On April 26th, The Wandsworth LGBTQ Forum will be celebrating the 1st birthday of the 50 LGBT coffee morning.

Hosted every Thursday at the Furzedown Project in Tooting, the group is the only weekly service for the over 50s LGBTQ community in South London.

Initially meant to be a 6-week project, with funding from the Wandsworth CCG, the group has gone on to have remarkable success attracting members from all over London.

Jim and Peter have been attending the group shortly after it started. Last Saturday (April 21st) after 37 years together, the couple tied the knot with friends (past and present) at The Croydon Unitarian Church.

 “My partner Peter and I have been attending the Thursday morning coffee mornings for most of the sessions since it started. We have been very impressed with the organisation of the various speakers and the general running of the group. It must be good because our journey each week takes an hour each way by bus!”
 

The principal focus of the group has been to provide a safe space where older LGBT people can meet and talk freely and openly and discuss issues of common interest. This is reflected for example, in the range of people who have been invited to meet and speak to the group.

One member of the group has stated how it has been a key activity in his week.

“I am a shy 68-year-old gay man who has been attending these coffee mornings on a weekly basis since last Summer. I happen to live in an area of Furzedown where homophobic abuse is still seen as acceptable, or defensible, by quite a few people.

“Attending these coffee mornings provides a wonderful oasis where, for a few hours, I know with certainty, not just that I will be free from abuse, but also that I am amongst friends, including the lovely people representing the Furzedown Project itself who greet me on arrival.”

Mick Morrell, the Furzedown Project Manager has been thrilled to welcome the Wandsworth LGBTQ Forum to create this service together. 

“The Furzedown Project feels immense pride in celebrating the first whole year of LGBT older people joining our community and running such a supportive and engaging series of get-togethers.”  

Tooting MP Dr Rosena Khan, also a keen supporter of the project since its infancy, said “one year on and I am thrilled to see that the LGBTQ coffee morning has thrived here in Tooting. It’s a testament to the hard work of the Wandsworth LGBTQ Forum and The Furzedown Project. It’s such a warm, welcoming environment and long may it continue.”     

The group has also been supported by one of politic’s most prominent out LGBT MP’s, Justine Greening, MP for Putney, who said “I’ve been to one of the coffee mornings and it was great to see how it brings people together, but also supports them. Happy Birthday and congratulations on a brilliant first year.”

To find out more about the coffee morning or the work of the Wandsworth LGBTQ Forum, contact David Robson on wandsworthlgbt@hotmail.co.uk or call 07970 528 218. You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook.