On the 7th Gay Day of Christmas ...

… my blogger gave to me …

7  GRACEFUL SWANS

With 2012 being the 25^th anniversary of Matthew Bourne’s “Adventures in Motion Pictures” dance company it seems natural that this Christmas I celebrate by taking inspiration for his most famous innovation into classical ballets – the all-male “Swan Lake”.

Here are 7 gay male dancers who glided swan-like across the world’s stages with grace and elegance, including some who have passed away recently. I’ll start with Matthew Bourne himself.

1) MATTHEW BOURNE (b.1960)

Bourne was artistic director of Adventures in Motion Pictures for fifteen years. At his helm ballet became more accessible to the general public, especially through his innovative use of male swans and other twists to traditional roles. Bourne has also choreographed many musical revivals in the West End.

2) SIR ROBERT HELPMANN (1909-1986)

Robert will always be remembered as the Child Catcher in the film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, but he is also Australia’s most famous and prolific ballet dancers and choreographers, although he started his career as a burlesque dancer. After his peak years he became a successful actor on stage and screen as well as choreographer.

3) ALEXANDER GRANT (1925-2011)

A great character dancer from the golden years of the Royal Ballet. He worked closely with Sir Frederick Ashton, who created character parts specially for him, and brought new energy to “older roles” for male dancers in the 1960s. Grant also became leader of the National Ballet of Canada.

4) RUDOLF NUREYEV (1938-1993)

Perhaps the most famous male ballet dancer of the last 50 years. While Principal Dance with the Kirov Ballet he defected to the west, becoming a celebrity in the process. His partnership with Dame Margot Fonteyn has entered legend. He turned to acting, famously appearing nude in “Valentino” in 1982, and was one of the first big names to announce he had AIDS shortly before he died.

5) RICHARD CRAGUN (1944-2012)

An American ballet dancer who partnered ballerina Maria Haydée for thirty years. They became lovers for a while until Richard came out as gay, though they continued to dance together successfully for many years afterwards. In 2000 he moved to Rio de Janeiro with his Brazilian boyfriend to form a dance project in the Rio slums.

6) WAYNE SLEEP (b.1948)

Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet, and one of the first British male ballet dancers to move from dance to acting to celebrity. With Alexander Grant he danced in Sir Frederick Ashton’s film “The Tales of Beatrix Potter”. He starred in his own dance series on tv, and now seems to spend most of his time on reality and celebrity shows.

7) NIGEL CHARNOCK (1960-2012)

Co-founder of the contemporary dance company DV8. Nigel often courted controversy with his innovative dances and energetic performances, often by appearing naked. He pioneered the use of all-male dancers in sexually inspired plots. He choreographed pieces for many contemporary dance companies and performed solo.

On the 6th Gay Day of Christmas ...

… my blogger gave to me ..

6 MOTHER GEESE LAUGHING

Goose was the staple diet of most Victorian families on Christmas Day. Goose has also another association with this time of year. The traditional pantomime season is well under way and one of the oldest and most popular panto is “Mother Goose”. It is also the only panto in which the dame character has the title role and, because of this, is generally regarded by actors who play dame, as the best dame role of all.

At first sight it seems that the panto dame is totally different from drag cabaret, but it’s surprising how many cabaret acts have tried their hand at panto. The list below contains performers from both cabaret and panto.

1) Douglas Byng (1893-1987)

Nottingham-born Byng was the biggest cabaret drag act between the two World Wars and into the 60s. His reputation for creating outlandish dame costumes has influenced all Dames to this day. Douglas’s first panto was in 1921 in “Aladdin” at the London Palladium. His first dame roles was as Eliza the Cook in “Dick Whittington” in 1924.

2) Jack Tripp (1922-2005)

The Crown Princess to Douglas Byng’s Queen of Dames. Tripp appeared in over 50 pantomimes, many of them as dame. He once said that Mother Goose was the “Hamlet of Pantomimes”, and it was as Mother Goose that he made his last appearance in 1996. Like Douglas Byng, a Brighton bus is named after him.

