It was 20 years ago today...

[example22]

So, I just got back from an event commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Section 28, which was nowhere near as dreary as it sounds. There was even a raffle -- alas, I didn't win the signed photo of Sue Lawley.

The whole thing was funny (abseiling lesbians! insider tips on crashing the six o'clock news!), thoughtful (how come we lost, when everyone was on our side?), and incidentally also a sobering reminder of what a Conservative government looks like. An eyewitness report from one of the presenters sums it up nicely: "A Conservative [Haringey] councillor spent the whole council meeting flicking sugar cubes at Bernie Grant, chanting 'Die, you diabetic bastard'." Mmm, lovely. Can't wait until they're running the country again.

Comments

[uitlander]

Oh I remember the Sue Lawley incident. All you could tell at the time was that something was amiss in the studio and there was some sort of kerfuffle. She sat on one of them didn't she?

..and some years later the Provost of Queen's sounded me out on the application of one of my friends for a fellowship. It was an odd conversation, as there was clearly something worrying him that he couldn't quite find the words to express. In the end I dealt with it head on and asked if the concern was whether my friend would do something like encourage 'abseiling lesbians to interrupt high table'. Once we'd established that that was indeed at the root of the problem, and my friend would be horrified by such an act, the path was clear for him to be elected.

[example22.livejournal.com]

It's surprising how ad-hoc it all was, by the sound of it.

The ones who were crashing the news apparently had no plan beyond "show up in a taxi so we'll look posh" -- and forgot that the news begins with a couple of minutes of titles and footage, so it's best to wait until, say, 6:02 before you charge in...

The other lot went to watch the Lords debate, thought it was dull and were surprised by how small the chamber was. So one of them said: I've got some washing line at home, I bet we could get down there tomorrow... Apparently, they all gave police false names (using the name of famous suffragettes) and got away with it, so none of them actually answered bail.

[uitlander]

Brilliant. Pure Genius.

I must remember to give my name as "Mrs Emily Pankhurst" next time I am stopped by the Police.

[qatsi.livejournal.com]

In your case, Dr Emily Pankhurst, surely.

[uitlander]

Sh! We don't want to arouse their suspicions....

[celestialweasel.livejournal.com]

Dr Emmeline, surely.

[celestialweasel.livejournal.com]

Sorry, Emiline.