Flags, Closets, Salons, Dukes, Gods - and Steampunk!

Tomorrow marks the start of LGBT History Month, which continues throughout February.

That's yours truly at the back of the above photo - as co-Chair of the LGBT Forum, celebrating the arrival of the very first Rainbow Flag in its history to grace the flagpole above Islington Town Hall!

As ever, London has a fair smattering of events to mark the month, not least the on-going Joe Orton exhibition Malicious Damage. I am particularly looking forward to:

• The Vinyl Closet this Friday (3rd Feb) - a third outing of the entertaining history evening that uncovers portrayals of LGBT lives in popular music, organised as a fundraiser by the Lesbian and Gay Humanists. Visit the website (and notice where the links to the reviews of their previous shows point!)
• Our regular monthly highlight, "London's peerless literary salon" Polari on Monday 6th, with readings from Tiffany Murray, Faarea Masud, Catherine Hall, Jack Scott, Vicky Ryder and Max Wallis. Islington should be hosting a local "mini-Polari" as well, if arrangements are ever finalised...
• On Tuesday, a special lecture on Philippe I, duc d'Orléans (the flamboyant bejewelled brother of Louis XIV, known as "Monsieur") at the Wallace Collection (a museum I have never been to, so double the excitement!)
• Antinous, Last God of the Ancient World (on Thursday 9th at the marvellous Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology), a "lavishly illustrated lecture" on the legendary youth whose death drove his lover the Emperor Hadrian to create a god-cult in his name.

There are of course many other events that we have yet to decide whether we will go to, including a history of gay people who helped win WW2, Olga Niewert's tribute to Klaus Nomi, a new performance play by La John-Joseph called Boy in a Dress, and a gay history tour of the fabulous Eltham Palace, but we'll see how the month pans out.

The closing gala ball on 24th February at Islington's Art Deco Assembly Hall is taking enough planning/shopping as it is - its dressing-up theme being "Steampunk", a currently trendy style that fascinates me (admirably described by one wit as "What happens when Goths discover brown"). And we all know how much I like dressing-up...

Just Glue Some Gears On It and Call It Steampunk

All this, and the beloved other half Madam Arcati's birthday, too! How will we cope?

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In the United Kingdom LGBT History Month is observed during February to coincide with the celebration of the 2005 abolition of Section 28. Visit the official website.