“My
fiercest supporter, my strongest critic”. Trafalgar
Square, 25 August 2009 |
PHILIPI have been in a
relationship with Philip for almost as long as I have known him. He is a
former senior civil servant and known to Ministers of The Crown by name. Now
retired, he is spending his time arranging my social programme, something for
which I am very grateful. His hobbies are: going
to the theatre and cinema; singing in a choir; and collecting comedy shows.
He also has a passion for Mae West and a strange relationship with Julie
Andrews, but nobody's perfect. Philip sings with The
Pink Singers, and he has visited many parts of the world with the choir:
Zurich, Geneva, Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, Dublin, Seattle, Denver, San Jose and
Miami to name a few (also Manchester, which shows that life isn't all picnics
and parties). Philip is now one of the longest-serving Pink Singers, having
completed over 30 years with the choir. Philip has performed on most of the major stages in London. In 2009 he was compere for the Sugar Dandies show on the Fringe in Edinburgh, and he has guested on several radio shows. With the Pink Singers, he has also performed on the TV show Gimme Gimme Gimme. He has received many favourable critical reviews for his stage work and comedy. |
Philip also appeared on the front cover of Lisa Power's No
Bath but Plenty of Bubbles, in a photo from the first GLF Trafalgar
Square event. He continues his activism in retirement, continuing to appear
in radio programmes and podcasts about historical and current LGBT+ issues. On 14 March 2014, Philip was invested by Prince Charles as an Officer
of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his services to
Social Security and his voluntary work for London. Any time left over from the above activities Philip devotes to
nagging me to tidy the house. It’s a Sisyphean (as opposed to a cissyfian)
task. |
Links
The Sugar Dandies: Ladies not Required, 2009 Proud
Voices Brian Kennedy Silver Award, 2015 Pride celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Gay Liberation
Front, 2020 |
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