Gay Cornwall lgbt NEWS by Pink Pasty: Cornwall Gay PRIDE 2008 (UK)

Thursday, 28 February 2008

Cornwall Gay PRIDE 2008 (UK)

Cornwall GAY PRIDE 2008 (UK)

From:- Pinknews.co.uk

27th February 2008 19:45
Tony Grew

After last year's beach party, Cornwall Pride 2008 will be held in the city of Truro on Saturday 23rd August, it has been announced.

After the first meeting of the board, the newly-elected Chairman of Cornwall Pride, Christian Diamant, said:

"The idea of Pride is to be an all inclusive celebration of diversity in Cornwall".

"Everyone will be welcome to participate in the parade through Truro and then onto celebrations afterwards."

This year's Cornwall Pride will have a theatrical theme.

After the parade in the afternoon, there will be an event in Truro itself and then more entertainment in the evening.

"At its most basic what Cornwall Pride is celebrating is the fact that Cornwall is a better place because not everyone is white, not everyone is straight and that Cornwall would be a worse place, if we were all the same," said Mr Diamant.

"Hopefully, the event will be enjoyable for both locals and holiday makers who are visiting our county".

"It would be great to see as many people as possible from around the country to come and support this first Cornish Pride down in our neck of the woods, I'm sure we can promise all a warm welcome!"
...................................................................................

This was last years 2007 Cornwall PRIDE website, which disbanded after the PRIDE Day due to Cornwall police conduct & practises against gay persons! http://www.gay-in-cornwall.co.uk

Pink Pasty:- Congratulations & well done on the 'NEW' 2008 Cornwall Pride Group for 'picking up the torch' from last years 2007 successful Cornwall Gay PRIDE Beach Day Picnic, which was held at Hayle Beach.

(Regrettably last years 2007 Cornwall PRIDE steering group, made up of gay men, gay women & gay youth, disbanded as a DIRECT result of Cornwall police conduct, attitude & practises targeted at some gay people, which seriously put last years PRIDE day in jeopardy. Despite complaint, the IPCC still refuses to investigate police homophobia!)

The LGBT history of Cornwall is a fragile thing due to a long history of Institutional prejudice in the County, in particular by Cornwall police.

For many years during the 1990's the 'Women's Acorn group' & 'Cornwall Lesbian Line', (20 yrs strong!!!)', women’s rock band 'OUT OF THE BLUE', in conjunction with the Cornwall LGBT newsletter 'ICT' & Cornwall HIV/AIDS Council ran over several years very successful LGBT 'PRIDE' fetes on a farm in west Cornwall, attended by hundreds of lgbt people.(as featured in GT magazine one year!)

However, it is with caution we should embrace those financial, commercial or authority interests who have previously voraciously discriminated against gay people (ie. Cornwall police) who now wish to seem to be seen (on the surface) as being 'GAY' PC, and dismiss the genuine pioneering efforts of those LGBT (Men & Women) Cornwall equality activists & campaigners of the recent past.

Good Luck the NEW 2008 Cornwall Pride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCVJ1HH5Eyc

WHO is the Pink Pasty?

Malcolm Lidbury: - Gay Equality & HIV/AIDS Campaigner. Artist. Writer. Sculptor.

Born in Barnet Middlesex, 1959, younger of two sons. He grew up in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, going to Mount Grace Comprehensive School. He moved to the County of Cornwall in 1977, worked as a herdsman, antique restorer and at Mount Wellington Mine, one of the last working tin mines in Cornwall. He served six months in prison in 1988. He has been married once and divorced.1989 he came ‘out’ as a gay man.

He was founder, publisher, & editor of the ‘Independent Cornish Triangle’, a local LGBT newsletter with over 1,000 subscribers in mainly rural Cornwall, UK.

In 1995, Gay Times Magazine named Lidbury in their 200th celebratory edition as one of the top 200 gay people in Britain for his contribution to gay community, equality & HIV/AIDS campaigning and awareness in Cornwall. He was a Former trustee to the HIV/AIDS Cornwall Aids Council, trustee for the HIV/AIDS Sprocket Trust and the gay men’s voluntary support worker for the Cornwall Hospital GU Clinic.

