Blogs

The International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (IDAHO) is designed to raise awareness of the impact of prejudice and discrimination on the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people throughout the world and also on the lives of their families, friends and colleagues.

For the first time ever, Merton LGBT Forum has been invited to particpate in Merton's Festival for the Over-Fifties, 'Celebrating Age', which takes place annually in September.

The month-long annual Festival is a collaboration between Age UK Merton, Merton Council and local community groups and offers all Merton residents over the age of 50 the opportunity to learn something new and meet new people.

The third and final event of the 2012 SLAGO Cup, the bowling competetion, took place on Monday, 16 April 2012 at 10-Pin Croydon.

Merton LGBT Forum, represented by VP, Angie and Forum members, ChrisB, ChrisJ and SimonJ wiped the floor with the competetion to take first place! Special kudos to VP, Angie, who proved she was deadly with a bowling ball, scoring the most strikes of any player on the night.

As many of you may already be aware, on 15 Mar 2012 the Government launched its consultation on its proposals for same-sex legal marriage. There are many voices who will be vocal in their opposition to these proposals so we would like to encourage all members of Merton LGBT Forum to take the time to look at and respond to the consultation and to try and ensure that just as many voices in support of them are heard by the Government too.

There is a recognised shortage of facilities and activities for older LGBT people in South London and of course being older and LGBT brings its own set of issues and problems. To tackle this Age UK, Opening Doors and London Forum for Older people have jointly organised an event "Older and Out in South London" this coming Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:30AM to 3PM at the Lambeth Accord, 336 Brixton Road SW9 7AA.

For more information see the following link - http://www.ageuk.org.uk/camden/

Merton's own Met Police LGBT Liaison Officers, Chris and Debbie have put together some advice below on reporting LGBT hate crime in the borough.

What is Hate Crime?

Merton LGBT Forum, represented by Forum members, Chris B and Patrick H finished in third place in the first event of the 2012 SLAGO Cup, the table tennis competetion, which took place on Saturday, 21st January 2012 at the Cannons Leisure Centre, Mitcham.

As SLAGO's newest member, this was Merton LGBT Forum's first time participating in the SLAGO cup and with the event taking place on home turf, Merton was very pleased to also be able to sponsor the event this year by contributing towards the costs of the venue and equipment hire.

As part of LGBT History Month 2012, an exhibition titled 'Merton's Forgotten LGBT Past' is running at Merton Civic Centre throughout February.

The exhibition looks at some of the people and events that have shaped LGBT history in Merton over the years, including pioneering British sexologist Havelock Ellis, legendary Edwardian music hall male impersonator Hetty King, children's author David Rees and many more.

Just a quick note to let you know about the events we are organising to celebrate LGBT History Month in Merton. We have had to make some changes to the movies we originally planned to screen but we promise the replacements are even better. And Ms Claire Benjamin will be back with a brand new cabaret routine at our Celebration Party at the William Morris on Friday, 17th Feb. The full line-up of events will be :

For the first time ever, Merton LGBT Forum has been invited to particpate in the London Borough of Merton's civic ceremony to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

Holocaust Memorial Day is the international day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust and other genocides. It takes place on 27 January each year, to mark the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945.