3) Danny La Rue (1927-2009)

Better known as a glamorous female impersonator and cabaret star than a panto dame. His first dame role was as an Ugly Sister in “Cinderella” in 1956, a role he played for the next 14 years. He first played Mother Goose in 1984, and repeated the performance for the next three years.

4) John Inman (1935-2007)

Best known  for his role as Mr Humphreys in the camp comedy series “Are You Being Served?”, John was one of many dames to prefer Mother Goose to all other dame roles. He played the role 15 times.

5) Christopher Biggins (b.1948)

Probably the UK’s most famous currently active pantomime dame. His first dame role was as Mother Goose in 1971 at the Civic Theatre in Darlington.

6) And finally – me.

As a girl my mother performed in wartime panto and revue and was a magician’s assistant with family links to the last days of the Music Hall. I’ve played dame several times on the amateur stage but not yet as Mother Goose. But then I don’t think I need to because I’m descended from her! Not the real one, of course. My mother’s grandmother was Sarah Elizabeth Foster Goose. She came from a farming family in the Lincolnshire fens. So she is my grandmother’s “Mother Goose”.

On the 5th Gay Day of Christmas ...

… my blogger gave to me…

5 OLYMPIC GOLD RINGS

Obviously, five rings reminds us of the Olympic Games earlier this year, and gold reminds us of Olympic champions. I think it would be unfair to single out just 5 of this year’s lgbt champions, so I’ll list them all (as known so far) and use the Olympic rings to represent our Christmas gift of 5 gold rings.

Nicola Adams

GB : women’s 51kg boxing

Instantly entered the record books as the first champion in Olympic women’s boxing

Seimone Augustus

USA : Women’s basketball

Carl Hester

GB : Equestrian team dressage

Megan Rapinoe

USA : women’s football

Marilyn Agliotti,

Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel,

Kim Lammers, and

Maartje Paumen

Netherlands : women’s hockey

And a special mention goes to:

Lee Pearson

GB : paralympic equestrian team dressage

This 10^th gold paralympic medal for Lee puts him at the top of the Olympic/Paralympic lgbt champions list.

On the 4th Gay Day of Christmas ...

… my blogger gave to me …

FOUR GAY BLACKBIRDS

When I was growing up this verse always went “4 colley birds”. I couldn’t understand why people kept singing “4 calling birds”, and still don’t. Colley is a traditional English word meaning “black”, and a colley bird is another name for the common blackbird. My mother often used to refer to blackbirds as colley birds when she saw them in the garden.

Colley birds – blackbirds – were a delicacy at Christmas time and can also be found in the nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Sixpence”.

There are other regional, dialect and slang words for the blackbird. So, on this 4^th Day of Christmas I bring to you 4 lgbt people whose names are different names for the blackbird, my 4 gay colley birds.

FRANK MERLO (1922-1963)

(Merlo – the name for blackbird in Galician and Esperanto)

Long-term partner of playwright Tennessee Williams. They met in 1947 and became a couple a year later with Merlo becoming his personal assistant. Merlo is recognised as the key stabilising factor in William’s troubled life. During their time together Williams had his greatest successes. Merlo was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and Williams cared for him until his death in 1963.

MERLE WOO (b.1941)

(Merle – blackbird in Old English and Old French)

American-born activist and lecturer of mixed Asian heritage. Merle is often an outspoken critic on the portrayal and perception of Asian women. She has also written poetry and prose on the subject. Merle was twice fired from her post as lecturer at the University of California Berkeley, and both times was reinstated after winning free speech lawsuits.

MERYL COHN (b.1962)

(Meryl – 17^th and 18^th century variant of “merle”)

“Agony aunt” and advice columnist writing as Ms Behaviour. Her column is syndicated to several US lgbt newspapers and magazines. In 1995 Meryl published “Ms Behavior’s Guide to Gay and Lesbian Etiquette”, and has written several plays and many articles.

