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Weymouth Gay Group Review of the year - 2023 2023 was the year that we turned 15! |
Our review of 2023
Our LGBT Dorset review of 2023 - was the year that we turned 15!
Our LGBT Dorset review of 2023 - was the year that we turned 15!
A very busy year that saw Covid behind us and started with the results of the 2021 Census, published in early 2023 that confirmed there are a lot of you out there! Where are you? Why are you not attending all the Dorset events? Perhaps that was not a census question!
The year both started and ended with the tragic national news about Brianna with her loss. That brought our community together with a vigil on Weymouth’s esplanade supporting each other, and ended with news reports from the Court case. (This will continue into early 2024.)
Our 15th birthday year attracted press coverage in a variety of publications Including: - The West Dorset Magazine, Forever with Pride Magazine, The Dorset Echo, and later in the year the Wetherspoons Magazine. This had a really nice supportive quote from Kim the manager of The Swan (our Thursday home) about our group.
Meanwhile online The LGBT Consortium (of which we are a member) published a very good article about our group which can be seen here - https://www.consortium.lgbt/2023/03/02/weymouth-gay-group-celebrates-15-years/
Despite all the news coverage about our group the numbers attending our Meals Out On Mondays and pub nights did not increase, but we have made some great new contacts and friends in the wider Dorset (and beyond) community.
A very nice birthday gift for our group was our updated logo with a boat flying the progress rainbow flag (Thanks Mike!). Branding updates also appeared on our new beer matts! They are ideal group promotion for our pub-based group.
Despite all the news coverage about our group the numbers attending our Meals Out On Mondays and pub nights did not increase, but we have made some great new contacts and friends in the wider Dorset (and beyond) community.
A very nice birthday gift for our group was our updated logo with a boat flying the progress rainbow flag (Thanks Mike!). Branding updates also appeared on our new beer matts! They are ideal group promotion for our pub-based group.
Dorset celebrated a record number of Pride events during the summer – SIX! With three of them being Pub Prides kicking off Pride month at the end of May. Shire Hall Dorchester hosted again the very popular Dorset Youth Pride, and new for Weymouth was Chesil Youth Pride the highlight being the FIRST ever official Pride parade along our Esplanade! This was such a brilliant and beautiful event along our sea front.
It has always been a dream of our local LGBT+ community to do this. It was suggested for our first Weymouth and Portland Pride in 2019, but did not happen then. So huge respect to Chesil Youth Pride in 2023 who made this happen! They also hosted lots of interesting stalls / groups at Weymouth College. Would be good if repeated if they felt comfortable embracing more of the local LGBT+ community, although we respect this is a young peoples focused event.
It has always been a dream of our local LGBT+ community to do this. It was suggested for our first Weymouth and Portland Pride in 2019, but did not happen then. So huge respect to Chesil Youth Pride in 2023 who made this happen! They also hosted lots of interesting stalls / groups at Weymouth College. Would be good if repeated if they felt comfortable embracing more of the local LGBT+ community, although we respect this is a young peoples focused event.
Dorset’s biggest LGBT+ event - Bournemouth Pride – BourneFree again proved to be an enjoyable day out for our guys going out on the train, but a bit wet at times! New for us was having a free advert on the HUGE tv screen next to the stage. Our updated logo with the progress flag looked so colourful as it dominated the Pride field while we sheltered under our rainbow umbrellas!
Two aspects to our group. We have often said there are two aspects to our group, our social pub meets, and our outreach to Dorset’s LGBT+ Community and beyond. Our website, very kindly described by Dorset NHS as “the LGBT Bible locally”, continues to attract a HUGE number of hits and continued evolving during the year. Over 100 Dorset LGBT+ Community News stories were published, from the fun and casual, to the serious issues affecting our community. Our Dorset LGBT+ Community Events page had over 30 local LGBT+ events listed most months, peaking in the summer with around 45. A unique place to see all the events from a wide variety of local and visiting LGBT+ groups & organisations. This is a special service, along with our news page, that we know is much appreciated and we are very proud to provide for our Dorset LGBT+ community.
