Three LGBT History Month patrons have hit the media in the new year.
First, John Amaechi appeared on BBC’s Newsround following the Stephen Lawrence verdict on Tuesday. He challenged teachers, parents and peers to look at the person and not the skin colour when they see the black person come through the school gates. Next, Ian McKellen stated in New York that he believed Shakespeare slept with men and that his fondness for men was reflected in many of his works, including A Merchant of Venice. When LGBT History Month launched in the UK in 2005 we were slated by some of the tabloids and many upholders of the establishment for asserting Shakespeare liked men and Florence Nightingale women.
Last night Gareth Thomas entered the Celebrity Big Brother household following his retirement from professional rugby. Talking to anchor Brian Dowling, a former Big Brother resident, he suggested fireworks if fellow housemates aroused his ‘Welsh temper’.