as the first National LGBT History Month.
March 2005: Switchboard organises a conference to look at LGB
issues within Black and Minority Ethnic Communities. 56 people from
over 30 organisations attended the first day - which was open to all
who were interested. 18 people attended the second day, which was
a closed event for those who were BME and identified as LGB.
In April 2005 members of OutHouse agreed that the idea of an LGB
centre or even of a gay cafe was not going to happen and that the best
course was to close the project.
On July 23rd Nottingham Pride took place again in the Arboretum. Over
7000 people attended and the organisers were once more lucky with the
weather.
THE HOLOCAUST CENTRE MEMORIAL PLAQUE
On September 22nd, a ceremony was held at the Holocaust Centre at Laxton. The purpose of the ceremony was to celebrate the donation of an LGB memorial plaque to the Holocaust centre and, at the same time, to remember the lesbians and gay men who died in the Holocaust.
About 45 people assembled to hear readings from the book "The men with the pink triangle". The ceremony ended with candles being lit by everyone present while the names were read out of countries where homosexuality is still punished by imprisonment or the death penalty; it was a long list.
The plaque is a simple square bearing a pink triangle and the words "In Memoriam". Thanks must go to the North Notts LGB Development Group, and particularly to Mike Newstead of Bassetlaw CVS, for raising funds for the plaque and for organising the event.
In October 2005, Switchboard obtained a grant to resurrect QB, the LGB free sheet, when it became clear that "I'm Free" had folded. The first edition appeared at the end of November 2005 and it, and subsequent editions, have "online" versions which form part of this site. QB is distributed across "the scene", but also at: Broadway Cinema, the Women's Centre, The Health Shop, Nottingham Voluntary Action Centre, through the Library system and by post to several local LGBT social/support groups.
On November 4th about 80 people attended a conference on this issue at the Denewood Centre in Nottingham. A powerful speech from Sue Sanders (of Schools Out) was followed by workshops on: Supporting young people in coming out; Supporting young people in education; Your obligations under the law; What schools and youth agencies need to do now.