Arts organisations - Also, of note – and promoted on our website, are the LGBT+ events of interest put on by a number of different local Arts organisations and Theatres across our area. Weymouth, Dorchester, Bridport and Poole all hosted events of interest to our community. Brill to see them doing so. We helped to promote them on our website.
Our book of the year, with lots of Dorset connections is a must read! The award winning “Brother. Do. You. Love. Me.” A wonderful true-life story of brotherly love. Tears and love. Due out in 2024 in paperback, it has been featured on many national media outlets and BBC Radio 4s Ramblings (Claire Balding) did a beautiful programme with the brothers with a walk near Bridport.
In Weymouth - if we had to choose a shop of the year- it would go to – Weymouth Post Office. Vicky puts on a wonderful colourful window display every Pride month. She also welcomed our WGG beer mats and posters adding to the many rainbow gifts there. A first-class post office!
The Bibby Barge based in our patch (Portland), attracted a lot of national media attention and controversy during the year. Our concern has always been for any gay/bi guys based there and this resulted in a good news story in the Dorset Echo reporting our support for them (we made page two!). Good to know that one of our guys (with a different “hat on”) is supporting all the community there. We added Rainbow Migrants (and similar groups) to our website helplines page.
Other LGBT+ groups It’s been good to see other LGBT+ groups in Dorset developing during 2023, The Gay OutDoor Club continued to run walks around Dorset.
While both Space Youth Project and Dorset Mind (MindOut) have added online groups to their portfolio of physical meet ups. The new Ladies social group in Weymouth is most welcomed and fills a very valuable role. The Geranium Trust in North Dorset added a phone friendship line to their LGBT+ coffee mornings and Gay Roast Dinners for gay guys.
Nationally for our community 2023 has been a disappointing year politically, with the UK Government slow or not advancing equality & diversity. The Lack of Gov action eg- conversion therapy ban being just one of many issues. Hostility towards parts of our community (esp Trans/NB), along with the negativity in the press left many in our community feeling alienated and depressed after so many Government promises (reported in Pink News, & by Stonewall etc). Looking towards 2024, which may well be an election year we hope it will be a time to embrace positive change.
Huge thanks to all of you who have joined us in the pub during 2023. See you again soon. Lots to mull over for 2024!
Thursdays The Swan (Wetherspoons) St Thomas Street. Weymouth, table 26 near fire exit, 8pm – late. All welcome!
C
WGG
Jan 2024
Huge thanks to all of you who have joined us in the pub during 2023. See you again soon. Lots to mull over for 2024!
Thursdays The Swan (Wetherspoons) St Thomas Street. Weymouth, table 26 near fire exit, 8pm – late. All welcome!
C
WGG
Jan 2024
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Please make sure you check out all our other pages, lots of local lgbt events, local lgbt news, helplines and Prides in Dorset info!
This page was last updated 08/01/2024 Weymouth Gay Group 2024
email :- [email protected] X (aka Twitter) https://twitter.com/WeymouthGayGrp and some where on facebook too!
Looking for a helpline or support? Check out our Helplines page we have lots of helpful links, both local and national for you or someone you may know. See - https://weymouthgaygroup.weebly.com/helplinessupport-groups.html
Please make sure you check out all our other pages, lots of local lgbt events, local lgbt news, helplines and Prides in Dorset info!
This page was last updated 08/01/2024 Weymouth Gay Group 2024
email :- [email protected] X (aka Twitter) https://twitter.com/WeymouthGayGrp and some where on facebook too!
Looking for a helpline or support? Check out our Helplines page we have lots of helpful links, both local and national for you or someone you may know. See - https://weymouthgaygroup.weebly.com/helplinessupport-groups.html