DARYL COLLEY (1971-2001)

(Colley – traditional English name for the blackbird)

Australian drag queen by the name of Rosie. Diagnosed HIV+ he also believed he had a brain tumour. He asked his lover Raymond to help him commit suicide because he didn’t want to be remembered as a “dribbling mess”. It was ruled that Daryl died from a self-administered drug overdose before Raymond attempted to suffocate him.

On the 3rd Gay Day of Christmas ...

… my blogger gave to me …

THREE FRENCH LADIES

There’s no clear reason why the hens given on the 3^rd day of Christmas should be French. But, as the national bird of France is the cockerel, I can find no other reason than to present you with three French women.

1) COLETTE (1873-1954)

One of France’s most popular authors who had affairs with men and women, and who fictionalised her experiences in several books. Her husband encouraged her lesbianism for his own enjoyment, and Colette left him at the start of her lesbian affair with a French aristocrat. Her most famous novella “Gigi” was turned into an Oscar-winning musical film.

2) MARIA SCHNEIDER (1952-2011)

Actor whose most famous (and notorious) role was opposite Marlon Brando in “Last Tango in Paris” in 1972, an experience which led her to work for improvements in the treatment of female actors in the film industry. Maria continued to appear in films until 2008, and in 2010 became a Chevalier of the Ordre des Artes and des Lettres for services to the Arts (the French equivalent of Dame).

3) AMÉLIE MAURESMO (b.1979)

In 2004 Amélie became the first French tennis player to reach No. 1 ranking in the world without winning a Grand Slam title. She earned a reputation for losing finals matches due to nerves, but she proved to the world she was a great champion by winning the World Championships in 2005, and the Wimbledon and Australian Open titles in 2006. As a junior player she was also a Wimbledon and French Open champion in 1996. Amélie won a silver medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

On the 2nd Gay Day of Christmas ...

… my blogger gave to me …

TWO LOVING DOVES

A pair of turtle doves have been a symbol of love for centuries. In several countries around the world this year one of the main topics debated by politicians has been gay marriage. In the UK December is the month in which lgbt couples were given the right to register civil partnerships in 2005.

When the first civil partnerships were held there was intensive media coverage, and most (if not all) of the local tv stations around the country featured at least one ceremony in their news broadcasts on that day, interviewing the happy couple. Quite a few of the actual first civil partners did not want the media coverage and publicity and their privacy was respected.

Even though the Civil Partnership Act came into force officially on 21^st December 2005 there was confusion over the rule regarding a waiting period between giving a notice to register and the actual registration ceremony. Because of this in Northern Ireland and Scotland partnerships were registered before the 21^st (19^th and 20^th respectively).

However, the first legal civil partnership actually took place on 5^th December 2005. A special dispensation was given to Matthew Roche and Christopher Cramp of Worthing, and it is this couple who I present as my Two Turtle Doves. And it’s a love story with special significance for today, Boxing Day.

Matthew (left) and Chris

Matthew and Chris met in 1993 in a Brighton nightclub. They hit it off immediately and became friends. However, they didn’t become a couple until 5 years later because Chris wasn’t sure of his sexuality and regarded himself as straight. Matthew persevered, and every now and then raised the subject of a gay relationship.

In 1998 both Matthew and Chris were going to spend Christmas Day on their own, so they decided to celebrate it together. With no expectations other than companionship both men felt the time was right, and in the early hours of Boxing Day 1998 they made love for the first time.

On St. Valentine’s Day 2005 things started to test their love. It wasn’t the fault of any person. Matthew complained of a stomach pain. It went on for several weeks and doctors couldn’t find anything wrong at first. They even suggested Matthew take an HIV test.

It wasn’t until October that an inoperable cancer was found beneath Matthew’s liver, and it would only be a matter of time before it took his life.

