It is nice to be visible, with or without hi-vis! My bike is very important to me, no more so than now as I am struggling to walk. I hope my hip replacement will change this. I am so fortunate to be able to get around still and enjoy our beautiful town.
Enjoying life in my 50s getting better like a good glass wine.
Life is still fun and exciting the older one gets.
A few lines...
1) I am Betty. And I am 93, born 1929.
2) I want to be seen to exist as an OLD LGBT person, and not to be rejected for what only a small part of me actually IS, and what I was born with.
I want to share that many old folk, including LGBT want to be acknowledged as still valuable members of their communities.
3) The letter box signifies communication and I strongly believe in the importance of personal communication preferably by handwritten letter.
Lisa and Liesa, in their 50s, taking time out down at the beach for a dip and a picnic. It makes a change from mountain-biking and kite-surfing, when they're not busy running the Rock Project in Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth. Seen here with their friends and neighbours Helen and Jane (50s and 70s) when it was too hot to be organizing the next Aberration or writing, researching and performing their Queer Tales from Wales.
My name is Ray and I wanted to be part of the wave project as it’s never too late to say who you really are. I live at Innage Grange and I wanted people to know that’s its ok to live in a care home and be gay I have people around me who understand and support me.
David is an out gay proud man happy to live in Telford, Shropshire, now retired and active in charity work.
"One in ten" - that's why I've chosen to take part, 'one in ten' or thereabouts, we are here in Shropshire within all age groups.
"We treat everyone equally" - is another reason I've chosen to take part, to challenge this rather lazy assumption that there is no need for any special actions / sensitivity for LGBT+ people, or others in need of support.
Here we are enjoying a restaurant meal after 42 years together and so glad our campaigning for equal rights has been so successful. We never want the clock to go backwards as we head into our eighth decade! That’s why we’re so happy to be involved with the Wave Project; we’re here, we always were and we always will be.
We're like any other couple, we laugh, cry, argue, hurt, and have fun. It's important that everyone is accepted for who they are and be recognised as "normal". And what could be more normal than putting up the Christmas tree together.
A civilly partnered couple, Peter and Tony, having a fun time in Shrewsbury’s C:21 ‘Fabulous’ LGBT+ night where Marty was performing. Despite being the oldest there (probably) we were first onto the dance floor. “Dance like no one’s watching” is a good motto 😁
[SAND's "Future Proofing" afternoon] was instructive, irrespective of whether or not much of it applied directly to me. As with the second case example, I live alone - in my case, in rented accommodation in the form of a bungalow. Technically, I'm bisexual, but have not been in a regular relationship for many years. With very limited resources I'm conscious of the need to keep fuel bills to a minimum. As and when finances allow, I like to use the theatre and cinema. As a singer I have joined a good choir in Shrewsbury, which offers both excellent repertoire under a superb musical director, and also companionship. I haven't driven for years, so rely mainly on public transport. Fortunately, walking from my place into town (Shrewsbury) is perfectly manageable. Neighbours are friendly, some to the point of being extremely helpful - especially to one who is not of a practical bent!
Having been together for 24 years now, we still love spending time in the countryside with our lively spaniel, Dylan. We love an eclectic mixture of activities and hope all LGBT+ folk can have the freedom we have have been lucky to have enjoyed, whilst many around the world do not have this freedom nor even a safe place to be themselves.
A walk around Haughmond Hill with Angus.
My name is Trevor, I am a happy bear who though in my 60s still has a satisfying (if quiet) life. I am participating in this project to show that LGBTQ+ people exist, in the wider world, in the LGBTQ+ community (in both these we tend to be invisible due to their youth orientation), and in the Buddhist community, which I have been part of for 40 something years, and why the photo was shot in front of my shrine.
Happy chappy!
Joseph Applebaum and Stu Maddux are California filmmakers who discovered Shropshire during a screening of one of their films at the Rainbow Film Festival. While it's definitely not San Francisco where they live, they also spend much of their time in Shrewsbury because of the welcoming queer community they find here as well. This wave is from a recent commute between both places.
Annie: We’ve been together for about 37 years. Caroline a ceramicist and sculptor. I’ve recently given up my business career to write novels. My first was published by Penguin in 2021 and my second is on the way! Walking, kayaking etc helps the creative process!
Caroline: We both like getting out and about in the countryside, be it walking, open canoeing or being on the sea in our kayaks. The first attempt at having our photo taken inside went a little awry so we opted for an outdoor shot as we spend a lot of our time out and about.
I'm Inge Thornton (she/her). This photo was taken at home, against a background that I thought showed something about some things that are important to me. Although I don’t live in Shrewsbury, I’ve visited it socially for many years for LGBTQ+ events, both while I lived in Birmingham, and now I live in mid Wales. I used to go to the monthly Border Women Sunday lunches at the Peach Tree, and made many friends there, and now really enjoy coming to the History Month events.
I spotted a 'latin and ballroom' class in Brighton in 2001 and thought, what a great way to meet other lesbians outside of the bar scene. It's fun and a great way to keep fit mentally and physically. It's also a real antidote for times when life gets just a bit too serious. There's a big 'same-sex dance' scene in London that my dance partner Jane and I hope to get down to again this year.
Marilyn: I met with Laura at the Border Women Burn’s Night party and we were happy to be paired up for the photo while enjoying great food and good company.
I took part because I lost my partner to cancer after 22 years together and it’s important to show that there is life after loss and with a community like Border Women you may be single but you are never alone.