Being Civil in Redbridge
An Oral History Project from Redbridge Rainbow Community
"Um, one of the few positive portrayals was in Eastenders, um, with Colin. The character of Colin. I remember watching that with my mum, and, y’know, feeling, a bit uncomfortable, thinking, you know, ‘what is she thinking?’ You know, it’d be kissing, not feel uncomfortable with me seeing it, but feeling uncomfortable about what her reaction would be. And what is she thinking of it?"
Meet the Participants
In addition to the stories told in our Being Civil film, Redbridge Rainbow Community documented many other members of Redbridge's LGBT community as Oral Histories. They are archived in Eastside Community Heritage's People's Archive which now contains in excess of one thousand oral histories and over 600 photographs and video materials. Click around the page to listen to some of the stories Redbridge's community have to tell!
Glynn
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Robert
"It was marvelous, there were all these gay men, and gay women as well, yeah, it was brilliant. It was like a party, actually, you felt relaxed and comfortable, and you’re walking up Piccadilly with this banner that says “bring down the age of consent!” Yeah, it was brilliant. Brilliant."
Margaret
"I have never been a person who, um, everyone else goes to pubs, I never went to pubs, I don’t drink. I’ve never smoked, I’ve never done drugs. I’m a very very good, conventional person. That’s why I find it very easy to live in a place like this where everyone is very conventional. Because I don’t feel out of place at all, most people you talk to who are in the LGBT feel slightly out of place, even, in a conventional family setting. I don’t. Oddly enough. I felt not at all out of place here. That’s quite unusual."