Matthew and Chris had discussed marriage of some kind several times, but gay marriage wasn’t, and isn’t, legal in the UK. The Civil Partnership had been passed and was due to come into force so they planned a ceremony for 2006 or 2007. But Matthew’s health deteriorated quickly and it looked as if he wouldn’t see the New Year.

Time was not on their side. They put their case to the local register office who confirmed that there were means put in place for partnerships to be performed without the waiting period in exceptional circumstances. They realised that these were indeed exceptional circumstances and arranged for the ceremony to take place on the day the act came into force without going through the waiting period – 5^th December 2005.

It was a historic moment. The first civil partnership in the UK. Even the registrar showed great pride when remarking on the occasion. It was truly a great moment for Matthew, Chris and their family and friends.

That night a double bed was wheeled into Matthew’s room in the hospital and he and Chris spent their first night together as civil partners. In the morning Matthew didn’t wake up. The families quickly gathered at his bedside as he slipped away.

In the words of Chris “For Matthew and I, getting married wasn’t about gay rights – it was about equal rights to be with someone you want to be with”.

On this 2^nd Day of Christmas I hope that the symbolic turtle doves give hope that everyone can be with the one they love.

On the First Gay Day of Christmas ...

... my blogger gave to me -

A PARTRIDGE IN HIS FAMILY TREE

Sir Nick Partridge (left) is Chief Executive of the Terence Higgins Trust and one of the UK’s leading AIDS campaigners. He was knighted for service to healthcare in 2009.

A partridge was a traditional game bird at Christmas, but if we dig up Nick’s Partridge roots we’ll find he has another seasonal game birds sitting in his family tree.

The family link is still remembered in Nick’s full name – Nicholas Wyndham Partridge. The name Wyndham descends through his mother’s family, the Wilders. The Wilder family come from Wallingford in Berkshire. They earned a fortune during the Industrial Revolution by starting up an iron foundry. There are still iron structures in Wallingford today which were cast at Wilder’s foundry. The business is still in existence as Lister-Wilder, a leading agriculture and garden machinery manufacturer, though the family sold the business in 1998.

Sir Nick’s grandfather, Richard John Wilder, a partner in the foundry, was married to Crystal Elsie Stride. It is her family which provides the seasonal game bird connection though it is probably one which Nick might not be too keen to publicise!

Crystal Elsie Stride was the daughter of Herbert Wyndham Stride, the head gamekeeper to Sir Walter Gilbey at Elsenham Hall in Essex. Stride’s father was also a gamekeeper and farm steward, and Herbert himself entered the gamekeeping profession as soon as he left school. By the age of 27 Herbert was head gamekeeper to Sir Walter, living in a cottage on the Elsenham estate. In 1900 he and his family moved out of the cottage and rented a neighbouring farm at Little Henhan. That’s when things started to happen.

As head gamekeeper it was Herbert Stride’s responsibility to ensure that there was plenty of game for the landowner and his guests to hunt. This included pheasant. On Sir Walter’s estate the pheasant lived freely among the woods rather than in special pens.

In 1906 Sir Walter discovered that Herbert Stride had been selling thousands of pheasant’s eggs to another gamekeeper in north Wales for several years. Stride was prosecuted for the theft of some 9,000 eggs. In his defence Stride claimed the eggs came from pheasants living on his own farm and were not from Sir Walter’s estate. The court didn’t believe him and he was found guilty. The judge sentenced him to one year’s hard labour.

Stride appealed against his conviction but it was upheld, so presumably he had to undergo his one year’s hard labour. That seems rather harsh punishment to me – people get less than that these days for queer-bashing!

By 1911 Herbert Wyndham Stride was living as a farmer at Britwell Priory in Oxfordshire. He died in 1919 at the age of 55 leaving an estate worth over £25,000.

So, from pheasants to partridges. Herbert’s granddaughter Patricia married Ernest Partridge in 1948 and they were the parents of Sir Nick Partridge.

Perhaps today’s heading should have read “A Pheasant in Partridge’s Family Tree”.