Malcolm organised and ran the county's LGBT supper group, along with a midweek lgbt social group & a summer weekend tea garden. He organised the only gay rally in Cornwall on the equalising of the age of consent, which was filmed as part of the CH4 documentary "Age of Dissent". Lidbury was the LGBT STONEWALL Equality 2000 representative for the Falmouth/Camborne constituency, raising the area to the highest campaigning area on 'gay equality' outside that of Greater London.

In 1997, readership of the National LGBT newspaper Pink Paper voted Lidbury as No. 119 of the 500 people who had historically had the greatest influence upon gay life in Britain.

In 1994 Lidbury’s partner, Andrew Roger Smith was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. The couple fought a public battle against prejudice and discrimination. They won an Ombudsman enquiry against Kerrier District Council for maladministration.

In 1996, Lidbury received a televised apology on behalf of two Spanish gay men from the English Tourist Board, West Country & Cornish tourist board for prejudicial breaches of the British tourist board ‘pink’ book of rules.

In 1994, Malcolm and Andrew publicly contributed taking part visibly in an HIV/AIDS documentary made by Westcountry television ‘Days of Judgement’ about HIV/AIDS in the south west of England at a time when it was publicly dangerous to be open with both ones gay sexuality and his partners HIV/AIDS status in Cornwall.

In 1997, Lidbury posthumously won on behalf of his partner a public apology from Cornwall County Council for adverse treatment and failure to deliver statutory care to Andrew as an HIV/AIDS sufferer. Cornwall County Council continues to have a reputation for homophobic attitudes.The couples home was subjected to petrol, dog excrement, & graffiti. Hate mail & death threats, along with the 'stoning' of Andy when blind by Cornish youths. Cornwall police response "Your gay and one of you has AIDS, what do you expect!"

THE ABOVE, REGRETTABLY CONTINUES TO BE THE SORT OF ATTITUDE OF THE MAJORITY OF POLICE OFFICERS PERSONALLY ENCOUNTERED IN CORNWALL BY LIDBURY IN THEIR (police) HOMOPHOBIC ATTITUDES & PRACTISES AGAINST GAY PERSONS!

Lidbury was a member of the Cornwall & Isles of Scillies Health Authority Gay Men’s Health steering group and was instrumental in creation of the Cornwall Gay Men’s Health Project. He was responsible for and wrote the report HIV/AIDS:- "Implication for Cornwall" and was instrumental in obtaining the increase in funding for HIV preventative work for gay men in Cornwall, having attended self funded as an independent delegate at Health Authority conferences in Plymouth & Salisbury.

Following the HIV/AIDS related death of his Cornish partner, Andy in 1996 Lidbury became self-employed running his own Amenity Horticulture business, a business later destroyed by police harrasement & homophobic conduct.

In 1997, he made and won an Advertising Standards Authority complaint against a local business, ‘Trago Mills’, which had run adverts in local Cornish newspapers advocating the castration of gay men. He has an archive in the LGBT social & political Hall-Carpenter archive. Following further harassment from Cornish authorities Lidbury attempted suicide, withdrew from active contribution to public equality and HIV/AIDS campaigning.

Lidbury is a listed gay artist with the Middlesex University Archive of gay artists, along with Hockney, Mapplethorpe, Gilbert, & George. He jointly exhibited at the Penzance Art Club his male bronze figures with Leigh Heppell a sculptor of erotic female forms. Lidbury has Artwork in the Barcelona Spanish Museum of Erotic Art and Homosexual Art Foundation in New York, USA.

In 2004, the LGBT Intercom Trust asked Lidbury to assist with a forum on Cornwall LGBT community opinion of the Criminal Justice Service as part of research for the Lord Justice Kay award 2005. A protracted four-year period of conflict followed between Lidbury and the Cornwall police who raided his home in 2004, arresting him on spurious allegations. Lidbury had run an internet Art business up until the seizing by police of his computer. No criminal charges and police Criminal Forensics admitted there were no ‘alleged’ illegal images on the computer. However Lidburey's businesses were destroyed by the police actions. Lidbury’s complaint of Police conduct lead to two separate Independent Police Complaints Commission investigations 2004/2006 resulting in twenty-two recommendations being made to Devon & Cornwall Constabulary of improvement of public service and appointment of three new diversity police officers to the Cornwall police force.

In general Cornwall Constabulary have ignored the reccomendations by the IPCC and continue to blind-eye police practises against gay persons.

“As a gay man living in Cornwall I would not trust ANY Cornwall police officer as a result of my multiple experiences of homophobic conduct prevalent and protected within this police force!” Lidbury May 2007.

"What I had to say a year ago...still holds true today. In my experience, the most likely person to homophobically abuse & violate the life of a gay person in Cornwall...is likely to hold a Devon & Cornwall Constabulary warrant card"
Lidbury May 2008

In 2007, a London Drill Hall Theatre stage play, ‘A gay man’s guide’ is to feature contributing aspects of Lidbury’s gay life.

In August 2007 Lidbury was once again TARGETED by Cornwall Police. Arrested, his home searched. This resulted in NO Criminal charges or Criminal prosecution to FALSE allegations made. He has been subjected to repeated vehicle stops & unlogged visits intended to harras & continue to violate his life as an 'out' gay man. Despite these & other incidents reported to various authorities, Cornwall police are not investigated despite the following abussive & homophobic actions by Cornwall police officers!

1. Failure of ‘Duty of Care’ to a homeless 15yr old teenage gay youth (UNIVESTIGATED)
2. Attempted blackmail of a teenage gay youth (UNINVESTIGATED)
3. Abuse of a gay teenager in a strip search & botched ‘Stop & Search’ (UNIVESTIGATED)
4. Seizing of a computer & destruction of a gay businesses (UNIVESTIGATED)
5. Failure to follow ‘TRUE VISION’ & CPS definition of ‘Homophobic Incident’ following serious physical assault of two gay/bi persons (UNIVESTIGATED)
6. Refusal to take statements from Gay/Bi witnesses (UNIVESTIGATED)
7. Withholding Court legal documentation (Investigated, but pitifully excused by the IPCC)
8. Perjury by a police officer in Crown Court (UNINVESTIGATED)
9. Denying a gay person arrested and held in Custody food for in excess of 7hours (investigated, but pitifully excused by the IPCC)
10. Obstruction by police to making a complaint against the police (investigated, but pitifully excused by the IPCC)
11. Un-logged visits by police officers to further intimidate complaintents against the police (UNIVESTIGATED)

...and there have been yet further abuse incidents by Cornwall police.

"If you want to seek out homophobes & gay-haters, one need look no further than to the Constabulary ...at least that is my experience in Cornwall"

Lidbury, 2008

Lidbury has 'three' published autobiographical book memoirs available from lulu.com:-

Mr Hopkins Legacy: - His own childhood
NO Carrots in My Pasty: - HIV/AIDS in Cornwall
A NO GAY ZONE: - Cornwall Police and other Homophobia?

As a primary member & 'chair' of the successful 2007 Cornwall Gay PRIDE beach day steering group, the further violation & victimisation of Lidbury by Cornwall police had an impact upon the Gay PRIDE group. The PRIDE group disbanded out of FEAR of yet further reprisals & intimidation by Cornwall police against the gay persons involved in last years Cornwall Gay PRIDE beach day.

In Dec 2007 Lidbury was voted 3rd in the 'Queerwest' publication 'Person of Gay Influence in the Southwest'.

There is NO reason to belive that Cornwall Police attitudes & practises will improve towards gay persons under the current Chief Constable, whilst prior police abuses of gay persons continue to remain uninvestgated.

Cornwall. Probably the most HOMOPHOBIC place in Britain?

Search:- 'thepinkpasty' on http://www.youtube.com/

Lidbury has 'three' published autobiographical book memoirs:-

Books available from http://www.lulu.com/ search Lidbury

Lidbury “Gay equality in Cornwall, as hard to find as carrots in a proper Cornish pasty”

email;- m.lidbury@tesco.net

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Thursday, 28 February 2008

Cornwall Gay PRIDE 2008 (UK)

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